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WWE Wrestlepalooza: Brock Lesnar Decimates John Cena, Punk and Lee Victorious in Mixed Tag, Stephanie Vaquer is New Women’s World Champion

By Michael Fairman

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Photos: WWE

WWE’s first premium live event in its new streaming home ESPN gave new viewers a taste of just what makes professional wrestling, sports entertainment. Wrestlepalooza delivered a safe card with some enjoyable moments but without many surprises for longtime wrestling aficionados that they have become accustomed to as the WWE continues its growth globally and domestically.

Emanating from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Pacers, the show kicked-off with a well-donsegment of how ESPN and then WWWF were the upstart companies back in the late 70’s and early 80s and illustrated why they are the perfect partners, with ESPN legitimatizing pro wrestling as something pure sports fans also will want to know and talk about it.

The opening match was the highly-anticipated bout between John Cena, on the last leg of his retirement tour, facing off with his longtime rival, “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar. When Lesnar made his entrance at 48-years old, he looked more massive than ever, stunning the audience.

Photo: WWE

When Cena arrived, he didn’t come alone! This was the first time that he came from the entrance ramp with a gaggle of small children, all Cena fans and all excited to be there with their favorite hero.  However, those happy faces would soon turn to sad ones.

LESNAR LEAVES KIDS IN AN OCEAN OF TEARS

First, Paul Heyman, Lesnar’s former manager showed up at ringside, to announce Lesnar before the match, signifying either a one-time walk down memory lane or perhaps something greater! Could Heyman be revealed to be back with Lesnar for this current run as well as running “The Vision” with Seth Rollins? Stay tuned.

Photo: WWE

Now the match: Other than a few moments where it looked like Cena would turn the tables, this was a beatdown in the biggest way possible by Lesnar. He delivered six straight F5s to the GOAT after he countered the Cena “Five Knuckle Shuffle.” Even Cena’s patented “Attitude Adjustment” had little to no effect ultimately on Lesnar.  All of this was too much for the 17-time champion and Lesnar’s onslaught ended when he pinned Cena, much to the shock, dismay, and heartbreak of the children and even Pacers star, Tyrese Halliburton who was stunned in the audience.

Photo: WWE

With this major setback for John Cena’s retirement tour and only five dates/appearances left before he says farewell, will he ultimately slay the ‘beast in return match?

MY WIFE IS BETTER THAN YOURS

All eyes were on AJ Lee making her triumphant return to the WWE and in-ring action in over ten years. At least for her first match back, she was doing it alongside hubby, CM Punk in a mixed tag-team match against arch enemies, Seth “Freakin” Rollins and his wife “The Man” Becky Lynch.

Photo: WWE

It was apparent Lee had some ring rust, which was to be expected, especially with her slaps that looked a bit awkward, but she still had the moves, and she along with Punk, Rollins and Lynch made this such a fun match and extremely entertaining. There were plenty of clever mash-ups of how sometimes the man and the woman would be at each other or get the other in a hold, while not making it to astray from how a mixed tags work where the men go against each other and the women wrestle each other.

Photo: WWE

If anyone was the scene-stealer in this (and each did great in-ring work) we have to give it to Becky Lynch, playing the heel to perfection. But, it was Lee as was fitting, who got the win, when she actually countered Lynch’s Manhandle Slam with her Black Widow Submission to hold and Lynch tapped out. Now on Sunday, Becky is denying ever taping out!

LA PRIMERA

The match of the night belonged to the women – when Iyo Sky battled Stephanie Vaquer for the vacant WWE Women’s World Championship belt, previously held by Naomi. As the WWE Universe knows, Naomi had to relinquish the title after she became pregnant setting the stage for this high-flying pivotal match-up.

Photo: WWE

In the end, Vaquer was able to capitalize on Sky’s injured knee, delivering a picture-perfect Spinal Tag corkscrew from the top rope for the win. Stephanie’s victory was the emotional moment of the night. This would be Vaquer’s, who is of Chilean descent, first major title in the WWE and to punctuate the moment, her father was present in the audience all the way from Chile.

Photo: WWE

The father/daughter hugged it out and cried tears of joy. This was the right move by WWE creative to let Vaquer have the chance to be the one all the women in the locker room will be chasing, even though Iyo Sky remains, in our opinion, the best female wrestler in the world right now. However, Vaquer certainly made a statement. She has arrived!

Taking to X after the match, Vaquer shared, “They call us dreamers, but we’re the ones who don’t sleep” I dreamed of this my whole life. Today I become the WWE World Champion, the first Latin American woman to achieve it. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me.”

OTHER MATCH-UPS

Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntye – the main event for the WWE Undisputed Championship. While it’s great to see Drew and Cody do their thing, it really only seemed to be on the card to remind everyone that Rhodes is QB1, ad the final image you see on ESPN, is a victorious Cody with the belt before the show went off the air. Surprisingly, there were no last minute runs-in or surprises to stop Cody’s celebration. However, during the post-show, Cody was interrupted by Seth Rollins and the two had a stare down each trying to one up the other, while holding their title belts in the air. Coming up, Rhodes vs Rollins is slated for Crown Jewel in Australia in October.

Courtesy/WWE

The Usos vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed – Reuniting for the first time in a tag match in over two years, Jey and Jimmy looked to be the potential feel-good favorite, especially after “Yeeting” with the crowd for an extended period of time.

Photo: WWE

However, The Brons ultimately took them down when the match had to end early. Special referee L.A. Knight had to call an audible, after Jey Uso split his own head open after he delivered a chair shot to Breakker and the chair bounced and hit him in the head. On Sunday, Jey reports he is fine, even though he was rumored to be in concussion protocol.

NOTEWORTHY MOMENT

The Undertaker arrived inside the arena on a motorcycle, and sat next to a bejeweled (that necklace!) Stephanie McMahon at her seat near ringside. Once there he surprised her by revealing that she had been selected as the first person that will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

OVERALL GRADE: B – 

For the first out of the gate premium live event in its new streaming home, this one seemed lackluster with a few bright spots sprinkled in along the way.

Most Shocking: Cena’s beatdown by Lesar after entering the match surrounded by children.

Most Fun: AJ Lee and CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch

Most Disappointing: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntrye

Most Emotional: Stephanie Vaquer and her dad

So, what did you think of WWE Wrestlepalooza? Did you enjoy the first premium live event on ESPN? What did you think of Brock’s beatdown of Cena? Vaqueer being the new Women’s champ? How do you feel AJ Lee performed in her first match in over 10 years? Comment below, but first check out the highlight video with moments from the matche

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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now

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Bill and Katie

The future isn’t looking so bright for longtime loves Katie Logan (Heather Tom) and Bill Spencer (Don Diamont), when on the Wednesday, November 11 episode Katie wants Bill to leave and give her some space, and to stay away from her!

Katie explains she wanted none of this, but now her insecurity and fear of Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Bill has made it impossible. Bill pleads his case, “I was just trying to help” by speaking with Brooke. Katie tells him, well he didn’t, far from it, it’s all backfired in his face.

Bill insists to Katie that everything he did was for her and her sisters. Katie isn’t buying it. In her mind, Bill has always wanted to stick it to the Forresters. So what changed? She then asks him point blank, if he is still attracted to Brooke? Bill says “no,” but Katie said she wishes she could believe him. He tries to explain that him getting together with Brooke was to broker peace between the Logan sisters.

Katie

Courtesy/CBS

THE TRUST IS BROKEN

Katie speaks to how she is building her own company, making something of herself, and Bill says to her, “You don’t have to lose the people that you love to prove that you can win.”

Next, Katie is convinced Bill was flirting with Brooke because he texted Brooke a Stallion emoji (she has a point, no?). That reminded Katie of the worst time in her life when he was having an affair with her sister!

She points out how Brooke destroyed her life and took Will away from her and he was sent to boarding school, so why shouldn’t she strike back? Bill tries to point out again, that Katie is going to lose her sisters. But, a defiant Katie fires back, “If they can’t accept me for who I am … so be it!”

Next, Bill says he doesn’t buy it and becomes very emotional calling his wife, “my Katie”.  However, now in a puddle of tears, Katie says those words can’t fix everything. Seeing he is not getting anywhere, Bill walks towards the door and says, “I will hate being apart from you, but I’ll do it for you.”

He vows to never stop fighting for them. Katie’s says, “Goodbye, Bill.”  The music swells, Bill exits, and Katie crawls into a ball on the couch in a dramatic overhead shot to end the episode.

Photo: JPI

WEDDING BELLS?

In the same episode, it should be noted that Taylor (Rebecca Budig) asked Deacon (Sean Kanan) to re-propose to her, and this time she accepted.

It looks like Taylor or Deacon are headed down the aisle at some point, but not so fast, because Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) was flirting with Deacon, and she won’t take this news lying down.

Check out the emotional scenes featuring Heather Tom and Don Diamont below.

Now weigh-in: were you touched by the moments when Bill left his house to give Katie the space she says she needed over her feelings of betrayal by her husband and her sister, Brooke? How does this all end? Will Katie end up destroying everything in the process on her way to the top? Will she have a mental or physical crisis in days to come? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section.

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Dancing with the Stars

DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced

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In what could only be the stunner of this season of Dancing with the Stars, the Tuesday night, November 1o episode saw one of the heavy favorites Jenna Dewan and pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy eliminated right before next week’s all-important semi-finals for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Week 9 was Grammy night, where the contestants performed routines related to the Grammy Awards with songs that have either won or been nominated for the music industry’s highest prize.

After each couple performed their usual routine, they had to dance a second time vs, another couple doing the same dance style. Only Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson earned immunity from having to participate in it.

Dancing with the Stars

Photo: ABC

THE RESULTS

When all was said and done during the results portion of the show; the following couples were deemed safe and will dance another day: Shum Jr. and Johnson, Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, and Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold.

That left former Y&R actress Tatyana Ali (ex-Roxanne) and Jan Ravnik and Dewan and Chmerkovskiy in the bottom two. It was then revealed that Jenna and Val would be going home. The ballroom fell silent and Dewan said her “thank you’s “in the most gracious way about her dance journey.

Dewan is a dancer, having worked professionally with the likes of Janet Jackson (who also popped up in a special message to her former back-up dancer in the episode) while currently being an actress, and appearing as a series regular on The Rookie. Chmerkovskiy has been controversial figure all season especially after being suspended one week after comments made towards judge Carrie Ann Inaba.

BREAKING THEIR SILENCE

This begs the question: did America want the couple gone, because they had an unfair advantage with Dewan’s dance prowess, or did the show want the couple booted off too?

Later, Jenna and Val broke their silence on the elimination to Extra. Chmerkovskiy shared “It’s’ definitely a sad result. I thought we had a great season.” Dewan admitted, “I know this was a particularly tough week for a lot of the online noise … but I know that we went out there and had the best time of our life.”

Val is married to pro dancer, Jenna Johnson, who remained in the top slot on the leaderboard during the competition with Harry Shum Jr. However, she also had a bad week breaking her nose in rehearsal!

Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and next day on Hulu.

So were you happy, or sad to see Jenna and Val voted off of Dancing with the Stars? Of the remaining couples who do you hope make it from the semi-finals to the finals and hoists the Mirrorball Trophy? Weigh-in via the comment section.

 

 

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‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’

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Heather Tom

Six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Heather Tom, while not taking the gold at the recent Daytime Emmys for Lead Actress, which would have been a record-breaking victory for an actress; should be prepared that in 2027, she has to be near to a lock take that award home!

In the last few months Michael Fairman TV has named her weekly performances as Power Performance of the Week, and for the week of November 2-6, she has done it again!

How did she earn the honors? Well, quite simply, this version of Katie Logan that is being written and portrayed beautifully, has given the character infused live, a backbone, a woman so tired of being put-upon and wronged, that she is firing back in such major ways that her own family doesn’t recognize her behavior.

Katherine Kelly Lang

Photo: JPI

KATIE AND BROOKE HAVE A SEISMIC SHOWDOWN

Longtime viewers of The Bold and the Beautiful can make a very compelling case that the behavior is justified. Then, on the November 4 episode, Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Katie have another major confrontation. Katie is irate that Brooke phoned Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) in an effort to help Bill get through to her to back off the way she is destroying Forrester Creations, in what appears to be Katie’s poaching of the design team, and her ramped up vendetta against Brooke.

However, let’s not forget, Brooke and their sister, Donna (Jennifer Gareis) disowned Katie from the family just a few months ago too! Now in this showdown, Katie rips into Brooke after Brooke attempts to reason with her. Brooke even pulls out the “Stormy” card, reminding viewers that Katie has Storm’s heart. She snipes, “Do you really think he’d be proud of you right now?”

In that moment, Katie chokes up and is struck by that statement, but defends her actions and says Storm would be proud of her. Brooke goes in on if Storm would approve of the way she has gone about building her Logan fashion house design team, which to many seem like cutthroat tactics, Brooke even tells her “Bill is worried.”

Katie snaps after that comment and begins to show her disgust and emotional wounds from how Brooke slept with Bill years ago, especially when she goes in on the the text message Brooke sent to Bill and the use of a stallion emoji. Brooke claims it meant nothing, but Katie shuts her down and shuts her up! Reminding her sister, how she destroyed everything.

Heather Tom

Photo: JPI

KATIE NEVER FORGOT HOW BROOKE SLEPT WITH BILL

Brooke reminds Katie that she had postpartum depression at the time, and she “pushed” her and Bill together. Katie begins to cry, “How could you not know something was profoundly wrong?”

Katie says while she was suffering, Brooke was off in Aspen having sex with Bill. She says of her sister, “You take what you want, and it doesn’t matter who gets hurt and whose life gets destroyed.” She then snipes what was her sister’s excuse the second time?

Then, in the masterful moment in the performance, as sister Donna walks into the showdown, Katie warns Brooke to not EVER talk to her again about morality, or ever accuse her of stealing anything from her, when “You are the master!”

BROOKE’S PAST WILL ALWAYS BE THROWN IN HER FACE

Next, Katie throws down the line Stephanie Forrester called Brooke all the years of their feud, “You are just a slut from the valley.” She punctuated it to both her sister, “We all know she’d sell her soul for a little male attention.'”

Katie tells Brooke she will never apologize to Bill, adding, “And I will never forgive you for this. I am so done with you, and if you’re going to stand next to her (aimed at Donna), then I am done with you too.” As the scene came to its conclusion, Katie told Brooke and Katie to, “stay away from me, stay away from my family, and stay away from Bill.”

Throughout all the scenes, Heather Tom displayed why she is one of the fiercest actresses in daytime drama. This storyline has afforded Tom the opportunity to show all of Katie’s inner rage built over years as she finally lets it out on those who wronged her. For anyone who has been made to feel the weaker sibling in a family, Tom is showing the cause and effect of what can happen to someone after years of feeling put down.

For all the reasons stated above, Michael Fairman TV names Heather Tom our selection for Power Performance of the Week. You can check out part of Heather’s emotional turn in the video clip below.

Now let us know, do you agree with our pick of Heather Tom for the Power Performance of the Week? What do  you think about how Katie is being written in this storyline? Do you think Heather has secured the Lead Actress Emmy in 2027? Weigh-in via the comment section.

 

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