Many were left shocked and saddened after the death of Hayden Panettiere, but one reaction from the world of wrestling has caused a stir.

A former child star, who appeared as Claire Bennet in the television show Heroes and Kirby Reed in the Scream horror movie franchise, Panettiere died aged 36 after being found unresponsive in an apartment.

Tributes poured in from across the world of entertainment and beyond, including from her former fiancee and father of her daughter, heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, who said “nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.”

It’s the words of another, however, that have been gaining traction in social media circles, with WWE Superstar Jacob Fatu raising eyebrows with his reaction.

Jacob Fatu’s Wrestling Career

Fatu signed for WWE in 2024 and has quickly established himself as a star, building on a record-making 819-day run as Major League Wrestling’s (MLW) world heavyweight champion.

The 34-year-old has been wrestling professionally since 2012 and performed under a number of organisations, including All Pro Wrestling, DEFY Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, House of Glory, and PCW Ultra. It was at MLW, however, where he really started to make a name for himself.

That success saw him earn a move to WWE, joining Solo Sikoa, his real life cousin, in The Bloodline, before establishing himself as a star by winning the WWE Tag Team Championship and WWE United States Championship.

He was in action at SummerSlam, performing on night 1, back with The Bloodline, alongside The Usos, actually coming up against Solo Sikoa, Royce Keys, and LA Knight in a six-man tag team match. They lost, however, with Fatu being Powerbombed by Keys.

The Seven Words From Fatu Causing a Stir

After TMZ posted about Hayden Panettiere’s passing, Fatu reposted it, writing: “THE TRUTH WILL COME TO THE LIGHT!!”

At the time of writing, the post has amassed over 2,300 retweets and more than 29,000 likes. It has been viewed 3.1 million times. It’s unclear exactly what Fatu meant with the post, but that did not stop fans from flocking to his replies to express their disapproval.

One wrote, “lol be careful homie. Remember who you work for”, while another urged Fatu to “please delete this bro.”

One user pleaded with Fatu to “get off social media, man PLEASE”, while @MomsProllyMad encouraged him to “let WWE social media team run your accounts, you gonna have some cocktails and say something stupid, and wind up in aew.”

Sheffield United are at serious risk of being given a 12-point deduction, according to reports.

On Saturday, the Blades opened up their 2026/27 Championship campaign with a goalless draw against Birmingham City. The South Yorkshire club are hoping to secure promotion back to the Premier League after a dismal 25/26 campaign.

However, their chances of securing a return to the top-flight of English football could take a huge blow in the near future with the threat of a heavy points deduction looming over them.

Sheffield United’s Former Owner Takes Current Owners to Court

REUTERS/Chris Radburn

In December 2024, COH Sports, an American consortium led by businessmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, purchased Sheffield United from Prince Abdullah.

Last month, Abdullah claimed that he was still owed £35m as part of the deal and issued a winding-up petition against the consortium. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, August 19.

According to Sky Sports, if the owners are declared to be insolvent, a 12-point deduction could be imposed on the club. Co-owner Rosen could be banned from his role should the hearing not go in his favour as he is believed to have been involved in an insolvency event before.

A source close to Sheffield United’s current owners said:

“Sheffield United is financially healthy, unlike under Prince Abdullah when the Club incurred a points deduction for missing payments to football creditors.

“Nonetheless, Helmy Eltoukhy and Steven Rosen invited Abdullah to re-invest in the Club and join the ownership of Sheffield United and to help use his skills to support our promotion efforts. Helmy and Steve are focused on the sustainability of the club and the season ahead.”

Sheffield United’s Former Owners Release Statement

Action Images/Ed Sykes

United World said in a statement:

“We understand that the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator (the IFR) are aware of this situation but so far, we are not aware of any intervention by either.

“United World has issued this public statement in the hope that it is possible to avoid the potential consequences the Club may face if this is not resolved before 19 August, after which we shall have no control over those consequences.”

Sheffield United are next in action on Saturday, August 22, when they travel to South Wales to take on Swansea City. AI has backed them to finish in the playoffs come the end of the season.

The entertainment world was left stunned after the tragic passing of Hayden Panettiere, aged just 36, earlier this week.

Just a few months ago, the former star of television shows such as Heroes and Nashville, as well as the horror movie franchise Scream, appeared on Jay Shetty’s podcast in what was an emotional, candid conversation, where she spoke about her ex, former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko and their daughter Kaya.

As part of that, she revealed a promise that the pair had made when it came to their daughter.

Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with Wladimir Klitschko

Ina Fassbender via Reuters

Panettiere met Klitschko at a mutual friend’s book launch party, with both of them featured within Diana Jenkins’ Room 23. It wasn’t long after that, that they began dating, with Panettiere ringside as Klitschko defeated Samuel Peter by knockout to retain his IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles.

Despite breaking up in 2011, citing struggling with the long-distance nature of their relationship, they rekindled things in 2013 and announced they were engaged by October of the same year.

A year later, Panettiere gave birth to their daughter, though, sadly found herself struggling with postpartum depression. Klitschko and Panettiere broke up again in 2018, but remained friendly, with Klitschko taking full custody of their daughter owing to Panettiere’s issues with addiction and postpartum depression.

The pair remained on good terms, though, keeping a friendly relationship, with Panettiere regularly visiting Kaya. On the podcast with Shetty, Panettiere explained: “Wlad and I are still best friends. There’s not many people who know me in this world as well as he does. And I know that we still have an incredible amount of love for each other. And most important, we have an incredible amount of respect for each other.”

The Promise Made by Klitschko & Panettiere

Reuters/Ina Fassbender Livepic

Growing up, Panettiere revealed that she heard “a lot of negative talk” from her mother about her father, which ended up having a “negative impact” on her. This really shaped how she wanted to go about doing things with her own child one day.

Because of this, she made a promise with Klitschko.

Wladimir Klitschko Breaks Silence on Panettiere’s Tragic Passing

Klitschko said he will “always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was” to daughter Kaya, when sharing a post to social media, featuring a picture of the three of them together.

Klitschko said: “Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief. The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left the world far too soon.

“Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter Kaya.”

The boxing star went on to reflect on Panettiere’s “incredible career” as well as her having to face “darker sides of a very demanding industry” before promising that nothing would “erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.”