WWE has always had its characters and its controversies ever since it was founded in 1953.

The promotion has been heavily scrutinised for its dramatised, scripted fights, where its winners are pre-determined, so much so that they must market the matches as ‘sports entertainment’, combining theatre and competitive sport.

This was most visibly seen during one of the most infamous moments in WWE history, known as the ‘Montreal Screwjob‘, where the outcome of the match was changed without informing one of the wrestlers, Bret Hart, causing him to lose the championship to Shawn Michaels.

Hart had a contentious relationship with the WWE owner, Vince McMahon, who was in charge of the storylines, and thus, he took the incident as a personal insult as he had a notable feud with Michaels and didn’t want to lose the championship to him.

This took place in 1997, though, but that doesn’t mean that controversies don’t occur anymore.

Randy Orton & John Cena Blamed For Getting Superstar Sacked

All wrestling fans have heard of Randy Orton and John Cena. They are both regarded among the greatest wrestlers of all time, with the latter winning a record 17 championships and the former tied for the third-most world championship reigns in history with 14.

But in 2009, a fellow wrestler became disgruntled with the two icons, who he’d felt had played a major role in his release from the company.

While the wrestling matches are planned, the specific moves that are performed can still result in serious injury or death if they’re not performed correctly.

Ken Anderson, known by his ring name Mr Kennedy, was accused of dangerously dropping Orton on his head, with The Viper feeling that his health had been risked by an awkward belly-to-back suplex.

Anderson claimed: “I got fired for dumping Randy [Orton] on his head. If you slow that video down, you can see that his head never comes into contact with the mat.”

But Anderson went further than absolving himself of guilt, claiming that Orton and Cena joined forces to get him fired from WWE.

He said: “I believe that Randy [Orton] and John [Cena] worked together. They decided that day ‘Let’s f****** get him gone’. And it worked.”

While the former WWE United States champion believes this formed part of his dismissal, he did accept that some of the responsibility lay at his own feet due to his own errors and negative public opinion.

He said: “I’ve said this before, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. But the reason I got fired is because of me.”

However, he does believe that Cena had ‘never liked him’ and believed their relationship had been strained since the early days of his WWE run.

Ultimately, we may never know all the reasons behind Anderson’s WWE departure and how much influence Orton and Cena had on this, with there always being two sides to every story. The moment still forms an infamous chapter in wrestling folklore, regardless of how it unfolded behind closed doors, and Anderson has certainly earned his place in the history books one way or another.

Tottenham Hotspur have been incredibly active in the transfer market already this summer, with Roberto De Zerbi looking to make a major statement.

Spurs narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League thanks to a 1-0 win over Everton on the final day of the season, and the Italian has now moved to strengthen the squad to ensure that is a situation they’re not in again next season.

Andy Robertson has already been announced as the first signing of the new era, while Marcos Senesi is due to be announced imminently to strengthen the defence. Jan Paul van Hecke has also emerged as a target, with personal terms agreed despite two bids being rejected, and Man City star Savinho is advancing on a move, but another deal is now considered to be ‘off’.

Tottenham Move for Summerville ‘Off’

According to Dutch journalist Joost Blaauwhof, Tottenham’s move for West Ham United winger Crysencio Summerville is now ‘off’.

The north London club are keen to bolster their forward options with Randal Kolo Muani’s loan expiring, Richarlison expected to be sold, and Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, and Xavi Simons all dealing with long-term knee injuries.

But with Savinho’s move from Man City understood to be advancing, it’s now reported that Summerville will not be moving across London at this stage.

Spurs were understood to be leading the race for the Netherlands winger, who is set to star at the World Cup in Ronald Koeman’s side having earned a call-up despite West Ham’s relegation to the Championship.

The club were ready to make a ‘concrete offer’ for the 24-year-old winger, but they have now stepped back in their interest. A number of clubs in Italy are understood to be showing an interest in Summerville, including Champions League side AS Roma, and they are now expected to be taking the lead in the race for his signature.

Tottenham Moving Aggressively in Market

Tottenham are pushing hard in the market to strengthen the squad for De Zerbi, and it seems that they have made their mind up on who they want to pursue as a forward option.

Savinho was the top target last summer and they convinced the player to join, only for City to block the move and get him to sign a new deal. But the Brazilian now looks set to depart this year, and Spurs are ready to get it done.

That lessens the need for Summerville to come in, and it makes sense that the club are now prioritising certain deals over others, rather than keeping their fingers in all the pies just for the sake of it.

Paul Scholes has named the starting line-up that he would select for England’s opening 2026 World Cup match against Croatia on June 17.

The Three Lions head into this summer’s tournament as one of the favourites to lift the iconic World Cup trophy in New Jersey on July 19.

Thomas Tuchel raised eyebrows by leaving several high-profile players out of his 26-man squad, including Manchester City’s Phil Foden, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

England laboured to a 1-0 win over New Zealand in their first World Cup warm-up match on Saturday. Bayern Munich’s prolific centre-forward Harry Kane scored the only goal of the game with a header shortly before half-time.

Tuchel’s men are currently acclimatising to the warm weather conditions in the United States. They face Costa Rica in their final warm-up match on Wednesday night before their Group L opener against Croatia seven days later.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, Scholes named the starting XI that he believes Tuchel should select for the tournament. Let’s take a closer inspection…

Goalkeeper and Defenders

Jordan Pickford; Nico O’Reilly, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Reece James

Nathan Ray Seebeck va Reuters

Jordan Pickford is nailed on to start in goal. Scholes would then select Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly, 21, at left-back, with Chelsea’s Reece James at right-back.

O’Reilly’s club teammate Marc Guehi gets the nod at centre-back, alongside John Stones, who has now played his final match for Man City and will sign for a new club later this summer.

Midfielders

Declan Rice / Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers

Lee Smith via Reuters

Scholes is currently undecided over which Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson should start in central midfield alongside Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham. However, Scholes explained why he would start Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers in the playmaker role behind Harry Kane.

“The three in midfield’s the big one, for me,” Scholes said. “They were taking this morning that it’s a straight choice between Bellingham and Rogers for that number 10 role. Bellingham’s not a number 10.

Forwards

Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka

Nathan Ray Seebeck via Reuters

And upfront, Scholes would select Marcus Rashford over Barcelona-bound Anthony Gordon on the left flank. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, gets the nod on the opposite flank.

There’s no doubt that influential captain Harry Kane will start for England throughout the tournament. Tuchel has Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney in reserve, but Kane – a leading contender for the 2026 Ballon d’Or award – is arguably the best centre-forward on the planet right now.