Sports
WrestleMania 41 Night 2 will see John Cena trying to make history against Cody Rhodes
The second night of WrestleMania 41 will certainly be one to remember with Cody Rhodes and John Cena headlining the main event that pro wrestling fans will be talking about the entire week, but it is far from the only match on the card on the second night of the biggest spectacle in sports.
The second night will feature at least six matches with five champions defending their titles in either singles or tag-team competitions. There are two multi-person matches and a street fight set for the bright lights in the city of sin.
Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 will take place at Allegiant Stadium at 7 p.m. ET in Las Vegas. It is the second WrestleMania to take place in the Las Vegas area and the first since WrestleMania IX in 1993.
Read how Night 1 turned out here.
U.S. fans will be able to watch on Peacock and international fans on Netflix.
Read below for a preview of the second night.
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Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley for Women’s World Championship
Iyo Sky wins the SmackDown Women’s Championship. (WWE)
Iyo Sky lost the WWE Women’s World Championship at last year’s WrestleMania to Bayley, and it took her nearly a year to get back into the title picture.
After Rhea Ripley cost Sky a chance at being in the women’s Elimination Chamber, she offered Sky a title shot weeks before WrestleMania. Ripley was distracted by the women’s chamber winner Bianca Belair sitting at ringside and lost her focus. Sky capitalized and stunned Ripley to win the championship.
The WWE Universe thought it would be Sky and Belair at WrestleMania, but Ripely found a way into the match and instead it being one-on-one, it became a triple threat. Ripley was disqualified in her rematch against Sky but made herself a force to be reckoned with over the last few weeks to insert herself back into the title picture.
Ripley will look to win her third consecutive WrestleMania match and fourth straight match involving a singles title. Belair has had success in title matches at WrestleMania – winning or retaining the women’s title three times.
Randy Orton open challenge
Randy Orton makes his entrance during WWE Elimination Chamber at Rogers Centre on March 1, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
Randy Orton’s grudge match with Kevin Owens was scrapped after Owens said he needed to step away from the ring due to injury. On the final “SmackDown” before WrestleMania, Orton issued an open challenge for anyone to come to Las Vegas and get in the mix with “The Viper.” It will be interesting to see if anyone answers the call.
AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
Logan Paul during the Men’s Royal Rumble match during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Feb. 1, 2025. (Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images)
The match between Logan Paul and A.J. Styles has been a recent addition to the WrestleMania card. Styles headlined the first premium live event after WrestleMania 40 with a title match against Rhodes at Backlash. However, he has only had a few televised matches since then, apart from an appearance in NOAH over the summer.
Styles reappeared at the Royal Rumble but was ousted, and he defeated “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio on Raw back in February. Paul has been a thorn in Styles’ side since the Royal Rumble.
Paul missed his own chance to get a marquee matchup at WrestleMania, losing out in the Royal Rumble and in the Elimination Chamber. “The Maverick” has been known to create viral WrestleMania moments and is poised to do it one more time.
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Lyra Valkyria & TBD for WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Liv Morgan during the Women’s Royal Rumble during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Feb. 1, 2025. (Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images)
Liv Morgan’s 2024-25 has been eventful to say the least. She was able to hold the Women’s World Championship for months before she lost it to Rhea Ripley at the beginning of January. She and Raquel Rodriguez then entered the tag-team scene and won the titles from Belair and Naomi in February.
Since then, Morgan and Rodriguez have been on top of the world. Morgan even scored a key win over Jade Cargill at the end of March on “Fright Night SmackDown.”
At WrestleMania, the champs will have new challenges in Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. The newly formed tag team won a gauntlet match to become the No. 1 contenders for the title. It came after Bayley fell short of Valkyria for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
Bayley was initially supposed to be with Valkyria for the match but she was taken out. Valkyra now has to pick someone to fight with her.
Bron Breakker (c) vs. Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor for WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bron Breakker hoists Speed on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (IMAGN)
Bron Breakker has been on an absolute tear since he was called up to the main roster this year. He won the Intercontinental Championship from Jey Uso in October and has not lost it since. However, WrestleMania 41 poses a formidable challenge since he does not have to be pinned to lose it.
Penta, Mysterio and Finn Balor will all participate the fatal four-way match.
Penta joined WWE in January and has become one of the most electrifying performers in recent memory. His lucha libre-style of wrestling has delighted the WWE Universe and has helped him become a contender for the title.
Mysterio and Balor are the two leaders of a crumbling Judgment Day faction. Mysterio has drawn a ton of heat since he joined Judgment Day, but his on-screen partner Liv Morgan has helped Mysterio go through some changes since he dumped Ripley at SummerSlam.
Balor was once a WWE world champion and could revive his standing on the roster with Breakker’s title. Balor has tons of experience when it comes to championship matches but has not won a match at WrestleMania since WrestleMania 35 in 2019.
Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest in Sin City Street Fight
Damian Priest won the 2023 men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. (WWE)
The match between Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre appeared to be about a year in the making.
McIntyre won the World Heavyweight Championship in an epic match with Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40 last year. McIntyre celebrated in front of an injured CM Punk, who was on commentary as he was injured. However, his celebration did not last long.
Punk proceeded to beatdown and embarrass McIntyre, leading to Priest cashing in his Money in the Bank contract and winning the title from McIntyre.
Since then, McIntyre has been on a revenge tour. He had three hellacious matches against Punk in the summer. Priest moved from the Raw brand to SmackDown, and since then, the gloves have been off between the two competitors.
Priest slammed McIntyre threw a car windshield, which appeared to legitimately injure McIntyre’s eye. The feud was at a fever pitch, and Nick Aldis announced the two would finish it off in Las Vegas at WrestleMania 41.
On the penultimate SmackDown before WrestleMania, their match was announced as a Sin City Street Fight. McIntyre ripped off his eyepatch and vowed to leave Priest helpless. He nearly did that by giving him a Future Shock DDT on the steel steps.
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship
John Cena, right, in action against Cody Rhodes during WWE Elimination Chamber at Rogers Centre on March 1, 2025 in Toronto. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
Rhodes and Cena have turned a mutual admiration for each other into a bitter feud that started at the Elimination Chamber premium live event when Cena sided with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and beat Rhodes down with some help from rapper Travis Scott of all people.
Since then, the two have traded plenty of barbs with each other over the last few weeks. It ended in London when Cena tried to go for a cheap shot on Rhodes. “The America Nightmare” turned it around on Cena and hit him with the Cross Rhodes.
Rhodes told Fox News Digital that this matchup against Cena feels like it was the “first-time ever” for him.
“So, now, looking at the matchup, that’s why I say it feels like a first-time-ever for me, because early in my career, I hadn’t found my footing. I didn’t know who I was,” he said. “And now, especially judging from these past several interactions in the ring, I feel like we do know who each other are now.
“I couldn’t have put it in my wildest dreams that this would be a WrestleMania headline match and main event, especially under the circumstances it’s come under. But that’s the beautiful thing about pro wrestling; it’s too tough to call.”
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Sports
Charles Barkley scolds sports fans for getting wrapped up in Olympic hockey frenzy
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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounded off on the frenzied reactions to the U.S. men’s hockey team getting invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.
Trump talked to the Olympic gold medal-winning team immediately after they defeated Canada in overtime last weekend. He said they would be invited to his State of the Union address and added that he needed to invite the women’s team as well or he would be “impeached.”
Charles Barkley sits courtside against the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Trump critics took the joke as a shot at the women’s team, which sparked questions from NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League reporters as the players returned to their respective club teams.
“I’m proud of the United States men. I’m proud of the United States women. You should have invited both of them to the White House, but it shouldn’t have been disrespect, misogyny,” Barkley said on the “Steam Room” podcast. “Like, yo, man, why do y’all have to mess everything up? Everything isn’t Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it man. Because, you know, the public, they’re idiots. They’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools.”
Barkley lamented that the average person would get riled up over the supposed controversy.
The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
“We don’t have to fall for stupidity. But we do – that’s my point. These people out here are stupid. They need something to trigger them. Just because they want us to be stupid. We don’t have to be stupid. He should have invited both teams to the White House. Simple as that. Guys who didn’t want to go shouldn’t have to explain why they didn’t go.”
The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star made clear he would go to the White House regardless of whether Trump was in office.
“I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office,” Barkley said. “He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.
Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada on Day 13 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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“I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity.”
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Sports
Prep talk: Birmingham’s Slava Shahbazyan celebrates winning state wrestling title
Three years ago, as a 14-year-old freshman, Slava Shahbazyan made it to Bakersfield for the state wrestling championships.
“It was good to get experience that young,” he said.
Then came Saturday night when he had a breakthrough moment, winning the state 165-pound championship as a 17-year-old senior for Birmingham High.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “It took four years.”
Shahbazyan, who transferred from Chaminade after his sophomore year, is set to attend Stanford and still in the hunt to be valedictorian at Birmingham. Coach Jimmy Medeiros said he was close to winning last season before finishing fourth.
“He got a lot better,” Medeiros said.
Shahbazyan has been wrestling since he was 8. “My father loves wrestling,” he said.
Two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at 144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds, also won state titles.
Here’s the link to complete results.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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