Tag: otis

Opening Bell: Crown Jewel approaches, All-Atlantic 3-way on Dynamite

Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.

WWE Raw preview – Monday, October 31, American Airlines Center, Dallas

Happy Halloween, everyone! As WWE prepares to head overseas for Crown Jewel (and some of its talent is already in Europe for house shows in the meantime), there’s still some business to attend to first. Fans in Dallas should prepare to acknowledge the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, as he will be on hand. While he’s tried to get the Bloodline on the same page in recent weeks, there are still some cracks in the group’s foundation? Can he get them repaired before he faces Logan Paul?

Brock Lesnar is also being advertised for this week’s show. The Beast Incarnate has a big showdown with Bobby Lashley awaiting him in Saudi Arabia, and while the two men have already traded blows, Lesnar may have a a chance to get in the final word before Saturday.

Here’s what else WWE has in store for Halloween night on Raw:

AEW Dynamite preview – Wednesday, November 2, Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore

Dynamite returns to Baltimore this week with not one, not two, but three title matches. Orange Cassidy finally won his first AEW singles gold by claiming the All-Atlantic Championship, but he’ll have to work hard to keep it (which isn’t really his style) in a three-way dance with two very different opponents, Luchasaurus and Rey Fenix.

Chris Jericho has vowed to take out anything to do with ROH, including past champions, so he’ll put the ROH World Championship on the line against a mystery former champ. And Jade Cargill will try to fend off a familiar challenger for her TBS Championship in the form of Marina Shafir.

Plus AEW has promoted more for this week’s Dynamite, including:

WWE SmackDown preview – Friday, November 4, Enterprise Center, St. Louis (recorded on October 28)

Yep, this episode of SmackDown was pre-taped last week because talent and crew members need to be in Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel on Saturday. That means that spoilers for exactly what happens on this show are already out there on the internet.

If you’d rather be surprised by outcomes but still want to know what to expect on SmackDown, keep reading:

[listicle id=15371]

AEW Rampage preview – Friday, November 4, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City

In a bit of role reversal, it’ll be a live episode of Rampage following a pre-taped SmackDown instead of the other way around. The most notable name on the show might not even be one of the wrestlers, as boxing legend Mike Tyson (who has worked with AEW before) is set to join the announce team.

In terms of matches, all we know for sure is that whoever emerges from the three-way dance on Dynamite with the All-Atlantic Championship can pick a dream opponent for Friday night. If that’s Cassidy, it will be a busy week for Freshly Squeezed, which might not be something he’d prefer. We’ll find out Wednesday night.

Opening Bell: WWE prepares for Extreme Rules, Dynamite going to OT

Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.

WWE Raw preview – Monday, Oct. 3, Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN

With Extreme Rules beckoning at the end of the week, WWE is pulling out all the stops to drum up that final interest. To wit, there’s a ton advertised for Monday’s Raw in Minnesota — more than usual, for sure.

It’s almost a requirement to have a contract signing for the last Raw before a premium live event, and Bianca Belair and Bayley will have theirs in St. Paul. The champ has been doing a good job of preventing Bayley from living in her head, but will have to stay strong this week ahead of their Ladder Match.

Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins have a feud that’s even more “on sight” than Belair and Bayley, but they’ll also have their face-to-face confrontation on Raw. Because they can’t keep from throwing down when they’re together, WWE says if either man makes contact with each other on Raw, they’re out of their Extreme Rules Fight Pit match. So it’ll be words, not fists, supposedly. And how will the news that UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier is refereeing that match get worked into the mix?

Also on tap for Raw this week:

AEW Dynamite preview – Wednesday, Oct. 5, Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington D.C.

Perhaps the most exciting thing that’s been revealed about this week’s Dynamite is that it will go an extra 15 minutes. That implies something big, or at the very least a pretty stacked show.

We already know one of the matches will see MJF take on Wheeler Yuta. These two have been going at it since MJF’s return, and though hardly anyone can hang with the self-professed Devil on the mic, Yuta can certainly give him a full night’s work in the ring. Alas, one gets the feeling that The Firm will bail MJF out if he runs into too much trouble.

Another big bout will see Daniel Garcia tag with his idol, Bryan Danielson, to face Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara. Garcia has been wavering for a while on his Jericho Appreciation Society membership, and after the American Dragon invited him to jump to the Blackpool Combat Club, this could be the chance for him to make a clean break. But you know “The Ocho” will have something to say about that before it’s all said and done in this battle of teams featuring two ROH champions.

Here’s what else has already been promoted for Dynamite:

  • Darby Allin takes on Jay Lethal, who’s promised to leave his entourage behind this time around
  • Luchasaurus will be in action
  • The Acclaimed will get everyone to help celebrate National Scissoring Day, because everybody loves The Acclaimed

WWE SmackDown preview – Friday, Oct. 7, DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.

‘Twas the night before Extreme Rules, and it also happens to be the episode that WWE is promoting as the season premiere of SmackDown. So it’s being headlined by a very big match indeed: the rematch between champion Gunther and challenger Sheamus for the Intercontinental Championship. These two tore the house down the first time around, so fans are pumped for round two.

Solo Sikoa will be in action on Friday as well, taking on Ricochet. Sikoa’s friendship with Sami Zayn has been one of the most pleasant surprises on recent WWE programming, so you can bet Sami will likely be on hand to support Solo for this one.

And because it’s never too early to start promoting the next big premium live event (and because the Tribal Chief isn’t working Extreme Rules), Roman Reigns and Logan Paul will go face to face. Crown Jewel is only a few weeks away, after all.

AEW Rampage preview – Friday, Oct. 7, Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington D.C.

It’s two shows in three nights for AEW this week in the nation’s capital, with both of them live. Rampage has a special bonus feature this week too: Battle of the Belts IV will take place live immediately after it at 11:00 p.m. ET. That special is expected to have multiple title matches, with the one announced featuring Pac defending his All-Atlantic Championship against Trent Beretta.

As for Rampage proper, we know the Dark Order’s 10 will face off against Andrade El Idolo with some surprisingly big stakes. If 10 loses, he forfeits his mask, but if he wins, Andrade has to leave AEW. Expect Dynamite to add some more spice to this card as well.

Sigh of relief as beloved brown bear Otis is alive and well

A Tuesday night sighting of Bear 480 Otis, one of the oldest (and fattest) brown bears residing in Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve, was a moment worthy of celebration.

A Tuesday night sighting of Bear 480 Otis, one of the oldest and most popular brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve, was a moment worthy of celebration.

“Otis is indeed in the house,” the park announced Wednesday on Facebook. “480 Otis is one of our oldest and probably most beloved bear. He has been missing in action. Last year he arrived at the Brooks River on June 23rd. The latest he has ever arrived is July 17th. We were concerned.”

The male brown bear, first identified in 2001 as a subadult or young adult, is believed to be 25 or 26 years old.

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Bear 480 Otis is a fixture at Brooks Falls and an occasional star on the park’s live bear cam. He was the inspiration for the 2008 Katmai National Park booster pin. Footage of Otis appears in the 2014 Disneynature Movie, “Bears.”

Otis is a past winner of the park’s annual Fat Bear Week competition, which celebrates “all the hard work that these bears do to survive and thrive and get through six months of starvation,” Naomi Boak, a park media ranger, told the Washington Post.

But as Bear 480 Otis ages, park employees and the bruin’s many fans become worried when he does not arrive at the river in the same timely manner as younger bears.

On Wednesday a bear-cam viewer who had not heard the good news commented, “Otis is a master fisher bear! The younger bears should watch and learn. Come back soon Otis, miss you already.”

The park concluded its Facebook announcement by stating, “Brown bears lead challenging lives and 26 is quite an achievement, especially for a male bear. So celebrate the return of Bear 480 Otis with us!”

–Image courtesy of NPS Photo/N. Boak

WrestleMania 36: Otis got a kiss from Mandy Rose and WWE fans were so happy

The feel-good moment of WrestleMania 36.

One of the most enjoyable storylines heading into WrestleMania 36 was the feud between lovable big man Otis and Dolph Ziggler, who conspired with Sonya Deville to spoil Otis’ Valentine’s Day plans with Mandy Rose. It sounds ridiculous, because it was, but it led to the feel-good moment of WrestleMania on Sunday night.

Near the end of the match, Deville distracted the referee from outside, allowing Ziggler to land a devastating low blow on Otis and take control of the match. Mandy Rose showed up at the perfect time, though, and retaliated with a slap to Deville.

Rose then hit a low blow on Ziggler, allowing Otis to finish him off with his signature caterpillar elbow drop.

Rose celebrated in the ring with Otis, and gave him a long-awaited kiss. It was a moment that would have caused a stadium full of people to explode with joy, but we’ll have to settle for reactions on Twitter.