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WWE star Bayley opens up about long-awaited match against AJ Lee: ‘Universe works in mysterious ways’

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WWE star Bayley opens up about long-awaited match against AJ Lee: ‘Universe works in mysterious ways’

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WWE star Bayley earned the opportunity to challenge AJ Lee for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship earlier this week when she won a gauntlet match on “Monday Night Raw.”

The match, which will take place on Monday, is nearly 13 years in the making. The last time the two professional wrestlers competed against each other was on Aug. 21, 2013, for the Divas Championship. Lee, a veteran at that point, got the better of Bayley, who was still a newcomer.

Bayley celebrates her win with Lyra Valkyria after the Woman’s Gauntlet Match during Monday Night RAW at Climate Pledge Arena on March 9, 2026, in Seattle, Washington.  (Meg Oliphant/WWE via Getty Images)

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A lot has changed since then. Lee departed the company in 2015 while Bayley went on to become a four-time women’s champion and two-time women’s tag team champion. Bayley helped shape the WWE women’s division into what it is today. The Women’s Intercontinental Championship wasn’t even a glimmer in anyone’s eye five years ago, let alone 13 years ago.

Lee returned to WWE in September, potentially putting the two wrestling greats on a collision course with each other at some point. With Lee winning the title against Becky Lynch, Bayley was able to solidify her path toward a chance at championship gold.

“Man, it’s so weird. So weird to think, it’s just like the universe works in mysterious ways,” Bayley told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I remember 13 years ago, getting that text that I would be wrestling AJ Lee for the divas title and I had just started my character stuff on NXT. I remember that seeming like, ‘What do you mean? What am I? Why? What? This can’t be possible.’ And that’s sort of what I feel like now, just because nobody thought that AJ was going to come back, let alone there be an intercontinental women’s championship, let alone she’d be the champion or ever.”

“It just seems like one of those things where she would just come back as a one time, dream match type thing,” she continued. “And even when she did come back, and I’ve told this to her, I was just happy to have her around. We’ve kept in touch these last 10 years and been actual friends outside of the business and just to think that now I get to be in the ring with her, I wasn’t like, ‘I need to have a match with you,’ because I got my match. I just wanted to have my friend around and the fact that we got to do this now, it just seems right. Now, I’m like, ‘Of course we’re supposed to have this match together.’

Bayley with an elbow drop to Ivy Nile in the Womans Gauntlet Match during Monday Night RAW at Climate Pledge Arena on March 9, 2026, in Seattle, Washington. (Meg Oliphant/WWE via Getty Images)

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“I would love, love, love to win this championship because I have to finish my grand slam role. I gotta get this one. I gotta get to the United States one, and I gotta get to WrestleMania. So, I have a lot of feelings going into this, and I kinda have to put aside the nostalgia feeling of it.”

Lee’s return was a shock to the WWE Universe when she teamed up with her real-life husband, CM Punk, to take on Lynch and Seth Rollins. Still, for many WWE fans, Lee’s return still seems unreal.

She returned on an episode of “Friday Night SmackDown,” which took place in Chicago at the time. Bayley told Fox News Digital she was in the city filming something and heard the rumors that Lee may have been returning.

Even as best of friends, Bayley said Lee never tipped her hand.

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“She did not say anything to me,” she said. “I had heard rumors. I’m a big believer and I hold a lot of hope for a lot of things that I truly feel and I just so happened to be in Chicago to film something that day for SmackDown and I was like, I’m just going to stick around. I don’t need to go back to my hotel. I’m just going to stick around and yeah, I was right. And I’m so happy that I followed my heart, but she was very quiet about it.”

AJ Lee returns to SmackDown at Allstate Arena on September 5, 2025, in Rosemont, Illinois. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)

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Soon, the two will meet in a dream match of sorts.

Bayley and Lee will face off with the Women’s Intercontinental Championship on the line Monday night on RAW. It can be seen on Netflix, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

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Orioles’ Craig Albernaz says he must eat baby food for weeks after foul ball to face leads to 7 fractures

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Orioles’ Craig Albernaz says he must eat baby food for weeks after foul ball to face leads to 7 fractures

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Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz has seven fractures in his orbital area as well as a broken jaw after taking a foul ball to the face, but he remains in the dugout with his squad.

However, Albernaz has one big change to his daily routine over the next month or so. He needs to eat baby food.

The injury occurred on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as the foul ball came whipping toward the Orioles’ dugout and hit Albernaz square on the right side of his face. But he was back at Camden Yards on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after suffering his multiple facial injuries.

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Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz looks on before an MLB game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago, Ill., on April 8, 2026. (Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire)

Reports from Baltimore state that he has a visible bruise on the right side of his face, and that he will need to consume baby food for the next six weeks as his face heals.

“This is what we’re here for,” Albernaz said to reporters, per the Baltimore Banner. “We’re here for the players. We have a game. I’m physically able to be here, so let’s go.… If my jaw was wired shut, I’d still be here.”

ORIOLES MANAGER CRAIG ALBERNAZ TAKES LINE DRIVE TO FACE IN TERRIFYING SCENE

Albernaz said he felt “pretty good” considering the circumstances from Monday night’s foul ball off the bat of one of his own, Jeremiah Jackson.

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“Ball hit me pretty flush in the cheek, but I feel good,” he added. “Luckily, no surgery. I think all in all, it was at least seven fractures in my cheek area, orbital, and then a broken jaw. But luckily, it doesn’t have to be wired. No surgery. I just have to eat baby food for six weeks.”

Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz stands on the field before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., on Apr. 10, 2026. (Mitch Stringer/Imagn Images)

Albernaz, like many managers, was standing at the top of the dugout steps when Jackson was late to a pitch that shot immediately toward his teammates and coaches. It’s an unfortunate situation for Albernaz, but the first-time MLB manager is clearly showing his grit and resilience for his squad.

They also showed it for him on Monday night, as they were trailing at that point in the game. However, the Orioles rallied to win the game 9-7.

A lot of that had to do with Jackson, who bashed two home runs, including a grand slam in the victory.

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“I hit, and then I kind of saw Alby holding his face,” Jackson told reporters. “My heart kind of dropped. I was able to see him afterward and see he was doing OK.… Knowing he was OK helped. It made me feel a little bit better. I’m just happy he’s doing OK and in good spirits.”

Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz talks to media in the dugout before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago on April 8, 2026. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

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The Orioles’ win keeps them tied with the New York Yankees atop the AL East standings at 9-7.

Albernaz will continue to lead the way in the dugout moving forward, even if his diet does have to change.

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NFL reporter Dianna Russini resigns after photos published of her and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel

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NFL reporter Dianna Russini resigns after photos published of her and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel

NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic days after the New York Post’s Page Six published photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel interacting at an Arizona resort.

The photos appear to show Russini and Vrabel holding hands, hugging and sitting a hot tub and a swimming pool. In the April 7 article that accompanied the photos in the Post’s Page Six, Russini and Vrabel — both of whom are married to other people — gave statements denying anything inappropriate was happening between them.

The article also included a statement from Steven Ginsberg, executive editor of The Athletic, who expressed full support of Russini and said the photos “are misleading and lack essential context.” The New York Times, which owns The Athletic, reported days later that the digital sports outlet would conduct an investigation into the matter.

Russini submitted her letter of resignation to Ginsberg on Tuesday, then posted it on X. In it, Russini states she has “no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”

“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published,” Russini wrote. “When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.

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“Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks. … Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”

The New York Times confirmed Russini’s resignation but declined to comment further for this article.

Page Six wrote Tuesday that it received a statement from Ginsberg following Russini’s resignation.

“When this situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns,” Ginsberg wrote, according to Page Six, “but we received a detailed explanation and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter.”

But as “additional information emerged,” Ginsberg wrote, according to Page Six, “new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.” Ginsberg’s statement did not elaborate on the “new questions.”

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The investigation is ongoing, according to Page Six.

Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where her roles included “SportsCenter” anchor and NFL analyst and insider. Vrabel was a three-time Super Bowl champion as a Patriots linebacker and was head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018-2023 before returning to New England as head coach last season.

In Page Six’s initial article last week, Russini said the photos of her and Vrabel “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.” Vrabel said in the same article: “Those photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Orioles manager Craig Albernaz takes line drive to face in terrifying scene

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Orioles manager Craig Albernaz takes line drive to face in terrifying scene

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Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was involved in a terrifying moment during the team’s victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

Albernaz was struck by a line drive off the bat of Orioles second baseman Jeremiah Jackson in the fifth inning. The ball hit the manager’s left cheek and he left to be looked at by the team’s medical staff.

Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz talks to media in the dugout before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago on April 8, 2026. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

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Albernaz briefly returned to the game after Jackson hit a grand slam to help the Orioles to the 9-7 win.

“He’s doing good. Just as a precaution, he’s going to get it scanned,” Orioles bench coach Donnie Ecker said.

Jackson said he had a sunken feeling when he saw Albernaz in pain after the errant liner.

“I hit and then I kind of saw Alby holding his face. My heart kind of dropped,” Jackson said. “I was able to see him afterward and see he was doing OK.”

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Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz stands on the field before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., on Apr. 10, 2026. (Mitch Stringer/Imagn Images)

“Knowing he was OK helped. It made me feel a little bit better,” Jackson added. “I’m just happy he’s doing OK and in good spirits.”

Albernaz and Jackson embraced after the infielder hit the big home run in the sixth inning.

“That was awesome,” Jackson said of the impromptu embrace from his manager. “You never want to hurt anybody, and Alby’s awesome. It sucked. But he wore it well and he’s in good spirits so it made me feel better.”

Albernaz is in his first year as Baltimore’s manager. He served as a bench coach and assistant manager for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024 and 2025.

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Baltimore Orioles’ Jeremiah Jackson rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Baltimore on April 13, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

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Baltimore improved to 9-7 with the win and are tied with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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