- Alpha Academy and Viking Raiders maul each other: Raw highlights, July 17, 2023 WWE
- NXT Level Up results (7/14): O’Connor’s review of Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen vs. Luca Crusifino and Kale Dixon, Lola Vice vs. Valentina Feroz, and Axiom vs. Tavion Heights ProWrestling.net
- Gunther calls out Drew McIntyre: Raw highlights, July 17, 2023 WWE
- Rollins’ interview with Saxton is disrupted by Bálor: Raw highlights, July 17, 2023 WWE
- Ciampa attacks Reed during Reed’s match with Nakamura: Raw highlights, July 17, 2023 WWE
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Viking
WWE SmackDown Live Coverage (02/17) – Intercontinental Title Match, Drew McIntyre & Sheamus Vs. Viking Raiders, Ronda Rousey Returns To Action – Wrestling Inc.
- WWE SmackDown Live Coverage (02/17) – Intercontinental Title Match, Drew McIntyre & Sheamus Vs. Viking Raiders, Ronda Rousey Returns To Action Wrestling Inc.
- WWE SmackDown results, live blog: Elimination Chamber go home Cageside Seats
- Join 411’s Live WWE Smackdown Coverage 411mania.com
- The John Report: WWE Smackdown 02/17/23 Review – TJR Wrestling TJR Wrestling
- 2/17 WWE SMACKDOWN TV RESULTS: McDonald’s “alt perspective” report on Zayn in Montreal, Gunther vs. Moss IC title, McIntyre/Sheamus vs. Viking Raiders PWTorch
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Drew McIntyre & Sheamus pick a fight with The Viking Raiders: SmackDown, Feb. 3, 2023 – WWE
- Drew McIntyre & Sheamus pick a fight with The Viking Raiders: SmackDown, Feb. 3, 2023 WWE
- Braun Strowman & Ricochet win SmackDown Tag Team Championship Contender’s Tournament Cageside Seats
- An angry Tribal Chief, outside interference – 5 ways The Usos could lose the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Sportskeeda
- The Brawling Brutes vs. The Viking Raiders: SmackDown, Feb. 3, 2023 WWE
- WWE SmackDown Results Feb 3rd: Brilliant Braun Strowman and Ricochet defeat Imperium to win the SmackDown Tag Team Tournament: CHECK OUT InsideSport
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Viking 1 may have landed at site of ancient Martian megatsunami
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
CNN
—
When NASA’s Viking 1 lander made history as the first spacecraft to touch down on Mars on July 20, 1976, it sent back images of a landscape no one was expecting.
Those first images taken from the ground there showed a surprisingly boulder-strewn surface in the red planet’s northern equatorial region, rather than the smooth plains and flood channels expected based on images of the area taken from space.
The mystery of the Viking landing site has long puzzled scientists, who believe an ocean once existed there.
Now, new research suggests that the lander touched down where a Martian megatsunami deposited materials 3.4 billion years ago, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
The catastrophic event likely occurred when an asteroid slammed into the shallow Martian ocean — similar to the Chicxulub asteroid impact that wiped out dinosaurs on Earth 66 million years ago, according to researchers.
Five years before the Viking I landing, NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft had orbited Mars, spotting the first landscapes on another planet that suggested evidence of ancient flood channels there.
The interest in the potential for life on the red planet prompted scientists to select its northern equatorial region, Chryse Planitia, as the first Martian landing site for Viking I.
“The lander was designed to seek evidence of extant life on the Martian surface, so to select a suitable landing site, the engineers and scientists at the time faced the arduous task of using some of the planet’s earliest acquired images, accompanied by Earth-based radar probing of the planet’s surface,” said lead study author Alexis Rodriguez, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, via email.
“The landing site selection needed to fulfill a critical requirement — the presence of extensive evidence of former surface water. On Earth, life always requires the presence of water to exist.”
At first, scientists thought the rocky surface might be a thick layer of debris left behind due to space rocks crashing into Mars and creating craters, or broken pieces of lava.
But there weren’t enough craters nearby, and lava fragments proved rare on the ground at the site.
“Our investigation provides a new solution — that a megatsunami washed ashore, emplacing sediments on which, about 3.4 billion years later, the Viking 1 lander touched down,” Rodriguez said.
The researchers believe the tsunami occurred when an asteroid or comet hit the planet’s northern ocean. But finding a resulting impact crater has been difficult.
Rodriguez and his team studied maps of the Martian surface created from different missions and analyzed a newly identified crater that seemed to be the likely point of impact.
The crater is 68 miles (nearly 110 kilometers) across in part of the northern lowlands — an area once likely covered in ocean. Researchers simulated collisions in this region using modeling to determine what impact was necessary to create what’s known as the Pohl crater.
It was possible in two different scenarios, one caused by a 5.6-mile (9-kilometer) asteroid meeting strong ground resistance and releasing 13 million megatons of TNT energy, or a 1.8-mile (2.9-kilometer) asteroid plowing into softer ground and releasing 0.5 million megatons of TNT energy.
For perspective, the most powerful nuclear bomb ever tested, Tsar Bomba, created 57 megatons of TNT energy.
During simulations, both impacts created a crater with Pohl’s dimensions — as well as a megatsunami that reached 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the impact site.
The 1.8-mile asteroid generated a tsunami that measured 820 feet (250 meters) tall once it reached land.
The results were similar to those of the Chicxulub impact on Earth, which created a crater that was initially 62 miles (100 kilometers) across and triggered a towering tsunami that traveled around the world.
The impact likely sent water vapor up into the atmosphere, which would have affected the Martian climate and potentially created snow or rain in the fallout. Vast amounts of water from the shallow ocean, as well as sediments, would have been displaced, Rodriguez said, although most of the water returned to the ocean soon after the megatsunami reached its peak.
“The seismic shaking associated with the impact would have been so intense that it could have dislodged sea floor materials into the megatsunami,” said study coauthor Darrel Robertson at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, in a statement.
It’s also possible that the megatsunami reached the location of the 1997 landing site for the Pathfinder, south of where Viking 1 landed, and even contributed to the formation of an inland sea.
If so, then the two landers touched down at the site of ancient marine environments.
“The ocean is thought to have been groundwater-fed from aquifers that likely formed much earlier in Martian history — over 3.7 billion years ago — when the planet was ‘Earth-like’ with rivers, lakes, seas, and a primordial ocean,” Rodriguez said.
Next, the team wants to investigate Pohl crater as a potential landing site for a future rover, since the location might contain evidence of ancient life.
“Right after its formation, the crater would have generated submarine hydrothermal systems lasting tens of thousands of years, providing energy and nutrient-rich environments,” Rodriguez said, referring to the heat generated by the asteroid impact.
Viking 1 may have landed at site of ancient Martian megatsunami
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
CNN
—
When NASA’s Viking 1 lander made history as the first spacecraft to touch down on Mars on July 20, 1976, it sent back images of a landscape no one was expecting.
Those first images taken from the ground there showed a surprisingly boulder-strewn surface in the red planet’s northern equatorial region, rather than the smooth plains and flood channels expected based on images of the area taken from space.
The mystery of the Viking landing site has long puzzled scientists, who believe an ocean once existed there.
Now, new research suggests that the lander touched down where a Martian megatsunami deposited materials 3.4 billion years ago, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
The catastrophic event likely occurred when an asteroid slammed into the shallow Martian ocean — similar to the Chicxulub asteroid impact that wiped out dinosaurs on Earth 66 million years ago, according to researchers.
Five years before the Viking I landing, NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft had orbited Mars, spotting the first landscapes on another planet that suggested evidence of ancient flood channels there.
The interest in the potential for life on the red planet prompted scientists to select its northern equatorial region, Chryse Planitia, as the first Martian landing site for Viking I.
“The lander was designed to seek evidence of extant life on the Martian surface, so to select a suitable landing site, the engineers and scientists at the time faced the arduous task of using some of the planet’s earliest acquired images, accompanied by Earth-based radar probing of the planet’s surface,” said lead study author Alexis Rodriguez, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, via email.
“The landing site selection needed to fulfill a critical requirement — the presence of extensive evidence of former surface water. On Earth, life always requires the presence of water to exist.”
At first, scientists thought the rocky surface might be a thick layer of debris left behind due to space rocks crashing into Mars and creating craters, or broken pieces of lava.
But there weren’t enough craters nearby, and lava fragments proved rare on the ground at the site.
“Our investigation provides a new solution — that a megatsunami washed ashore, emplacing sediments on which, about 3.4 billion years later, the Viking 1 lander touched down,” Rodriguez said.
The researchers believe the tsunami occurred when an asteroid or comet hit the planet’s northern ocean. But finding a resulting impact crater has been difficult.
Rodriguez and his team studied maps of the Martian surface created from different missions and analyzed a newly identified crater that seemed to be the likely point of impact.
The crater is 68 miles (nearly 110 kilometers) across in part of the northern lowlands — an area once likely covered in ocean. Researchers simulated collisions in this region using modeling to determine what impact was necessary to create what’s known as the Pohl crater.
It was possible in two different scenarios, one caused by a 5.6-mile (9-kilometer) asteroid meeting strong ground resistance and releasing 13 million megatons of TNT energy, or a 1.8-mile (2.9-kilometer) asteroid plowing into softer ground and releasing 0.5 million megatons of TNT energy.
For perspective, the most powerful nuclear bomb ever tested, Tsar Bomba, created 57 megatons of TNT energy.
During simulations, both impacts created a crater with Pohl’s dimensions — as well as a megatsunami that reached 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the impact site.
The 1.8-mile asteroid generated a tsunami that measured 820 feet (250 meters) tall once it reached land.
The results were similar to those of the Chicxulub impact on Earth, which created a crater that was initially 62 miles (100 kilometers) across and triggered a towering tsunami that traveled around the world.
The impact likely sent water vapor up into the atmosphere, which would have affected the Martian climate and potentially created snow or rain in the fallout. Vast amounts of water from the shallow ocean, as well as sediments, would have been displaced, Rodriguez said, although most of the water returned to the ocean soon after the megatsunami reached its peak.
“The seismic shaking associated with the impact would have been so intense that it could have dislodged sea floor materials into the megatsunami,” said study coauthor Darrel Robertson at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, in a statement.
It’s also possible that the megatsunami reached the location of the 1997 landing site for the Pathfinder, south of where Viking 1 landed, and even contributed to the formation of an inland sea.
If so, then the two landers touched down at the site of ancient marine environments.
“The ocean is thought to have been groundwater-fed from aquifers that likely formed much earlier in Martian history — over 3.7 billion years ago — when the planet was ‘Earth-like’ with rivers, lakes, seas, and a primordial ocean,” Rodriguez said.
Next, the team wants to investigate Pohl crater as a potential landing site for a future rover, since the location might contain evidence of ancient life.
“Right after its formation, the crater would have generated submarine hydrothermal systems lasting tens of thousands of years, providing energy and nutrient-rich environments,” Rodriguez said, referring to the heat generated by the asteroid impact.
6/24 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell’s review of Gunther vs. Ricochet for the Intercontinental Title, Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Shotzi vs. Tamina in Money in the Bank ladder match qualifiers, The Viking Raiders return
By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown (Episode 1,192)
Live from Austin, Texas at Moody Center
Aired June 24, 2022 on Fox
[Hour One] Smackdown opened with a recap of Roman Reigns beating Riddle to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in last week’s main event followed by the return of Brock Lesnar…
Michael Cole and Pat McAfee checked in on commentary and hyped Reigns vs. Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship as the SummerSlam main event. Samantha Irvin was the ring announcer…
Drew McIntyre made his entrance and welcomed viewers to the show. He said that no matter how many wins he gets, Reigns keeps ducking him. He said he would have to take matters into his own hands by winning Money in the Bank.
McIntyre acknowledged Brock Lesnar getting a title shot at SummerSlam. McIntyre said that’s okay and Lesnar does things his way, whereas he does things the hard way. McIntyre was interrupted by entrance music.
Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch made their entrance. Sheamus spoke as they walked to the ring and said SummerSlam would be the perfect time to cash in the MITB contract once Reigns and Lesnar are finished beating the hell out of each other. Sheamus and his crew entered the ring. Sheamus said McIntyre’s experience with MITB is having someone win it and cash in on him.
Paul Heyman interrupted with a “ladies and gentlemen” line from backstage. Heyman and birthday boy Adam Pearce walked onto the stage together. Heyman said Reigns would retain his championship at SummerSlam, but he said they have a problem.
Heyman said Reigns would be left vulnerable to a cash-in by someone such as McIntyre or Sheamus. He said it’s not a knock on Reigns. He said Lesnar would also be vulnerable, and then he quickly said he wasn’t saying Lesnar would win. Heyman said he was there to make sure that didn’t happen.
Pearce recalled his previous ruling that McIntyre and Sheamus would both be in the MITB ladder match despite competing to a double disqualification in a qualifying match. Pearce said that after some influence by Heyman, WWE management chose to overrule his decision. Pearce said McIntyre and Sheamus would not be part of the MITB ladder match.
Pearce said there was a path forward for both of them to qualify. He said they would need to put their issues aside and defeat the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Jimmy and Jey Uso later in the night. The Usos made their entrance and joined Heyman on the stage. Cole hyped an MITB qualifier for after the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Stephanie McMahon made her first good decision as the interim CEO! Okay, not really, but it was a ridiculous storyline decision that McIntyre and Sheamus both qualified for the MITB match despite fighting to a double DQ. I’m fine with this new approach and the segment was fine aside from McIntyre claiming that Reigns is ducking him when it’s already been announced that McIntyre has a title match at the Cardiff Stadium show over Labor Day weekend.
Cole announced that the Usos would not be defending the tag titles nor attempting to qualify for the MITB ladder match when they face McIntyre and Sheamus…
Shinsuke Nakamura was already in the ring. Backstage, Kayla Braxton interviewed Sami Zayn, who said it would be a great night for The Bloodline. Zayn said “we” will always do what’s right for Reigns. Zayn dedicated his match to Reigns. He said he would win the MITB match. Braxton asked if he would cash in on Reigns or Lesnar. Zayn said he was doing this to protect Reigns. Zayn’s music played and he made his entrance…
1. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Money in the Bank ladder match qualifier. Cole expressed skepticism regarding Zayn’s claim that he wouldn’t attempt to cash in the MITB contract if he wins it. Zayn performed an exploder suplex that sent Nakamura crashing into the ringside barricade. Zayn hoped to win via count-out, but Nakamura beat the referee’s count. A short time later, Zayn caught Nakamura seated on the top rope and dumped him to ringside. [C]
Zayn put Nakamura down with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Zayn went up top and was cut off by Nakamura, who eventually crotched him. Nakamura went for a Kinshasa that Zayn avoided. Zayn rolled up Nakamura, but the referee Jason Ayers, who was mentioned by name by Cole and McAfee, caught him using the ropes for leverage.
A short time later, Nakamura went for his finisher, but Zayn rolled to ringside. Nakamura followed and blasted him with a flying knee to the head. Nakamura threw Zayn back in the ring. When Nakamura followed, Zayn blasted him with a Helluva Kick in the corner and pinned him…
Sami Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in 9:55 to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match.
Powell’s POV: A good match and the usual opportunistic fun from Zayn. He wouldn’t be the sexy pick to win the MITB contract, but there’s definitely a lot of fun to be had with him and The Bloodline if they choose to go in that direction.
Cole and McAfee listed Seth Rollins, Omos, and Sami Zayn as the three entrants. A graphic showed four open slots. Cole reminded viewers that McIntyre and Sheamus could fill two spots if they beat the Usos later in the show…
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods made their entrance. Cole said they would face Jinder Mahal and Shanky in a rematch from last week… [C]
Mahal and Shanky made their entrance. Before the match would start, Kingston and Woods took the mic and said no one wants to see a rematch and they don’t engage in rematch after rematch after rematch.
Kingston and Woods played to the crowd and asked if they wanted to see Shanky dance. Mahal objected, but Woods played his trombone and Shanky did his dance until Mahal stopped him. Shanky shoved Mahal, who left the ring. Kingston had the New Day music play and then he and Woods danced with Shanky.
A Gjallarhorn sound played. The Viking Raiders entered the ring from the broadcast table side and attacked Kingston and Woods. Erik and Ivar had new black face paint. They performed a double powerslam on Kingston, and then Ivar power slammed Woods from the middle rope…
Powell’s POV: Finally, something fresh for the Viking Raiders. Sure, they are still cosplayers, but at least they are heel cosplayers. By the way, I guess we’re supposed to forget New Day’s series of matches with The Brawling Brutes (and all of the other teams) they had rematch after rematch with. If nothing else, I’m looking forward to the inevitable endless series of matches that New Day will now have with The Viking Raiders.
Backstage, Sonya Deville approached Adam Pearce and said people were saying he’s in over his head and out of touch with reality when it comes to the way he’s handled the women’s division. She complained about not having a match on Smackdown in weeks. She pointed to Raquel Rodriguez and Lacey Evans getting MITB qualifiers. She told him not to take it out on her because his in-ring career was a failure. Pearce told her she would be in a handicap match after the break…
Powell’s POV: Failure? That man is a former Steel Domain Wrestling Northern States Television Champion! Oh, and he won the NWA Championship five times.
Lacey Evans and Raquel Rodriguez were in the ring coming out of the break. Sonya Deville made her entrance and was accompanied by Xia Li and Shayna Baszler…
2. Sonya Deville (Xia Li, Shayna Baszler) vs. Lacey Evans and Raquel Rodriguez in a handicap match. Evans and Rodriguez did not have televised entrances. Rodriguez set up for her finisher at one point, but Baszler stood on the apron and distracted her. Evans made a blind tag a short time later and then hit the Woman’s Right on Deville and pinned her.
Lacey Evans and Raquel Rodriguez beat Sonya Deville in a handicap match in 3:05.
Li and Baszler ran in afterward, but Evans and Rodriguez cleared the heels from the ring…
Powell’s POV: Are they trying to establish a friendship between Evans and Rodriguez to eventually set up one of them turning on the other?
“The Street Profits” Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins were shown backstage. They came across Los Lotharios kissing a woman on her cheeks. They also found Drew Gulak working out on a pair of ladders. They ran into Madcap Moss. Dawkins told Moss a terrible joke that Moss and Ford no-sold…
Ronda Rousey’s entrance music played. Natalya ran out dressed like Rousey and pushing a baby stroller… [C]
[Hour Two] Natalya stood in the ring and said her name is Ronda Rousey and fans probably know her as the Baddest Woman on the Planet. She said that’s because she doesn’t shut up about it and just like her mommy she never taps. She said she had footage that showed her almost tapping out. Footage aired of Natalya putting the actual Rousey in a Sharpshooter.
Natalya knelt down and tapped out while still playing Rousey. She said the best thing to do is retire, push her stroller, and leave while she can. “As a competitor, I’m probably the saddest woman on the planet,” Natalya said.
Smackdown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey made her entrance and said she almost didn’t recognize Natalya “without your rack out.” Rousey said she and Natalya couldn’t be more different. She said she wouldn’t pass up having kids to not miss a day wrestling in ten years
Rousey said she also wouldn’t mutilate her body while chasing impossible beauty standards like Natalya does. Wow. Rousey said she wouldn’t just hand over her title because Natalya thinks she’s earned it. Rousey climbed onto the apron and said Natalya thinks she deserves the title.
Rousey entered the ring and told Natalya is so lacking in natural talent and absent of charisma that the closest she’ll get to being a main eventer in WWE is dressing up like her. “Nice jacket,” Rousey said. She ripped Natalya’s leather jacket off. Natalya picked up the stroller and hit Rousey with it. Natalya left the ring while Rousey stood tall…
Powell’s POV: Natalya needled Rousey, who really went for the jugular with her rebuttal. If the goal was to make this feel personal in a one-sided manner, then mission accomplished. I hope Natalya gets to hit back hard next week.
Backstage, Megan Morant interviewed Drew McIntyre and Sheamus. They bickered. McIntyre told Sheamus he could take the night off and he would face The Usos in a handicap match. Sheamus wasn’t having it and told McIntyre to bring his A game. Butch entered the picture and was held back by Ridge Holland…
Ludwig Kaiser introduced Gunther for the Intercontinental Title match… [C] Cole plugged Undertaker’s one-man show for Nashville during SummerSlam weekend… Ricochet made his entrance…
3. Gunther (w/Ludwig Kaiser) vs. Ricochet for the Intercontinental Championship. Ricochet started the match with a dropkick. Gunther came back and applied a half crab. Kaiser taunted Ricochet from the floor and then Gunther countered into another hold before Ricochet reached the ropes. Ricochet got some offense until Gunther cut him off with a dropkick. Gunther powerbombed and pinned Ricochet…
Gunther defeated Ricochet in 3:10 to retain the Intercontinental Championship.
Powell’s POV: A dominant win for the new IC Champion, just as it should have been.
Backstage, Paul Heyman was interviewed by Kayla Braxton, who said he could be doing Brock Lesnar a big favor by potentially removing Drew McIntyre and Sheamus from the MITB ladder match. Sami Zayn showed up and said Heyman didn’t have to answer her questions. He took issue with Braxton saying he would cash in on Reigns. Zayn said he would never cash in on Reigns. Heyman put his arm around Zayn. However, Heyman removed his arm after Zayn said he would cash in on Lesnar. Heyman stared at Zayn, who wasn’t sure what to do so he just walked away…
Tamina stood in the ring for her MITB qualifying match with Shotzi, which Cole said was coming up next… [C]
Powell’s POV: I think they idea was that Heyman took offense at Zayn implying that Lesnar could actually win the match. I could be reading it wrong, but I don’t think they’re going back to playing up the question of where Heyman’s allegiances lie.
Shotzi made her entrance. McAfee acknowledged that it was scheduled to be Shotzi vs. Aliyah, but he said Aliyah got hurt and was replaced by Tamina…
4. Shotzi vs. Tamina in a Money in the Bank ladder match qualifier. Tamina performed an early power slam for a two count. Shotzi came back until Tamina cut her off with a kick as she was leaping from the ropes. Tamina had the pin, but Shotzi put her foot under the ropes. Shotzi came back and hit her Never Wake Up DDT and scored the pin…
Shotzi defeated Tamina in 2:40 to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match.
The updated graphic showed Asuka, Lacey Evans, Raquel Rodriguez, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Shotzi as MITB qualifiers. Cole said there is only one spot remaining…
Powell’s POV: They got it right by having Shotzi go over. Now let’s just hope that they save her from herself by not letting her do anything too crazy in the ladder match.
Backstage, Erik spoke about how they have been pushed aside and forgotten for too long. Ivar said no one will stand in their way…
Max Dupri was shown talking to someone who was blocked by a door. A graphic listed that Dupri would present his first Maximum Male Model… [C]
A spotlight was over the center of the ring and music played. They cut backstage where Max Dupri scolded Adam Pearce. He said last week it was the lighting, and this week their dressing room wasn’t up to the specified standards. Dupri said his models would not debut due to the circumstances and said they would be ready next week…
Powell’s POV: I wish the former LA Knight and Eli Drake was wrestling on the main roster, but I am getting a kick out of the Dupri gimmick thus far. I hope Pretty Deadly end up being two of his models. They are a good tag team and would be perfect for this.
McAfee stood on the broadcast table and set up a recap of Happy Corbin scolding him last week. McAfee played to the crowd while talking about how much he enjoys his job. McAfee challenged Happy Corbin to match at SummerSlam. McAfee said he would feel more alive than he’s ever felt in his life when he kicks Corbin’s teeth down his throat. McAfee had the crowd chant Bum Ass Corbin. “Don’t be a coward, you punk,” McAfee said.
Cole asked McAfee if he was sure he wanted to do this. McAfee said he had lightning in his hands and feet. He called Corbin an insufferable douchebag. Cole said we would find out what Corbin has to say in return next week…
Sheamus made his entrance along with Ridge Holland and Butch. Drew McIntyre made his entrance with his giant f’n sword… A video hyped John Cena’s return for his 20-year celebration on Monday’s Raw… [C]
Cole hyped all of the men’s and women’s MITB ladder match participants appearing on next week’s Smackdown in Phoenix… The Uso made their entrance for the main event…
5. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus (w/Ridge Holland, Butch) vs. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso in a non-title match to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. The Street Profits made their entrance before the opening bell and sat in on commentary. McIntyre and Sheamus ended up bickering and were pushing and shoving each other heading into a break. [C]
Holland and Butch had been ejected during the break. Sheamus was isolated. The Usos got caught up in jawing with the Profits. Jimmy ran into a knee from Sheamus and then both men tagged out. A short time later, Butch ran out with Holland trying to stop him. The referee got rid of them.
Meanwhile, Sami Zayn appeared and tried to help the Usos, but the Profits took him out. The Usos bickered with the Profits until McIntyre did a flip dive onto them. McIntyre counted down for his finisher, but Jimmy stuffed it with a superkick. McIntyre followed up with the Claymore Kick and scored the pin…
Drew McIntyre and Sheamus defeated Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso in a non-title match to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match in 11:20.
Sheamus jawed at McIntyre afterward. The updated MITB entrants list was shown. Cole hyped that all of the MITB qualifiers would appear on Smackdown next week just one night before MITB…
Powell’s POV: A good main event that saw McIntyre and Sheamus qualify for MITB the right way as opposed to getting in via their double disqualification match. Overall, this was a good episode. I have to keep it brief tonight because I’m doing back to back coverage with Smackdown followed by AEW Rampage. I will be back after Rampage with audio reviews of both shows for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Smackdown by grading the show below.
Listen to “11/18 Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast With Jason Powell (Episode 136): Court Bauer on the MLW restart, pandemic precautions, and more” on Spreaker.
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’: New Trailer Tells the Story of the One and Only Space Viking
Get your popcorn out. It’s time for the story of the Space Viking, Thor Odinson. He was no ordinary man — he was a god. After saving planet Earth for the 500th time, Thor set off on a new journey where he got in shape. He went from dad bod to god bod! And after all that he reclaimed his title as the one and only Thor…
But, is he? Is he the one and only Thor?
The latest trailer for Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder has arrived revealing new details about the God of Thunder’s latest adventure — including a trek to Olympus where Zeus (Russell Crowe) reigns supreme.
The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced — a search for self-discovery. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who — to Thor’s surprise — inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Find the latest trailer above and a brand new out-of-this-world poster below!
What are the best cruises in the world? Viking, Disney are big winners
U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday published its ranking of the “best” cruise lines of 2022.
The publication evaluated 17 cruise lines through a combination of expert evaluations (30%), traveler reviews (50%) and health ratings published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program (20%).
Scores were then analyzed by category to determine winners, ranked highest to lowest, in six areas.
Best cruise lines for the money
The 2022 rankings for best valued cruises are:
- Celebrity Cruises — “Gold Award”
- Holland America Line — “Silver Award”
- Royal Caribbean International — “Silver Award”
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Carnival Cruise Line
Here, average daily rates accounted for 60% of scores, while expert, traveler and health ratings accounted for the other 40%. Cruise lines with average daily rates of $300 or more did not qualify for this category.
The Celebrity Edge cruise ship, the first revenue-earning cruise to depart from the U.S. after a pandemic-induced hiatus, docks during a stop in Costa Maya, Mexico on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Celebrity Cruises was named the best cruise for the money. It’s part of the Royal Caribbean Group, which also operates Royal Caribbean International, which took home a “Silver Award” in this category.
Wi-Fi, tips and drinks — like cocktails, wine and specialty coffees — are included in most Celebrity cruise bookings, however the cheapest rates can be purchased without them. Right now, a four-day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas is around $440 per person, including taxes, for an inside state room.
Also on the list: Princess Cruises (No. 6), Costa Cruises (No. 7) and MSC Cruises (No. 8).
Best cruise lines for luxury
Smaller cruise lines — with ships that fit hundreds rather than thousands of guests — dominated U.S. News’ luxury rankings list.
- Viking Ocean Cruises — “Gold Award”
- Seabourn Cruise Line — “Silver Award”
- Regent Seven Seas Cruises — “Silver Award”
- Azamara
- Crystal Cruises
The Viking Sea cruise ship arrives at Bodrum Cruise Port in Mugla, Turkey on March 13, 2021.
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Viking, a cruise line based in Basel, Switzerland, is no stranger to accolades. It topped U.S. News’ luxury list last year too — despite Chairman Torstein Hagen indicating he isn’t a fan of the word.
“I have outlawed the use of the word ‘luxury’ … I think we are elegant, we are … understated and hopefully timeless,” he said at a naming celebration for seven new river boats in March 2019, according to cruising website QuirkyCruises.com.
Also on the list: Silversea Cruises (No. 6) and Oceania Cruises (No. 7).
Best cruise lines for couples
Awards for the best cruises for those traveling in twos are:
- Viking Ocean Cruises — “Gold Award”
- Seabourn Cruise Line — “Silver Award”
- Azamara — “Silver Award”
- Crystal Cruises
- Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Viking dominates this category due to its “adult-focused environment and luxurious and romantic amenities, such as fireplaces in each ship’s common area and private verandas in every stateroom,” according to a U.S. News & World Report’s press release.
To qualify for this category, at least 62% of a cruise line’s online traveler reviews must be made by couples.
Most luxury cruise lines allow kids, though they often don’t cater to them the way the larger lines do. Viking, however, doesn’t allow children at all.
The company previously welcomed kids aged 12 and older to cruise, but as of 2018, all guests must be 18 or older to board.
Also on the list: Celebrity Cruises (No. 6), Oceania Cruises (No. 7), Silversea Cruises (No. 8), Cunard Line (No. 9) and Holland America Line (No. 10).
Best cruise lines for families
The top-ranking cruises for families for 2022 are:
- Disney Cruise Line — “Gold Award”
- Royal Caribbean International — “Silver Award”
- Carnival Cruise Line — “Silver Award”
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- MSC Cruises
Disney dominates the family cruise category, as it has every year since U.S. News started ranking cruises in 2013.
Disney cruises have translucent water slides, pirate-themed deck parties and live performances of classic Disney movies, but also adult-only pools, spas and bars for parents.
Marjie Lambert | Miami Herald | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
The company has five ships: Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy and its latest, Disney Wish, which is scheduled to launch in summer 2022. The ship is also set to introduce Disney’s first “attraction at sea” — 760 feet of water slide tubes with Mickey Mouse-themed music, lighting and special effects.
Also on the list: Costa Cruises (No. 6).
Best cruise lines in the Caribbean
- Disney Cruise Line — “Gold Award”
- Celebrity Cruises — “Silver Award”
- Seabourn Cruise Line — “Silver Award”
- Royal Caribbean International
- Crystal Cruises
It’s a clean sweep for Disney in this category too. Disney has been named the top cruise line in the Caribbean for the past eight years, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The Disney Magic cruise ship sails past Manhattan with the Empire State Building in the background.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
Living up to its name, the Miami-based Celebrity Cruises partners with well-known names in the arts and entertainment industry. It’s newest ship, Celebrity Beyond, has Gwyneth Paltrow as its “wellbeing advisor” and a restaurant created by Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, according to its website.
Also on this list: Regent Seven Seas Cruises (No. 6), Holland America Line (No. 7), Carnival Cruise Line (No. 8), Norwegian Cruise Line (No. 9), Oceania Cruises (No. 10), Princess Cruises (No. 11) and MSC Cruises (No. 12).
Best cruise lines in the Mediterranean
- Viking Ocean Cruises — “Gold Award”
- Seabourn Cruise Line — “Silver Award”
- Azamara — “Silver Award”
- Regent Seven Seas Cruises
- Celebrity Cruises
With another win, Viking tops three of U.S. News’ six categories, this time for its presence in the Mediterranean. In every instance, it is followed by Seattle-based Seabourn Cruise Line, Carnival Corporation’s ultra-luxury brand.
The spa in the luxury Seabourn Sojourn cruise ship.
Peter Macdiarmid | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Seabourn has five ships, which hold between 450-600 passengers and cruise to more than 400 destinations. As part of a multi-year agreement, the cruise line has contributed more than $1.5 million to support UNESCO, which grants its guests “unique access” to more than 170 World Heritage Sites, according to its website.
Also on the list: Oceania Cruises (No. 6), Crystal Cruises (No. 7), Costa Cruises (No. 8), MSC Cruises (No. 9), Silversea Cruises (No. 10), Holland America Line (No. 11), Norwegian Cruise Line (No. 12), Princess Cruises (No. 12), Royal Caribbean International (No. 13) and Cunard Line (No. 14).
Cruising on the comeback?
Though mass Covid-19 outbreaks early in the pandemic exposed health concerns surrounding cruising, a new survey indicates travelers may not abandon ship travel after all.
Before the pandemic, 2% of prior cruisers said they wouldn’t cruise again, while as of August 2021, 4% said the same, according to an ongoing survey conducted by U.S. News & Report.
The pandemic hasn’t scared off non-cruisers either. Pre-pandemic, 62% of people who had never cruised indicated they wanted to try it. Now, 61% of people say the same.
Sentiments may be softening with time too. Before the pandemic, about 10% of people that had never cruised said they “never” would. According to the survey, this number rose to 17% in June 2021, but fell to 14% by August.
Click here to read the full report from U.S. News & World Report.
2021’s Big New Viking Game
I wanted to like Tribes of Midgard. It has great style, with wonderful visuals that feel ripped out of an ancient painting. The combat is fun and responsive. But it also incorporates some of the worst parts of roguelikes and survival games and quickly becomes repetitive, with little payoff or progression.
Published by Gearbox Publishing and developed by Norsfell Games, Tribes of Midgard is a top-down roguelike action-survival RPG. In it, you take on the role of a—give me a second here—Einherjar, a viking who has died and gone on to Valhalla. But, when some evil forces rise up to destroy—one sec, googling again—Yggdrasil, the old Norse gods send you to protect the life tree’s seeds from armies of monsters and giants.
Each night waves of enemies arrive to destroy the seed, and you must hold off the grunts while also hunting down massive, powerful giants who have very bad intentions toward your seed. As epic as that potentially sounds, most of your time in Tribes of Midgard is going to be spent chopping down trees, picking up rocks, and “heroically” beating packs of wolves to death.
Do you like running around breaking down trees, mining rocks, and farming enemies for resources? No? Well, how about losing all your progress when you die, with nothing to show for it? Unfortunately, Tribes of Midgard tries to combine survival-game trappings with a roguelike foundation, but ends up grabbing the worst and most annoying parts of both.
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You’ll need to gather a lot of resources to upgrade your small village, the merchants who live there, and the gear you need to survive. But even when you have enough, building is mostly a frustrating waste of your time. Building things is finicky, rarely useful, and sometimes just doesn’t work. I would often try to construct a ramp to reach a higher part of the map, only for the ledge to block my viking from progressing. But you probably won’t even build anything because resources are so scarce that you’ll never have enough.
You can play Midgard solo or with up to nine other players. Of the 12 or so hours I played, a lot of it was by myself, and some with random online players pulled in via matchmaking. I can confidently say that Midgard wasn’t built for soloing. It’s technically doable, but not very fun. As the game grows more difficult, you’ll need astronomical amounts of resources to keep progressing. The amounts of rare resources demanded by sword and armor upgrades shocked me. Farming for this stuff is time-consuming, and as a solo player, it’s a hassle. Every night you have to race back to your village to protect it from the monsters, lest they destroy your seed and end your game.
With other players, Midgard becomes more chaotic, a bit easier, and more enjoyable. Watching almost a dozen vikings run around a large, procedurally generated map is a hoot, and even without voice or text chat, I often found having more players around made it easier to upgrade the village and multitask. I did encounter some combat lag online; usually tight and responsive, fighting became a bit more floaty and annoying with 10 people playing together. But I made so much more progress as part of a tribe than on my own the trade-off was worth it.
The ultimate reason I’ll probably stop playing Tribes of Midgard is what happens after you lose.
Many of my runs would take over an hour to reach an endpoint. A few hit closer to three. Midgard’s a hard game, and often ends when a giant rushes into your village and destroys the seed before you can intervene. Being a roguelike, death is an expected part of the cycle.
However, Tribes of Midgard, unlike so many recent roguelike hits, doesn’t offer any real meta-progression or permanent unlocks or upgrades for all your hard work. A battle pass for the current season lets you unlock some starter kits, but most of these are only useful in the first 20 minutes or so of a run. For example, one starter kit gives you low-quality weapons you’ll quickly outgrow each time you begin anew. The rest of the battle pass consists of cosmetics and coins to unlock more cosmetics and other not-very-useful rewards.
Considering how long games can take, how much repetitive farming for resources you do in just one of these runs, and how hard the going can get after a few nights, be prepared to spend hours and hours losing. I’d be more into that if I still made some progress, but you get nothing but memories for all this trouble. There’s no narrative that moves forward with each loss, or abilities you can boost between runs to help you skip the early bullshit and move forward more quickly. It feels like a weirdly old way to do a roguelike that also ignores the great innovations games like Hades and Rogue Legacy have brought to the gen over the last decade.
All of the pain points add up and make it hard to feel like I’m some epic viking-demi-god-warrior saving the world. Instead, I often feel like an overworked, underpaid mercenary being asked to spin more plates while also finding more plates to spin. Then some big bully knocks all my plates down, steals my hard-earned gear, and tells me to start over. That’s not much fun and it’s shame, because while Tribes of Midgard looks great, it’s mostly a frustrating mess.