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Tag: opponent

  • Jey Uso chooses Gunther as WrestleMania 41 opponent with world heavyweight championship on the line

    Jey Uso chooses Gunther as WrestleMania 41 opponent with world heavyweight championship on the line

    Jey Uso won the Royal Rumble and made a decision Monday night about which WWE championship he would contend for at WrestleMania 41 in more than two months.

    WWE fans greeted Uso with cheers as they allowed him to move and groove with them for several minutes before Gunther emerged and put a damper on things. 

    “The Ring General” attacked Uso as he was vibing with fans, trying to make a statement.

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    Jey Uso celebrates after winning a men’s Royal Rumble match during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Feb. 1, 2025. (Joe Camporeale/Imagn Images)

    As officials broke up the melee, Uso took the mic and announced who he was going for. 

    “Maybe I shouldn’t say this,” Uso began while trying to get back up from the beatdown. “Me and you at WrestleMania!”

    The crowd roared. Gunther came back down the ramp and tried to get a few more shots in, but Uso met him with a forearm of his own. Gunther was knocked off the apron, and Uso bounced off the ropes and flew over them to hit Gunther on the floor.

    In a separate video, Gunther promised Uso “10 weeks of hell.”

    “What you saw out there — the selfish attempt from Jey Uso to ruin my legacy because I’m forced to step into the ring at WrestleMania,” Gunther said. “He calls himself ‘Main Event.’ In reality, he’s midcard. He’s a clown. He’s there for the amusement of everybody out there. He’s definitely not in my league.”

    Gunther has held the world heavyweight title since August, when he defeated Damian Priest at SummerSlam. His rivalry with Uso goes back a few weeks.

    Gunther in Florida

    Gunther during a WWE media junket at Hilton Carillion Park in St. Petersburg, Fla., Jan. 26, 2024. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)

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    Uso challenged Gunther for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event in January but came up short.

    Uso has never beaten Gunther on live TV in a singles match. Uso was a part of a six-man tag-team match with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods last year when they defeated Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. 

    Since then, Kingston and Woods separated from Big E and Gunther and Kaiser split from Vinci.

    With one title match set, the Elimination Chamber in March will determine who faces Cody Rhodes for the undisputed WWE championship.

    Jey Uso points to the WrestleMania 41 sign.

    Jey Uso points to the WrestleMania 41 sign. (WWE)

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    Elimination Chamber is set for March 1. WrestleMania 41 is scheduled for April 19-20.

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    Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

  • Canadian Christian women’s basketball team punished over disputed abuse allegations by trans opponent

    Canadian Christian women’s basketball team punished over disputed abuse allegations by trans opponent

    As women athletes in the U.S. have been granted protection from transgender opponents by President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, women athletes in Canada are still dealing with a nationwide system that protects trans athletes. 

    The women’s basketball team at Columbia Bible College (CBC) – an evangelical Mennonite Bible College in Abbotsford, British Columbia – is now facing sanctions by its athletic conference, the PACWEST, over disputed allegations of abuse against a transgender opponent earlier this season. 

    CBC women’s basketball head coach Taylor Claggett is currently suspended, and the school has lost its right to host the upcoming PACWEST championships after a recent investigation by the conference into an incident that occurred in a game against Vancouver Island University (VIU) on Oct. 25. 

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    “PACWEST has publicly stated that it has concluded its investigation. CBC is deeply disappointed with PACWEST’s decision. We do not believe that a proper process was followed or that the results were fair. As a result, we are taking steps to have PACWEST’s decision reviewed. We will not be commenting further at this time,” read a statement CBC provided to Fox News Digital.

    During the Oct. 25 game, VIU trans athlete Harriette Mackenzie alleged Clagett “cornered one of our athletic staff and went on a tirade about how I shouldn’t be allowed to play.” Mackenzie made these allegations in an Instagram post on Oct. 30. 

    Mackenzie alleged she was also deliberately fouled to the ground by a CBC player.

    “I got two-hand chucked to the ground by No. 13 without a play on the ball in sight, then head coach Clagett can be seen applauding in support,” the trans athlete said. 

    Clagett posted her own statement on Instagram, claiming that Mackenzie’s statements were inaccurate.

    “My intention has nothing to do with a specific athlete, but instead, the safety of female athletes in their sport,” she wrote.

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    When the two teams were set to play each other again in a pair of games in early January, VIU refused to participate, citing the alleged Oct. 25 incident. VIU even requested PACWEST not to penalize its team for forfeiting, in a statement it provided to Fox News Digital. 

    After news of the forfeit, CBC provided a statement to Fox News Digital denying Mackenzie’s allegations. 

    “This was surprising news to us,” the statement read. “CBC stands for safe play for all. Accusations that CBC, its coaches, players, and fans are a safety threat are simply untrue and misinformed.” 

    A letter written by the CBC players, obtained by Fox News Digital, condemned VIU’s team for “personal attacks,” “defamatory comments” and even “comments that incite violence,” against their coach. 

    “Videos and letters posted by members of the VIU women’s basketball team over the past three months have directly violated multiple rules stated in Article 17.2 of the manual. Various posts have included ‘personal attacks,’ ‘defamatory comments,’ ‘lack of respect towards the PACWEST,’ and led to ‘comments that incite to violence and/or hatred’ directed at our coach,” the letter read.

    “Any and all allegations made by VIU players regarding our team and coach should have been directly communicated to PACWEST officials alone, they should not have been uploaded publicly to social media.”

    The letter even called the VIU players’ statements “misinformation.”

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    “The attack on Coach Claggett’s character, and the character of our team, over the past three months has been based on misinformation and one side of a complicated scenario,” it read. 

    Since June 2017, all places within Canada must comply with the Canadian Human Rights Act, equal opportunity and/or anti-discrimination legislation prohibit discrimination against gender identity or gender identity expression. This law protects the inclusion of all trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports. 

    Trump’s recent executive order in the US states that any publicly-funded institution that allows trans athletes to compete in girls’ or women’s sports will lose its federal funding. 

    Trump has also repeatedly suggested that Canada join the U.S., potentially as the 51st state.

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    Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.