Wrestlemania 37: WWE’s Xavier Woods Can’t Stop Talking Trash About Omos And AJ Styles

At Wrestlemania 37, Raw Tag Team Champions Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston will defend their titles against AJ Styles and his very tall companion Omos. However, Woods is confident in The New Day’s ability to retain, and he can’t stop talking trash about Omos.

WWE’s Wrestlemania PPV is the biggest event of the year for the company and typically, it’s filled with highly-anticipated matches. And there’s one thing Woods is anticipating himself, “I’m looking forward to beating the hell out of Omos,” Woods said during an appearance on Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot’s pro wrestling podcast. “Because there’s this idea in people’s heads that, ‘Oh! This guy’s tall so that means he’s a good fighter!’ What are you talking about dude?

“Tall does not equate to skill or strength or experience or knowledge or anything like that. He’s big, yeah that’s cool, but that means I can punch him directly in the kneecaps, hyper-extend his legs, and then what you’re going to do? I’m excited to knock down the giant, so people go, ‘Wow, Woods is so good at wrestling!’ No, we’re just smart. Kofi’s just smart. What are you talking about? We’re 11-time tag champs for a reason. People think we’re scared because Omos is big? No! I was this height when I signed up to wrestle, knowing that everyone was this big.”

Omos comes in at over seven feet tall, and before he teamed up with The Phenomenal One, AJ Styles, he was seen at Shane McMahon’s Raw Underground back in 2020. Silent and stoic, Omos helped Styles out during the 2021 Royal Rumble, and aside from his height, he’s primarily seen wearing a turtleneck, suit jacket, and gold chain–except for the March 29 episode of Raw where he changed up his look a bit.

He has a very specific look, and while Woods isn’t going to shame anyone’s fashion choices… ok, he’s going to shame your fashion choices. “If you want to rock the bathroom custodian look, you know, if you want to offer me a mint after my match and some hand sanitizer, that’s cool but I mean it’s not what I would wear, but do you,” Woods said. “[The turtlenecks] look good on him, I’ll be honest. His fashion choices are strange to me because sometimes he’s wearing a big coat. I’m shirtless, and I’m sweating.

“I don’t weigh as much as you. I’m not as tall as you, so I know that your body is overclocking right now you are dripping from the pits, why do you have this on? I don’t think he thinks about his fashion choices. I think he just kinda throws stuff on. His mom lays it out on the bed for him–or maybe AJ. That’s okay, if you want to live your life like that, but I’m a grown man. I dress myself. I pick my own clothes. That’s just me, though, but if it’s not you that’s okay.”

During the interview, Woods also spoke seriously about getting back in front of a live crowd, making wrestling fun, and his YouTube channel UpUpDownDown. You can hear the whole interview above for GameSpot’s wrestling podcast Wrestle Buddies.

This year’s Wrestlemania will be a two-night event on April 10 and 11. And like every year, make sure to come back to GameSpot for live coverage and a review of the show from Chris E. Hayner and Mat Elfring, the Wrestle Buddies. Additionally, there will be a post-Mania podcast about the show on April 11.

NBA 2K League Will Use PS5 Exclusively This Season

Going forward, all NBA 2K League matches will be played on PlayStation 5 consoles. The NBA 2K League and PlayStation have announced a new partnership where all 23 NBA 2K League teams and 138 players will compete on PS5 instead of any other system.

According to the NBA 2K League, it is the first esports league to use PS5 consoles exclusively, and it’s the first time the 2K League has done a console partnership. The new NBA 2K League season begins in May.

“PlayStation is a long-standing global leader in interactive entertainment, and we are thrilled to be able to leverage their gaming expertise and technology to create the optimal experience for NBA 2K League players and fans,” NBA 2K League president Brendan Donohue said in a statement.

Before the new NBA 2K League season begins, PS5 will become the “presenting partner” for the NBA 2K League Three for All Showdown event, which runs April 9-10. This is a special tournament where NBA 2K League players, fans, and influencers will compete for a share of a $25,000 prize pool.

PlayStation’s partnership with NBA 2K also covers “global fan tournaments” that will be held through PlayStation’s online platform, Competition Center.

Finally, the NBA 2K League and PlayStation will kick off a “custom content series” during NBA 2K League broadcasts and through the league’s social channels. There will also be branded content and signage at the NBA 2K League’s physical and virtual spaces.

In other NBA 2K news, a new mobile version of the game is out now on Apple Arcade.

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Fortnite Adds A Bruno Mars Emote In The Shop Today

The Fortnite Icon Series houses all of the game’s collaborations with famous musicians and whatever’s trending on TikTok. Tonight, the Icon Series grows one smooth move bigger with the debut of the “Leave The Door Open” emote, with choreography performed by Bruno Mars.

The “Leave The Door Open” emote features audio of the song by the same name, popularized by Mars and Anderson Paak under the duo’s stage name, Silk Sonic.

The song will hit the Item Shop tonight, April 2 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET, though the price wasn’t revealed. While Bruno Mars makes his debut in the Fortnite world, Anderson Paak is no stranger. He performed a set in Party Royale, Fortnite’s social hub, in September of last year. The duo’s Icon Series emote joins others such as “Renegade” from K Camp, “Blinding Lights” from The Weeknd, and more. If it’s trending on TikTok or elsewhere in the music world, it’s usually not long before it’s available in Fortnite.

Leave The Door Open gained popularity after Silk Sonic performed the song at the Grammy Awards in March. You can watch that live rendition here. Today, Leave The Door Open has been downloaded more than 100 million times since the duo debuted their collaboration on March 5.

For more on this weekend in Fortnite, don’t miss the full details of tonight’s Spring Breakout Cup. If competitive play isn’t your thing, you could instead forage for Bouncy Eggs all over the island.

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Aaron Rodgers To Guest Host Jeopardy! For Two Weeks In April

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is set to host 10 episodes of Jeopardy! over two weeks starting April 5, according to a release issued by the team. Rodgers previously appeared on an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015, raising $50,000 for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund, defeating former astronaut and current Arizona senator Mark Kelly, and Shark Tank panelist Kevin O’Leary.

After former host Alex Trebek’s death in November, Rodgers said, “The show has been so special to me over the years. It’s been a staple at my house here in Green Bay for the last 16 years–6 o’clock watching Alex and trying to get as many questions as I can.”

Rodgers taking on guest host duties was first announced back in January, and he enters a rotation of guest hosts that afterwards will include TV personalities Katie Couric and Dr. Mehmet Oz, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, actress Mayim Bialik, and Today host Savannah Guthrie. While no official successor has yet been named, long-time Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings had stepped in first as interim host.

Trebek was under contract to host Jeopardy! until 2022 at the time of his death. In summer 2020, Trebek released a memoir The Answer Is: Reflections on my Life–which came out less than four months before his death. Jennings narrated the audiobook version.

Cruella Is Not Like The Joker, Emma Stone Says

Actress Emma Stone has responded to the internet meme that her new movie, Cruella, is similar to Joker. When the movie’s first trailer was released, online commenters remarked that Cruella’s origin story in the film appears similar to Joker’s from the 2019 Joaquin Phoenix film. In both stories, a regular person causes havoc and mayhem after getting slighted by a person or people in power.

She told Total Film with a laugh, “It’s very different from Joker in many ways. I would never even remotely compare myself to Joaquin Phoenix. I wish I was more like him.”

In the trailer for Cruella, we are introduced to a young Cruella–known then as Estella–who is criticized by Emma Thompson’s character for lacking the kind of “killer instinct” required to succeed in the fashion industry. This sets off Estella, and she goes down a path that eventually leads to kidnapping dogs for their fur. In Joker, Arthur Fleck is a regular clown actor that is repeatedly looked down upon and maligned until he breaks and becomes murderous and unhinged. People are understandably connecting the two.

Director Craig Gillespie said Cruella is dealing with “deep, emotional things” that contribute to her transition to a villain, but this is hardly a unique phenomenon in storytelling.

“There are some really deep, emotional things that Cruella’s dealing with that send her to the villainous darker side. So in that sense, it is [similar],” he said about comparisons to Joker. “But it’s definitely its own thing. Just to sort of reframe Cruella, I thought it was important to show this darker side of her. But there’s going to be a lot of fun, a lot of humor in it. There’s a lot of absolutely delightful banter and rhythm to the style of it, which is different from Joker.”

Cruella releases in theaters and on Disney Plus with Premier Access on May 28.

Shiny Azumarill Appearing In Pokemon Sword And Shield’s Latest Event

Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s brief April Fools’ Day event featuring nothing but uncatchable Magikarp is over, and a new Easter-themed event is now underway for a limited time. Until April 4, you’ll encounter various rabbit Pokemon in Max Raid dens across both games, including Shiny Azumarill.

Shiny Azumarill will be appearing in five-star Raids throughout the event, although your odds of encountering one will be slim, so you’ll need persistence if you’re hoping to catch one. You’ll also encounter standard Azumarill, Diggersby, Lopunny, and their pre-evolved forms in Raids throughout the event.

Gigantamax Cinderace will be appearing in Max Raids as well during the event. However, unlike the other featured Pokemon, Gigantamax Cinderace is not catchable, although you’ll earn extra candies if you can defeat it. The only way to obtain a Gigantamax Cinderace of your own (outside of receiving one in a trade) is to teach it how to Gigantamax in the Isle of Armor.

The Easter Max Raid event is scheduled to end at 4:59 PM PT / 7:59 PM ET / 11:59 PM UTC on April 4. Before you can participate in it, you’ll need to refresh your Max Raid dens. You can do so either by connecting the game online via the Y-Comm, or by opening the Mystery Gift menu and selecting Get the Wild Area News.

In other Pokemon news, there’s still a little time left to grab a free item bundle in Sword and Shield. Until April 3, The Pokemon Company is giving away an item bundle containing 12 Exp. Candy XL and 12 Big Nuggets. You can claim the free items by opening Mystery Gift and entering the password ADVENTUREB9F.

Now Playing: Pokémon Presents – Complete Pokemon 25 Presentation

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HBO’s The Last Of Us TV Show Stars Filming In July, Report Says

With Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey cast in the lead roles for HBO’s The Last of Us TV show, production is now set to begin relatively soon. It’s been discovered that production could start as soon as July in Calgary, with filming expecting to run for a period of about a year.

A listing on the Director’s Guild of Canada, reported on by CBC, reveals that filming could start in Calgary on July 5 and wrap up on June 8, 2022.

Representatives for HBO did not write back to CBC’s request for comment. The site reported that it has been rumored for months that a “massive production” is coming to Calgary.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney recently teased a “very exciting announcement” for the region’s film and TV sector. “[It] will be the largest ever, I believe, film or television production in Canadian history,” Kenney said.

Pascal, who stars on The Mandalorian, has been cast as Joel, with Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey lined up to play Ellie. Neil Druckmann, the writer and director of the game series, is writing the TV show alongside Craig Mazin. Mazin is known for writing the Hangover and Scary movie sequels, as well as more serious fare like HBO’s Chernobyl. Mazin is also attached to write the new Borderlands movie that has a fantastic cast of huge names.

Recently, Druckmann spoke about how the Last of Us TV show will deviate significantly from the games. “Some of my favorite episodes so far have deviated greatly from the story, and I can’t wait for people to see them,” he said.

As for the game series, Naughty Dog might make The Last of Us 3, or potentially a new IP, as its next game. On the more immediate horizon, Naughty Dog is developing a standalone Last of Us multiplayer game.

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Summer Game Fest 2021 to Include Day of the Devs

Mark your calendars: the first event of very likely many in a second annual Summer Game Fest has been announced. It’s Day of the Devs.

Day of the Devs has historically been an indie games showcase produced by Double Fine Productions and iam8bit. Last year, in light of the pandemic, it was run as a digital event in June and again in July as a part of Geoff Keighley’s four-month-long Summer Game Fest, and included a number of gameplay trailers and announcements for indie titles like Sky: Children of the Light, Drake Hollow, and Sea of Stars.

This year’s showcase returns in a digital format once again, though this time the announcement specifies that both indie and AAA games will be involved, as well as some video game musical performances (last year, we got a Bugsnax concert!).

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Developers can submit their games for consideration in the showcase beginning today through April 9.

So far, this is the first and only event on the calendar for the Summer Game Fest, which is planned broadly for summer 2021 — though the official Twitter has indicated this year’s is likely to be a bit condensed from last year. Unlike 2020, E3 is also in the cards for the summer, but it is remaining firmly as a digital event.

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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

 

2021: AAA Gaming’s Weirdest Year?

You’ve probably felt it: things are a bit out of whack in the video game industry. The past year has been difficult for a variety of reasons and it seems like the knock-on effects of working from home, as well as the challenges that presents to game development and hosting traditional events, is becoming more and more apparent.

What’s most evident is that the traditional release cycle, in terms of the rhythm of new games being launched, is off. At the same time, events that had been permanently marked on our calendars for years now are either being penciled in or rubbed out entirely. 2021 feels like it’s becoming a weird year for video games and those of us that enjoy them.

That is the subject of discussion this week’s episode of Console Crew, in which Lucy, Jordan, and Tamoor look at how the industry has changed, what the future holds, and also what we can look forward to for the rest of the year. Naturally, there’s a discussion about games that have been delayed as a result of recent challenges, and the same goes for events like E3.

There’s also a discussion about the opportunities that this strange new cadence of releases provides us. As noted in the episode, indie games are more abundant and more interesting than ever, and with fewer major blockbusters from mega-publishers eating up the oxygen in the discussion of games, there’s more opportunity for them to shine.

Console Crew is your weekly Friday roundup of the biggest news from PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo, hosted by Lucy James, Tamoor Hussain, and Jordan Ramée. Subscribe to youtube.com/GameSpot​ to never miss an episode.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Giorno Giovanna Coming To Jump Force This Spring

Bandai Namco has confirmed that Giorno Giovanna will be the final character for Jump Force‘s Character Pass 2, and he’ll be joining the game later in spring. You can see Giorno in action in the video below, which includes his trademark reminder that all resistance is indeed useless.

Jump Force already includes two other characters from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, in the form of Stardust Crusaders protagonist Jotaro Kujo and series antagonist DIO. Like his father DIO and other Joestar family members, Giorno wields a powerful Stand known as Gold Experience that has the unique ability to bring life to whatever it touches.

In combat, a flurry of punches from Gold Experience will overwhelm an opponent’s senses, and after it was evolved into Gold Experience Requiem, it was able to trap enemies in an endless loop where their willpower and actions were constantly reset back to zero. Remember, anime is weird.

Giorno has been an open secret ever since his existence was leaked four months ago alongside Yoruichi Shihoin from Bleach. Since then, Jump Force has added Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia, Meruem from Hunter x Hunter, and Hiei from Yuyu Hakusho to its roster as part of its Character Pass 2 content.

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