Wrestling Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Vince McMahon, the founder and former CEO of wrestling entertainment company WWE, received about $100 million through a sale of about 3.5 million shares of TKO Group. TKO Group was formed last year through the Endeavor-led merger of UFC and WWE. Endeavor maintains a majority interest in TKO.

Max announced on Friday that the acclaimed wrestling drama The Iron Claw from Cannes and Sundance prize-winning filmmaker Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) will begin streaming exclusively on the platform through its output deal with distributor A24 on May 10.

Jaden Thompson Get your tissues ready: “The Iron Claw” will be available to stream on Max on May 10. The A24 biographical sports drama debuted in theaters on Dec. 22 and received critical acclaim.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown!” has been an institution in the wrestling world since it first debuted in 1999. Now, a quarter-century later, the pro wrestling show continues to rope in fans both old and new, with millions of people tuning in each week to see the action-packed drama unfold. The show has even featured the likes of Bad Bunny, who’s a noted WWE super fan.

Ever since George Knight arrived in EastEnders last Summer, it’s safe to say the character hasn’t exactly had the smoothest time in Walford. From discovering his ex-wife Rose Knight was actually an alter-ego for Cindy Beale, through to discovering he was bought by his adoptive parents in a shocking ‘farming’ storyline, George has been wrestling with some pretty big troubles.

Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig‘s wrestling series Heels was canceled by Starz after two seasons, but there’s a chance the show might have extra life.

in my life (predominantly to help with my endometriosis flare ups) and invariably, many of them have been crap. And it’s always for one specific reason: I’m trying too hard to be likeable.

Tim Chan If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. After a big night for wrestling fans at WrestleMania 40, all eyes will be on the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia tonight for the latest episode of “WWE Raw.” Also known as “Monday Night Raw,” the weekly wrestling program is already one of the marquee WWE events, but the “Raw” episode after WrestleMania has traditionally been a can’t-miss affair. Want to watch “WWE Raw?” Here’s what you need to know.

Shaheem Reid Imagine being Fat Joe, a fan of wrestling since boyhood. You used to watch the likes of Mil Mascaras, Chief Jay Strongbow and your absolute favorite, Don Muraco, on WWF programming with your grandfather every week on TV. You grew up to become a hip-hop star — and before you know it, WWF has invited you to be their guest at the sport’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania.

More of former TKO Group Executive Chairman Vince McMahon‘s large stake in the company is changing hands, with Endeavor and TKO agreeing to buy a combined $311.2 million of his stock.

Shaheem Reid When you’re Lil Baby’s lil’ baby boy, there are perks to rolling with your old man, even if the elder Lil Baby isn’t even 30 — like going to WrestleMania XL and sitting with his friends Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Wale and comedian-actor Druski. But more importantly, you get to sit in the front row and be close enough to cheer on the Rock as he literally hit “Rock Bottom.” On Saturday night, WWE put on its Super Bowl: night one of WrestleMania XL at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. “The biggest WrestleMania of all-time,” as it is being hyped, was headlined by the return of wrestler-turned Hollywood megastar the Rock.

Shaheem Reid Philadelphia will be Disneyland for wrestling fans across the world this weekend as WWE’s WrestleMania XL takes place over two nights — Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7 — at the city’s Lincoln Financial Field. Not only will fans be paying attention to the in-ring action, but also the spectacle outside of the squared circle, which will include Lil Wayne and one of the city of proverbial brotherly love’s favorite sons, Meek Mill.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent On Oct. 7, when the Israel-Hamas war broke out, Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir was just one week away from starting principal photography in Bethlehem, 45 miles from Gaza, on “All Before You.”The Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s long-gestating project reconstructs the 1936 farmer-led revolt against British colonial rule and the influx of Jewish settlements in Palestine that has been at the root of the conflict.

El Viaje Films, has moved into production on “La Lucha,” a feature film set against the background of lucha canaria wrestling, a contact sport dating back to ancient times. “La Lucha” marks the latest title from Tenerife-based El Viaje Films, behind 2015 international breakout “Dead Slow Ahead,” “Undergrowth” which took two prizes at this month’s Malaga Festival, the standout 2021 “They Carry Death,” selected for Venice’s Critics Week, as well as serving as the Spanish producer on Chile’s Oscar entry “White on White,” a 2019 Venice Horizons best film and director entry. Just a decade back, “La Lucha’s” shoot would have been notable for its very existence.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Mercedes Moné officially debuted for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on Wednesday night and instantly changed the face of the company’s women’s division. Moné, whose given name is Mercedes Varnado and is also known for her time in WWE as Sasha Banks, hit the ring in her hometown of Boston to a thunderous reception from the fans in attendance. “It was unbelievable,” Moné told Variety.

All Elite Wrestling stars Miro and CJ Perry have decided to call it quits.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Muhammad Ali will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Variety has learned exclusively. Ali will be inducted during the Hall of Fame ceremony taking place on April 5 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He will be inducted by his widow, Lonnie Ali.

. So, when someone said, “John Cena, would you be willing to present the for best costumes naked for a bit?” I can only assume he responded something along the lines of, “Heck yeah!” Because that is what he did.The moment began with host Jimmy Kimmel reminding the audience of an important piece of Oscars history, when a real live streaker interrupted a presenter during the 1974 ceremony. According to the bit, Cena was then supposed to run on stage to recreate the moment.

Tonight, the Peacemaker was a Disrupter, so to speak.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor WWE has sold sponsorship rights to a prime piece of real estate: the center of its ring. On Friday, WWE announced a “record-setting” pact with Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime Hydration beverage brand to become the wrestling entertainment company’s exclusive “official hydration drink partner” and the first partner to ever appear on the center of the WWE ring.

The Campbellsville University community is mourning the loss of a young student athlete.

Colman Domingo is opening up about Euphoria Season 3.

Audrey Jimenez has become the first female to ever win a high school wrestling state title in Arizona, competing against boys. The 18-year-old from Sunnyside High School in Tucson won the Division 1 title in the 106-pound weight class on February 18.A post shared by Sunkist Kids Wrestling (RTC) (@sunkistkidswrestlingclub)The wrestler had to win an appeal with the Arizona Interscholastic Association to compete against boys this wrestling season. Once approved, she made history at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Annika Pham Danish sales outfit DR Sales, attached to the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning doc “A New Kind of Wilderness,” has boarded another high-quality Norwegian documentary – “Phantoms of the Sierra Madre” by the multi-awarded Håvard Bustnes (“Raging Grannies,” “Golden Dawn Girls”). The epic and self-reflective film, made in partnership with the Mescalero Apache Tribe, is due to world premiere in the main DOX:Award competition of Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX festival, running March 13-24. Bustnes, Christian Aune Falch and Torstein Parelius are producing for Norway’s Upnorth Film, in co-production with Finland’s Napa Films.

It’s official. The U.S. government has decreed that there’s only one person who can legally use “The Rock” in commerce, and that’s Dwayne Johnson.

Christopher Vourlias “The Man With the Crooked Arm,” a Western drama series created by Perivi Katjavivi that was presented at the Berlinale Co-Production Market, is the latest attempt by the Namibian filmmaker to wrestle with the legacy of German colonialism in his southern African nation. The eight-episode limited series follows a notorious Black cowboy who sets off on horseback across colonial-era Africa with stolen loot and an orphaned boy.

John Cena knows how to wrestle. And he put that skill to good use when he decided to take a role in Barbie despite his agency saying the role of a mermaid was “beneath” him.

Siddhant Adlakha Aliyar Rasti’s excellent Iranian feature debut, “The Great Yawn of History,” wrestles with faith and disillusionment during a woebegone treasure hunt. Pious, middle-aged Beitollah (Mohammad Aghebati) believes his recurring dreams of finding gold coins at the end of a dark cave.

Annika Pham Fremantle’s Norwegian banner Monster, behind hit TV shows “Exit,” “Furia” and “Pørni, will be bringing to Series Mania Forum’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions ‘The Odesa Wrestlers’, which has received development coin from Norwegian pubcaster NRK. Celebrated Norwegian podcaster Joachim Førsund and star actor Thorbjørn Harr (“Vikings”, “22 July”, “Sex”) are making their debut as co-creators, with Førsund also serving as screenwriter and Harr as episodic director.

Camila Cabello opened up about her new appearance and her forthcoming album in an interview.

Well, John Cena is joining OnlyFans! …Wait, WHAT?!

Coronation Street star Bruce Jones has revealed his latest career move after exiting the ITV soap in 2007. In a surprise move, the soap star has swapped acting for wrestling - at the age of 71. Bruce made his wrestling debut on Saturday, 18 February at the Trinity Sports Centre in Manchester.

Guy Lodge Film Critic After several years working in German TV and locally-oriented film projects, Julia von Heinz had a significant breakthrough with “And Tomorrow the Entire World” — a taut, punchy political thriller with a youthful spirit of anti-fascist revolt, vigorous enough to land a Venice competition slot. Its success evidently raised the status of the director’s long-held passion project, an adaptation of Australian novelist Lily Brett’s semi-autobiographical 2001 title “Too Many Men,” which reckoned thoughtfully with her parents’ experience as Auschwitz survivors, and the hereditary nature of trauma.

Christopher Vourlias A lonely widower wrestling with the loss of his wife finds himself in the thralls of a mental health crisis, setting the stage for a moving tale of grief and acceptance in Mamadou Dia’s “Demba,” which premieres Feb. 17 in the Encounters section at the Berlin Film Festival. “Demba” follows its titular protagonist, an archivist in a provincial Senegalese town being nudged toward an early retirement after nearly 30 years in the civil service.

Guy Lodge Film Critic From “28 Days Later” through to his recent, Oscar-nominated turn in “Oppenheimer,” Cillian Murphy has cultivated a reputation as a strong, silent type — all while resisting the inscrutability associated with that masculine cliché. His beautiful, sharp-boned face twitches and tightens and teems with feeling. Closeups always catch it thinking, wrestling with surges of vulnerability or violence, or watching other characters in turn.

Resident Alien is returning this week!