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☆ Sika Anoa’i, WWE Hall of Famer and Father of Roman Reigns, Is Dead
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Alexandra E. Petri | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sika Anoa’i, the Hall of Fame professional wrestler who was half of the 1980s superstar tag team the Wild Samoans and father of W.W.E.’s biggest current star, Roman Reigns, died on Tuesday. Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment also confirmed Sika Anoa’i’s death in a statement. Sika Anoa’i is part of a long line of grapplers known as the Samoan Dynasty that has been called the greatest wrestling family of all time. Sika and his brother, Afa “Arthur” Anoa’i, would form the Wild Samoans, considered one of the most influential duos in wrestling history. Sika’s son Roman Reigns, born Leati Joseph Anoa’i, is the undisputed W.W.E.

Persons: Sika Anoa’i, W.W.E, Jahrus Anoa’i, Sika, Peter Maivia, Dwayne “, ” Johnson, ”, Arthur ” Anoa’i, Sika’s, Roman, Leati Joseph Anoa’i, Jonathan Solofa Fatu, Joshua Samuel Fatu, Jimmy Uso Organizations: of Fame, Wild Samoans, Instagram, Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, Afa, Samoans

☆ Super Bowl Broadcast Is a Crossroads for CBS Sports
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( John Koblin | Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the one hand, Sunday will be a joyous occasion for CBS Sports. The sports division will broadcast its 22nd Super Bowl, the most of any network. The storied CBS Sports division, the broadcasting home of marquee events like the Masters and March Madness, is confronting a wave of change. It all leaves CBS Sports facing a number of challenges — which company leaders say they can handle by sticking to what they know. “No matter what happens in the future to the company, sports will increasingly be more important each and every year,” Mr. McManus said.

Persons: Sean McManus, —, ” Mr, McManus Organizations: CBS Sports, CBS, Paramount, Southeastern Conference, Netflix

☆ Sex Assault Claims Against McMahon Shadow a W.W.E. Trying to Move Forward
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was a bombastic end to one of the most consequential, and tumultuous, weeks in W.W.E.’s history. In the days between the Netflix deal and “Royal Rumble,” however, came a stark reminder of how sordid legal entanglements from the company’s recent past could reverberate in the present. employee, Janel Grant, sued Vince McMahon — the co-founder of what would become W.W.E. and the executive chairman of the board of TKO Group — and accused him of sexual assault and sex trafficking. Mr. McMahon called the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, a “vindictive distortion of the truth,” but on Friday he resigned from the TKO board.

Persons: Cody Rhodes, ”, Dwayne Johnson, —, Janel Grant, Vince McMahon, McMahon, Mr Organizations: Netflix Locations: W.W.E, U.S, Connecticut

☆ Vince McMahon Cuts W.W.E. Ties After Sex Trafficking Accusation
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vince McMahon, the longtime chairman and former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, resigned from the board of W.W.E.’s parent company on Friday, one day after a former employee accused him of sexual assault and sex trafficking in a lawsuit. Mr. McMahon, 78, was the executive chairman of TKO Group, the parent company of W.W.E., where he no longer held a formal position. “He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or W.W.E.,” Mr. Khan wrote in the email, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, accuses Mr. McMahon of trafficking the employee, Janel Grant, as well as physically and emotionally abusing her. executive, and the company itself as defendants, says that Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis had once taken turns raping Ms. Grant, among numerous other allegations.

Persons: Vince McMahon, McMahon, Nick Khan, “, ” Mr, Khan, Mr, Janel Grant, John Laurinaitis, Laurinaitis, Grant Organizations: World Wrestling Entertainment, The New York Times Locations: Connecticut

☆ Netflix to Stream W.W.E.’s ‘Raw’ in $5 Billion Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Gregory Schmidt | More About Gregory Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Netflix reached a multibillion-dollar, 10-year deal for exclusive rights to W.W.E.’s flagship weekly wrestling show “Raw,” as the streaming giant broadens its offerings with more live content. The deal will bring “Raw” to Netflix starting in January 2025, Netflix and TKO Group, W.W.E.’s parent company, said in a statement. Netflix will also own the rights to stream W.W.E.’s other shows and specials outside of the United States. The agreement will cost Netflix more than $5 billion and will last for 10 years, with an option to extend an additional 10 years or opt out after five, TKO Group said in a regulatory filing. “By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with W.W.E., we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members,” Netflix’s chief content officer, Bela Bajaria, said in a statement.

Persons: ”, we’ll, Bela Bajaria Organizations: Netflix Locations: United States

☆ The Rock’s Wax Figure Will Get Redo, Museum Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Reggie Ugwu | More About Reggie Ugwu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A wax museum in Paris said it would change its recently unveiled statue of Dwayne Johnson, better known as the Rock, after a week of ridicule on social media and a plea from the actor himself. The statue, unveiled last Monday by the Grévin Museum — the French equivalent of Madame Tussauds — depicted the “Fast and the Furious” star and former W.W.E. Critics online quickly mocked several aspects of the likeness, especially the skin tone, which many described as noticeably lighter than Johnson’s. “Who is this because uhhhh … You do know he’s Samoan and Black right lol?” wrote one commenter. An Instagram post about the “melanin deficient” statue on the popular celebrity news account The Shade Room received over 40,000 comments.

Persons: Dwayne Johnson, Madame Tussauds —, ”, Johnson, James Andre Jefferson Jr, ” Johnson Organizations: Grévin Locations: Paris

Here are the meanings of the least-found words that were used in (mostly) recent Times articles. — Ireland’s Medieval Beacon (April 16, 1995)2. natant — swimming or floating (and a frequent guest on this list):I love the word natant. — Mexico’s Last Countercultural Coast (Feb. 3, 2020)6. tali — plural of talus, an ankle bone:T.I.L. (Today I Learned) that tali is another word for “anklebones.” — Long Story Short (Jan. 3, 2022)7. atilt — askew:The facade is atilt, the S.U.V. Wrestler Taps In Against Concussion Deniers (Oct. 26, 2022)The list of the week’s easiest words:

Persons: abbacy, Norman Leinster, —, peplum, hegemon, tali —, tali, ” —, atilt — askew, Stacey Abrams, ’, ”, Alessio Mortelliti, tallit — Organizations: Sun, —, University of Maine, National Science Foundation, Dolphins Locations: Glendalough, abbacy, China, Beijing, lantana, California, tatters, Ukraine

☆ Joe Biden’s First Term and the ‘West Wing’ Fantasy of American Politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Adam Tooze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Franklin Foer’s “The Last Politician,” an account of Biden’s first two years in office, is the first draft of an answer. The problem is that, from Biden’s bleak inauguration to the surprise result of the midterms, we know the story in advance. Unless, as he seems at times to be hinting, the scripted, typecast feel that his book exudes is the truth about the present administration. One of the more telling cameos in the book describes how the Oval Office has been physically rearranged to create the stage for Biden’s presidential storytelling. A giant portrait of Franklin Roosevelt now takes “pride of place” above the office hearth.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Franklin Foer, Biden, Franklin Foer’s “, Biden’s, Franklin Roosevelt, Trump, “ Bibi ”, ” Biden, Bibi Organizations: America, Biden, Al, Associated Press Locations: Gaza, Al Jazeera, Palestine

☆ Terry Funk, Hardcore Hall of Fame Wrestler, Dies at 79
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Eduardo Medina | More About Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Terry Funk, the Hall of Fame professional wrestler whose hardcore fighting style in the ring inspired decades of bloody brawls and entertaining matches, has died. His death was confirmed on Wednesday by World Wrestling Entertainment, the company for which Mr. Funk’s career exploded. No cause of death was given, and relatives could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday evening. Mr. Funk’s wrestling career, which began in the mid-1960s and lasted four decades, took him around the country and world, from playing in front of sold-out crowds for W.W.E. That extreme quality to his matches made Mr. Funk among the most celebrated wrestlers of his generation in a sport built on performer-athletes playing exaggerated or downright invented versions of themselves.

Persons: Terry Funk, Funk Organizations: of Fame, World Wrestling Entertainment, Japan

☆ GOATs Are Everywhere in Sports. So What Really Defines Greatness?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Kurt Streeter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some say GOAT’s origins actually spring from a flamboyant, blond-tressed wrestler, George Wagner, who was known as Gorgeous George and who in the 1940s and ’50s earned lavish paydays by turning trash talk into fine art. “So keep on bragging, keep on sassing, and always be outrageous.”This week marks the moment when sport’s most legitimate GOAT talk hovers over tennis and an event its organizers not-so-humbly call the Championships. That will drive fans of Rafael Nadal, who is stuck at 22 major titles, to distraction. They will argue that their idol would have won 25 major titles (or more) by now, if not for injuries. But, by goodness, he’s Roger Federer, fine linen with a forehand with 20 Slams and a raft of epic final-round battles to his name.

Persons: Ali, George Wagner, Gorgeous George, that’s, ” Ali, “, Novak Djokovic, Margaret Court’s, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, he’s Roger Federer Organizations: Wimbledon

Endeavor, the Hollywood entertainment colossus that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is close to a deal that would combine that league with World Wrestling Entertainment, two people familiar with the negotiations said on Sunday. The combination would mean a behemoth in combat entertainment, both real and scripted. The deal could be announced as early as this week, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations. The deal would create a new, publicly traded company, according to the people, with Endeavor’s U.F.C. league composing 51 percent of the business and W.W.E.

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