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
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
Dodgers scheduled to visit White House in late July to celebrate 2025 World Series win
WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
Sports
Caitlin Clark’s return falls flat after Fever coach limits her in loss to shorthanded Sparks
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All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS
Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
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After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
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