標籤: spoiler

Danhausen’s mystery partner at WWE Backlash in Tampa this Saturday could be about to generate the wrong kind of reaction from fans.

Brian Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer wrote on If the rumor turns out to be true, it’s a reveal that won’t go down well with audiences who are tired of celebrity presence in the company.

That framing tells its own story. The betting odds at Backlash place Punk as the favorite to become Danhausen’s partner at -200, with Joe Hendry at +200, Mr. Iguana at +300, and Jelly Roll at +400. A crowd expecting a punk hit, but getting jelly rolls instead, could have a bad reaction at Amalie Arena on Saturday night.

Before Cody Rhodes retained the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42, there were plans for Jelly Roll to team with Rhodes at Backlash in a tag match against Orton and Pat McAfee.

That program fell apart when McAfee opted out of the program following negative fan reaction to his inclusion at WrestleMania, and Orton has not appeared on WWE programming since this event, amid reports that he was struggling with physical problems on the show.

With the original tags matching the table, it appears that Jelly Roll’s involvement has been redirected to the Danhausen program. Whether that creative pivot satisfies viewers who have been waiting to learn who Danhausen’s partner is, but the contrast between CM Punk’s revelations and Jelly Roll’s revelations may backfire.

Kairi Sane has not severed her ties with WWE yet.

Brian Alvarez reports that within WWE, there is belief that Sane could appear this Saturday at Backlash in Tampa, Florida to provide some resolution to her ongoing storyline with IYO SKY and Asuka, despite being exempt from the company’s WrestleMania 42 roster cuts. Whether such an appearance would be a one-off or signal something else has not been made clear.

“Within WWE, it is felt that there is a greater than 50% chance that Kairi will appear at Backlash to at least finish that storyline,” Alvarez wrote to his subscribers on X.

A singles match between Sky and Asuka is scheduled for Saturday’s Backlash PLE at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Before her release, Sane was at the center of the storyline of that match, torn between the two as Asuka attempted to intimidate her into proving her loyalty to SKY.

Her absence from that program’s resolution was one of the more puzzling aspects of her release, and the internal belief that she might still appear in Backlash shows just how incomplete the creative thread is.

Sane was among the 25 talents released by WWE on April 24 during the roster cuts following WrestleMania 42, and given both her level of talent and her active role in the ongoing program, her release was considered one of the more surprising decisions in that wave.

Fan reaction was swift and vocal, with the hashtag VivantCarry flooding social media in the days following the announcement. AJ Styles was among those who publicly stated that he was shocked by the news.

This was Cena’s second stint with WWE. Following her departure in 2021, she spent time in Japan working primarily for Stardom and NJPW before returning to WWE in 2023, winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships with Asuka as the Kabuki Warriors during that second run.

Just days after being officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the New Jersey Devils played spoiler on Saturday.

The Devils scored three third period goals and eliminated the Detroit Red Wings from postseason contention with a 5–3 victory at Little Caesars Arena.

Jesper Bratt had two goals and an assist, and Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist. The Devils snapped a two-game losing streak, taking the season series 2–1 from the Wings and winning for the ninth time in their last 15 games.

Devils rally to defeat Detroit Red Wings on Saturday

The Wings entered the game desperate, hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive. Detroit recorded the game’s first 10 shots on goal, the last of which was Justin Faulk’s 15th goal of the season to put the Wings up 1–0 at 9:41 of the first.

Less than a minute after Hughes’ goal, on the Devils’ first shot on goal, both tied the score and helped the Devils find their game. Nevertheless, the Devils were 13 minutes away from their third consecutive loss after Detroit forward Emmitt Finney scored his 13th goal of the season on a rebound at 7:00 of the final frame.

“He definitely had a lot to play for,” Bratt said. “They had to go for it and win.”

Still, Cody Glass added to his career year by scoring a spectacular goal, his 19th, at 11:18. Bratt then executed a perfect two-on-one off a turnover created by Hughes, and his 22nd of the year with just 3:34 left in regulation to give the Devils a 4–3 lead.

“We were just patient and waiting for them to make mistakes,” Bratt said. “We just took advantage of it to a certain extent.”

With Detroit’s season at stake – with a win it could have kept pace with the Ottawa Senators, who had defeated the New York Islanders earlier in the day – the Devils outscored them 12–7 in the final frame. New Jersey sealed its 41st win on an empty net goal by Dawson Mercer.

“I’m very proud of the group right now,” Bratt said. “I thought we played very well, a very solid road game.”

The second period was dominated by devils

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe attributed their early game struggles to Dougie Hamilton’s first-period tripping penalty, which “caught us off guard.” But after surviving that and Detroit’s early pressure, the Devils dominated the second period.

The Devils outshot the Red Wings 13–8 in the second and took the second-period shot-attempt count 33–13. According to Natural Stat Trick, New Jersey had a total expected goals total of 1.72 in the second period, and recorded 21 scoring chances and nine high-danger chances.

“I really liked our game today,” Keefe said. “It took us a while to get going on offense… Once we learned how to cook, I thought we were pretty good the rest of the way.

“Key second period, which is what we were looking for.”

The Devils nearly trailed 2–1 heading into the third, as David Perron gave the Red Wings the lead with his 12th goal of the season at 11:59. But Bratt’s sight-seeing shot from the high slot beat Gibson and gave the Devils the rare puck luck they had sorely lacked all year.

Keefe said, “We weren’t necessarily rewarded. It took a while.” “[The Devils’ play] “Probably got some mileage out of their top defenseman in that second period, which probably worked to our advantage later in the game.”

Jake Allen was solid in goal

Faulk’s goal was a stoppable shot, but Devils goaltender Jake Allen was difficult to stop when he was under for most of the first period.

Allen made 25 saves, 12 of which came in the first period where he allowed one goal but according to Natural Stat Trick, the Red Wings had a 1.91 expected goals against. The Wings finished with 3.78 xG, and Allen blocked six of seven high-danger shots (.857 save%) while outscoring Gibson at the other end.

Allen will likely start the Devils’ season finale at Boston on Tuesday, as Nico Douse will start Sunday against Ottawa and No. 1 goaltender Jacob Markstrom was shut down on Friday. He has been playing well all season long and has improved his numbers to 17-17-2 with a .904 save% and 2.74 GAA this season.

Pat Pickens is an award-winning sports writer and author who has covered the NHL since 2013. He reveals more about Pat Pickens.

Some interesting posts on Friday on

Over the past two weeks there has been a lot of speculation about what is in the boxes on Raw and SmackDown. A popular choice among fans is AEW alumni Danhausen. A guy who was reportedly set to become a free agent in the coming months. Well, some of his posts today might suggest that he is free from all the shackles of aristocracy. Both can be found below.