WWE’s 2023 international pay-per-view tour wrapped up Saturday, and the return to Saudi Arabia was a wild night that saw several surprises.

Eight matches took place at Mohammed Abdu Arena, the most for a pay-per-view since the nine matches at SummerSlam in August. Five titles were on the line, highlighted by the return of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns going up against rising star LA Knight.

Not all champions were able to retain, as one title changed hands, elevating the rise of a young WWE star. The non-title matches were also big ones as well, as John Cena and Solo Sikoa squared off, while Cody Rhodes continued his feud with The Judgment Day and Damian Priest.

Here is a recap of the action from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match: Roman Reigns (c) defeats LA Knight

One of the most highly anticipated matches at the end of the calendar year delivered.

LA Knight gave a new feel to a Reigns title defense, invoking the trash talking element that got the crowd even more hyped for this true main event. LA Knight tried to take advantage of being the crowd favorite, but Reigns didn’t let it last long by asserting himself in control. It was amusing to watch Reigns respond to the ‘Yeah’ chants for LA Knight by wagging his finger every time.

It was a consistent theme throughout the match. LA Knight landed a neckbreaker and was looking to close in on a win, but Reigns landed his Superman punch, which LA Knight kicked out of. LA Knight turned the tide and was in position to take advantage, but distractions from Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso gave Reigns time to recover. A superman punch and spear were landed, but LA Knight miraculously kicked out.

After getting out of a submission, LA Knight executed a BFT on the champion, but Uso came in time to put the Reign’s leg on the rope on the pin. The challenger then went berserk outside of the ring on Uso and Reigns, taking Uso out on the announcer’s table but Reigns spearing him through the barricade. Reigns landed another spear in the ring, got the pin and kept the title.

It was hard to imagine Reigns losing the title to LA Knight, but it wasn’t a spectacular finish thanks to another moment of interference.

Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest

There is no love lost between these two, and Priest attack Rhodes before the match even started indicated this was going to be a good one.

Blow after blow was delivered to each other, including Priest taking Rhodes down on the announcer’s table. The Judgment Day and JD McDonagh attempted to help Priest get the upperhand, even with Dominik Mysterio coming out with a chair. But tag partner ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso came to the rescue, delivering a super kick to each member of The Judgment Day to even the score and get them out of getting in the way.

Rhodes then delivered vintage move after vintage move, including two Cody cutters, but Priest kicked out. It wouldn’t last long, as Rhodes would land three straight Cross Rhodes to secure the win.

This match was high energy from the start, and was a big bolt in the crowd ahead of the main event of the night. Rhodes getting another big win was necessary in building him back into the title picture, but it won’t end the feud against the faction.

Kairi Sane returns

She is finally here.

When it looked like Bianca Belair was ready to take the WWE Women’s Championship back, Kairi Sane made her return to WWE by attacking Belair to help out longtime friend Iyo Sky.

Sane helped get Sky the win, and afterward continued to attack Belair, all while Bayley wasn’t sure what to do. Sane then landed her signature elbow drop from the top rope, as Sky and Sane embraced, giving the women’s division a very scary sight, and questions in Damage CTRL.

WWE Women’s Championship match: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bianca Belair

These two delivered a classic at Backlash six months ago, and while this one wasn’t as solid, it did have a shocking ending.

The contrasting styles between the two is what have made their matches so good, and they were both in their element in the rematch. Belair’s knee injury was still there after it bothered her when she lost the title at SummerSlam, as Sky went after it as often as she could, only for Belair’s power to turn the tide each time.

Damage CTRL leader Bayley came out to distract Belair, which seemed to even confuse Sky. But the champion took momentum with a moonsault out of the ring. Belair went for a pin after executing a Beth Phoenix-esque move, but Bayley interfered to prevent the pin. Belair went after Bayley, but Kairi Sane made her big return by attacking Belair. Sky took advantage, landing a moonsault to pin Belair and retain.

United States Championship match: Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Logan Paul

The social media star is growing as a WWE star.

Despite all the trash talk in recent weeks, including the heated weigh-in, it felt like there was a mutual respect between the young star and WWE Hall of Famer. After trading shots, Paul was the one to get a major control on the match in a way not seen much in his young career, doing it with power instead of finesse. Paul even showed off by doing some lifts of Mysterio in the air.

Eventually, Mysterio was able to counter, giving a vintage high-flying and acrobatic performance before Paul got back into control with a flying clothesline. His finishing punch didn’t land, and Mysterio tried a rare submission that Paul was able to get out of.

It then went back-and-forth with the two landing impressive moves, and Paul was given brass knuckles by a friend to deliver a knockout blow, but Santos Escobar came to the aid to prevent any mischief from happening. Mysterio landed a 619, but Paul found the brass knuckles just before, and when Mysterio went to finish it off, Paul landed the blow. It was all he needed, as Paul the pin and won his first title in WWE.

Paul gave Mysterio credit after the win, but Mysterio was not pleased, likely continuing this feud after Saturday. ‘The Maverick’ has been impressive in every WWE match he’s been in, and it makes sense for him to finally have some gold, but we’ll need to see him get a clean finish.

The Miz hosts ‘Miz TV’ with Ibrahim Al Hajjaj

The Miz got a chance to host his popular segment with one of the biggest Saudi actors in Ibrahim Al Hajjaj.

But just as The Miz was set to ask his first question, Grayson Waller came out and decided to host an episode of ‘The Grayson Waller Effect’ instead. Al Hajjaj said he wanted to speak with The Miz instead of Waller, prompting Waller to go after the movie star. The Miz wouldn’t let it slide, letting Al Hajjaj land a kick on Waller before the WWE veteran hit a skull-crushing finale.

Just for good measure, Al Hajjaj did his own people’s elbow on Waller in a fun segment for the crowd.

John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa

Is this the end for Cena?

Sikoa controlled a majority of the match with his strong stature and hard-hitting moves, looking to the land the Samoan spike early and often. Yet each time Sikoa went for it, Cena countered with trying to pull of a finisher of his own. Cena couldn’t land an attitude adjustment, and was able to lock in an STF, but Sikoa got out.

The momentum didn’t last long, as Sikoa got back in control. He went for a third Samoan spike attempt, but Cena once again got out with some of his signature moves. He landed a five-knuckle shuffle, and went for the win once more, but Sikoa got out and was able to get back on the offensive with a Samoan drop.

After five misses, Sikoa was finally able to land a Samoan spike, and landed three more for extra measure after making it an emphasis ahead of the match. Sikoa picked up Cena, went all-in on spike after spike in a ruthless attack. In total, 15 spikes were landed before Sikoa pinned Cena for the win.

Sikoa had a great coming out match that should give him more credibility as a singles competitor, and should be a good omen for The Bloodline in maintaining control of WWE. Meanwhile, Cena doesn’t get to end his singles winless streak, in what could possibly be his last match in the company.

The crowd made sure to appreciate the WWE great, giving him a standing ovation as he left the ring and walked back into the locker room.

Fatal five-way match for Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Zoey Stark

The Judgment Day continues to hold the gold.

Jax was the easy target for this match, and even with an early display of power, all competitors were keen on taking her out early and frequently in the match. A quick star in the match was Baszler, who had Rodriguez, Ripley and Jax all in submission moves at the same time in something rarely seen in any WWE match, and then pulling off a powerbomb on four of the stars.

Each star eventually got their moment to shine, and Ripley pulled off a riptide on Baszler to put it away, but Stark interfered. While the two were locked up on the ropes, Rodriguez tried to sneak a pin on Baszler to steal the title. Ripley saw, and pulled off a riptide on Stark while landing on Rodriguez and Baszler. The champion then pinned Baszler to retain and maintain her dominance in the women’s division.

‘Mami’s always on top. I told y’all,’ Ripley told the camera.

Rhea Ripley makes epic entrance into title match

Mami is making it known she’s always on top.

While each contender in the Women’s World Championship match made their usual entrance, Rhea Ripley made a grand entrance into Mohammed Abdu Arena with several men coming out and making way for the champion, getting an emphatic pyro moment as she puts her title on the line against four other women.

Damian Priest almost cashes in Money in the Bank briefcase

Señor Money in the Bank had a chance, but Sami Zayn isn’t going to let it happen.

Damian Priest came out after Rollins defend his title, determined to cash in his Money in the Bank contract against an injured Rollins. But just as Priest was handing a referee the briefcase, a masked man attacked The Judgment Day member. It was Zayn, who has made it his mission to not let the faction run WWE.

The crowd was glad to see Zayn once more, and he ran off with the briefcase while Priest chased him, keeping Rollins safe once again.

World Heavyweight Championship match: Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

The main card started off with a bang, and another major match from Rollins.

This match was one of those rare moments where the crowd was rooting for both stars, but it was all McIntyre early in the match, showcasing his power and dominant stature over the champion. Once Rollins was able to get on offense, he did some damage to McIntyre’s left shoulder, but back-to-back moonsaults and a falcon arrow weren’t enough to defend the title in the early stages.

But just as Rollins tried to target McIntyre’s shoulder, the contender returned the favor by focusing on Rollins’ back, which has been well documented as not being 100% in recent months. It looked like McIntyre was about to land a claymore kick to put it away, but Rollins countered a landed a curb stomp. It still wasn’t enough as McIntyre kicked out at the last moment. After a failed corkscrew moonsault, McIntyre landed the claymore, but Rollins barely kicked out in the wild sequence of events.

McIntyre tried to claymore again, but Rollins countered with a pedigree and landed another curb stomp, which was enough to secure the win and successfully defend the title once again.

Kickoff match: Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh

The crowd was amped to see Sami Zayn compete in Saudi Arabia once again, and the Canada-native got the crowd going for the big match card.

Zayn and McDonagh traded blows in the early parts of the match, with an early highlight being Zayn launching McDonagh towards the ropes and his neck appearing to bounce off the bottom rope. He didn’t appear injured, a good sign for what could’ve been a dangerous move.

McDonagh countered Zayn jumping off the tope rope with an impressive dropkick, but couldn’t get the pin. The Judgment Day hopeful had other chances to secure the win but Zayn kicked out each time. Zayn returned the favor with a counter to McDonagh jumping off the top rope. That’s when he put the match away, landing a helluva kick and finishing it off with a blue thunder bomb to get the win, much to applause of the crowd.

Props to McDonagh, who had a massive bruise on his side and didn’t miss a beat.

See Crown Jewel stage

The stage at Mohammed Abdu Arena has a massive screen where stars will enter from, but just above the ring is a massive jewel stealing the spotlight.

When is Crown Jewel 2023?

Crown Jewel is Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. ET. The kickoff show will begin at 12 p.m. ET.

How to watch Crown Jewel 2023

The event can be streamed on Peacock, but you must have their premium or premium-plus subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on WWE Network.

Crown Jewel 2023 match card

Matches not in order of schedule

Kickoff match: Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonaghCody Rhodes vs. Damian PriestJohn Cena vs. Solo SikoaUnited States Championship match: Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Logan PaulWWE Women’s Championship match: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bianca BelairFatal five-way match for Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Zoey StarkWorld Heavyweight Championship match: Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyreUndisputed WWE Universal Championship match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. LA Knight

Crown Jewel 2023 predictions

Kickoff match: Sami Zayn defeats JD McDonaghCody Rhodes defeats Damian Priest.John Cena defeats Solo Sikoa.United States Championship match: Logan Paul defeats Rey Mysterio (c).WWE Women’s Championship match: Iyo Sky (c) defeats Bianca Belair.Fatal five-way match for Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) defeats Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax and Raquel Rodriguez and Zoey Stark.World Heavyweight Championship match: Drew McIntyre defeats Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins (c).Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match: Roman Reigns (c) defeats LA Knight.

Roman Reigns: ‘Time to do what I do best’

The Tribal Chief is ready.

Roman Reigns will be competing in his first televised match since he won the Tribal Combat match at SummerSlam in August. Despite the near-three month layoff, the champion is ready to defend his title once again.

‘No more talking. Time to do what I do best,’ he said.

When everything is said and done, Texas’ season may have been decided by one play on a Saturday afternoon in Austin.

On fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line in overtime — with Kansas State going for the win, not the tie — Texas prevented Wildcats quarterback Will Howard from getting off a substantive pass, helping the Longhorns escape with a 33-30 win at Royal-Memorial Stadium. The victory kept No. 6 Texas in control of its destiny in the chase for the Big 12 championship and possible College Football Playoff bid.

The Longhorns and Wildcats entered the day locked in a five-way tie for first place in the conference standings. Saturday’s game booted Kansas State from that logjam while Texas awaited the results from Saturday’s other Big 12 matchups involving Oklahoma-Oklahoma State and Kansas-Iowa State.

“Versatility, resilience, perseverance … those are all qualities championship teams have,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “They can make plays at critical moments.”

Texas led by as many as 20 points in the second half on Saturday, but a scoring spurt by Kansas State quickly closed the gap. After Kansas State scored its third touchdown of that 143-second span but botched the extra-point attempt, a 27-27 tie existed with 12:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Texas has three games left against TCU, Iowa State and Texas Tech. If the Longhorns win out, they will reach the Big 12 championship game.

Texas eventually retook the lead with a 34-yard field goal before Kansas State got two chances to again tie the game. The Wildcats missed a 27-yard field goal with 1:45 left, but they made a 45-yard kick with one second remaining in regulation to force overtime.

In the extra period, Texas got the football first and Bert Auburn kicked a 42-yard field goal to make it 33-30.

On its overtime possession, Kansas State quickly reached the Texas 6. After a short run and two incomplete passes, the Wildcats were left with a fourth-down decision and Wildcats coach Chris Klieman opted to go for the win.

Following a Texas timeout, Kansas State stuck with its decision. The Wildcats called for a pass play on that fourth-down attempt from the Texas 4, but a pass rush led by Barryn Sorrell pressured Howard, who flung a high, awkward pass that was eventually batted down by defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat.

“Our kids always believe we have a shot,” Klieman said. “I’m upset that we lost, but watching what our guys were able to do in the second half was pretty special.”

With that stop, Texas secured its first-ever overtime win under Sarkisian, who is now 21-13 with the Longhorns. Texas had previously fallen in overtime to Kansas in 2021 and Texas Tech in 2022.

Texas opened the game with the ball and the Longhorns promptly drove to the Kansas State 38. On a third-and-10 attempt, Maalik Murphy overthrew a deep ball to Xavier Worthy and Texas was forced to punt.

Despite that miss, Texas did not shy away from the deep ball. To begin its next drive, Texas ran it twice before Murphy aired it out again. This time around, the pass dropped into the hands of Adonai Mitchell and Texas had itself a 37-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. That touchdown was the third thrown by Murphy to Mitchell in the quarterback’s two weeks as a starter.

Texas scored on its next two possessions and built a 17-0 lead by the 11:34 mark of the second quarter. Texas got three of those points on a 32-yard field goal by Bert Auburn. CJ Baxter also scored on a 54-yard run.

On Baxter’s touchdown, Texas opted to keep its offense on the field for a fourth-and-1 attempt in its own territory. That decision came a week after the Longhorns missed on two fourth-down tries against BYU. Entering the game, Texas was 13-for-21 on fourth down, a .619 success rate that ranked 34th nationally.

On this attempt, Texas lined up in a bunch formation that hinted at a quarterback sneak for the 6-foot-5, 238-pound Murphy. Instead, Murphy pitched the ball to Baxter. The freshman slipped an attempted tackle and sprinted into the end zone.

So the conversation about Texas and its fourth-down play-calling is over, right? Maybe not. Later in the half, Texas decided to go for it on a fourth-and-2 from the Kansas State 12 and failed.

A short field goal would have given Texas a 20-0 lead, and the Longhorns obviously were missing those three points later in the game. Texas instead maintained a 17-point advantage that Kansas State cut into with 54 seconds left in the first half on a Howard touchdown pass. The first scoring drive of Kansas State’s day was set up by a blocked punt.

Any momentum that Kansas State entered halftime with was quickly snuffed out in the second half. Kansas State turned the ball over on two of its first five plays of the third quarter as Michael Taaffe snagged a highlight-reel interception and Ethan Burke stripped Howard on a sack. Texas turned that fumble into a 5-yard touchdown run for Jonathon Brooks that lifted the Longhorns to a 24-7 lead with 9:21 left in the third quarter. Five minutes later, Auburn gave Texas its 20-point lead with a 49-yard field goal.

Murphy finished with 248 passing yards, but the redshirt freshman turned the ball over twice. Brooks ran for 112 yards on 22 carries, and he became the school’s 26th 1,000-yard rusher during the game.

The parents of late Northwestern State football player Ronnie Caldwell Jr. have filed a wrongful death lawsuit after the Demons safety was gunned down in an apartment complex just outside of campus last month.

Ronald Caldwell Sr. and Blanche Bradley filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Louisiana on Friday against former head coach Brad Laird, who resigned last week after the remainder of Northwestern State’s 2023 football season was canceled, the state of Louisiana through the board of supervisors of Northwestern State and The Quad Apartment Complex, where Caldwell was shot and killed on Oct. 12.

In the lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Caldwell’s parents allege that Laird and the university didn’t intervene and protect their son when alerted that Caldwell’s new roommate pulled a gun on him three days before his death.

‘Instead of listening to and heeding Ronnie’s cries for help to move away from his violent roommate, NSU and Coach Laird failed one of its students and star athletes,’ the suit reads. ‘Ultimately, their failure cost Ronnie his life.’

According to the lawsuit, Caldwell was placed with a new roommate, who was not a college student, at The Quad Apartment Complex after mold was discovered in the previous room Caldwell shared with a football teammate. Caldwell and his new roommate were ‘not a good match,’ the suit says, and got into several verbal altercations that escalated into the new roommate pulling a gun on Caldwell on Oct. 9.

‘That same day, Ronald (Caldwell Sr.) sent a text to NSU head football coach Brad Laird alerting him that he needed help, and that Ronnie (Caldwell Jr.’s) roommate had pulled a gun on him,’ the suit reads. ‘Coach Laird replied with a phone call assuring Ronald (Caldwell Sr.) that he would take expedient action and move Ronnie (Caldwell Jr.’s) to a safe location immediately.’

The suit continued: ‘Three days later, Ronald (Caldwell Sr.) received his next call from Coach Laird at 2:07 a.m. informing him that Ronnie (Caldwell Jr.’s) had been murdered.’

The Natchitoches Police Department responded to a shooting at an apartment complex just outside of campus around 1 a.m. on Oct. 12, Corporal John Greely told USA TODAY Sports. Officials found Caldwell at the scene suffering from several gunshot wounds. Officers attempted to aid Caldwell but and he was pronounced dead by the Natchitoches Parish Coroner’s Office.

“There was nothing put in place to protect my son,’ Bradley said during a press conference last week. ‘The school failed to protect my son.”

The Caldwell family is seeking monetary damages to compensate for mental anguish, pecuniary loss and funeral expenses, among other losses, on the grounds of vicarious liability and premises liability. They are requesting a trial by jury.

Northwestern State told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday that the university is ‘aware of the lawsuit filed by the family of Ronnie Caldwell.’ The statement added, ‘While we cannot comment on the lawsuit at this time, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Ronnie’s family following this terrible tragedy.’

Caldwell’s roommate John McIntosh was arrested after the shooting for possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, ESPN reports.

Northwestern State football player Maurice Campbell II was arrested in connection with Caldwell’s death for obstruction of justice, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, NPD announced on Oct. 20. 

No one has been charged in the shooting yet. Caldwell’s death remains under investigation.

For Sam Pittman, it did something else.

With the victory against the Gators on Saturday, the Arkansas coach improved his record since the start of the 2021 college football season to 19-16, and guaranteed that he will finish the 2023 season with a mark of at least .500 dating back to the 2021 season-opener.

Because of that, if Pittman is fired without cause at the end of this season, he will be owed 75% of what he his owed on the remainder of his contract, according to the terms of his agreement with Arkansas.

Sam Pittman contract details

Pittman’s win over Florida is a notable distinction that is worth millions for Arkansas.

According to the terms of Pittman’s contract, obtained by the USA TODAY Network, he will be owed no less than $16.1 million if the university fires him without cause on Dec. 1, 2023. Had he fallen below the .500 win percentage threshold since the start of the 2021 season, he would have been owed only 50%, worth roughly $10.7 million. In either case, he would have to make a good-faith effort to find another job, the income of which would be subtracted from Arkansas’ buyout.

Pittman is scheduled to make $6.35 million in 2023 through Dec. 31, including a $5.25 million salary that includes $500,000 in annual salary, $4.5 million in additional compensation for speaking engagements and a $250,000 bonus for winning seven games in 2022. His pay ranks him 22nd among all FBS coaches and 10th among the SEC’s 14 coaches.

At the time he signed the contract, the Razorbacks were rolling under Pittman: In 2021, Arkansas went 9-4 and defeated Penn State in the Outback Bowl to reach its highest win total in a decade. The Razorbacks followed that breakthrough campaign with a disappointing 7-6 mark in 2022, a season in which it got off to a 3-0 start and rose to No. 10 in the US LBM Coaches Poll before losing six of their final 10 games.

This season has been even more difficult, with Arkansas at 3-6 following the win against Florida. That decline has raised questions about Pittman’s job status and his future at the school as he nears the end of his fourth season at the helm.

ARCADIA, Calif. — Bob Baffert lifted himself off the couch.

He was in his barn office at Santa Anita Park less than 72 hours before the Breeders’ Cup, which began Friday at the Southern California track. Baffert, the Hall of Fame horse trainer and the most controversial figure in the sport, has 3-year-old Arabian Knight — the favorite in the $6 million Classic, the richest race during the two-day championships.

But from Baffert’s seat on the couch, something else captured his attention. He walked over to a wall lined with framed photographs and pointed to some of his favorites. One shows Baffert standing on a jockey scale in the 1970s.

‘I weighed 123 pounds after I spit my gum out,’ he told USA TODAY of his brief and undistinguished career as a jockey.

Now 70, Baffert has retained his sense of humor despite the horse racing scandal that has engulfed him since May 2021.

There was a one-year ban from the New York Racing Association he completed in January for medication violations and his ongoing ban at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. The discipline from Churchill Downs came after Medina Spirit, the Baffert-trained horse, finished first at the 2021 Kentucky Derby only to be disqualified after failing a post-race drug test.

Since 1997, Baffert-trained horses have won in fast conditions, sloppy conditions and just kept winning – six times in all, a record for most Derby victories by a trainer that Baffert shares with the late Ben Jones. He became part of the fabric at America’s biggest horse race, not unlike the Churchill Downs’ twin spires, mint juleps and the extravagant hats.

Then he was gone, initially suspended in June 2021 for two years.

‘It was tough,’ said Baffert, who tried and failed to get the suspension overturned in court. ‘l want to say it was very humbling and humiliating at times what I went through at the Derby.’

Drawing intense criticism from animal rights activists, Baffert has been called a horse killer, a liar and a cheater. He has flatly denied it all, but something came to mind after he looked at those photos in his barn office this week.

‘What I will say is I was a bad jockey,’ Baffert said, with a grin.

Was Bob Baffert careless?

For years, Baffert took to media attention like horses take to hay and carrots.

Now?

‘I don’t want to be the story,’ Baffert said this week.

But his story, at Santa Anita Park, is unavoidable. This is the track where Medina Spirit won his last race – and took his last breath.

D. Wayne Lukas, the Hall of Fame trainer, quickly came to Baffert’s defense after news of Medina Spirit’s positive drug test broke in May 2021.

‘He did not have a great fan base in the trainer colony,’ said Lukas, who said he discovered as much when fellow trainers criticized Lukas for defending Baffert. ‘He was an easy target (because) when you’re in our business, jealousy is part of it.’

The notion dovetails with Baffert’s narrative.

‘There was a great quarterhorse trainer, and he sent some horses up to Nevada to run in these trial races,’ Baffert said, adding that he asked the trainer how things went. ‘And he says, ‘Oh, I sent my (assistant) up there, and all he did was make a lot of friends.’ He didn’t win a race.’

Grinning, Baffert said, ‘So that’s the way it works here,’ implying that a winning trainer – say, one who has six Kentucky Derbys and two Triple Crowns to his credit, as Baffert does – makes more enemies than friends among the competition.

Yet Lukas suggested Baffert might bear some responsibility.

The post-race drug test showed the presence of the steroid betamethasone, a legal therapeutic that is banned on race day. Baffert said the steroid was in an antifungal ointment that had been used to treat Medina Spirit daily before the race. He denied the horse had been injected with the steroid or that it had been used for performance-enhancing purposes.

‘If he’s only guilty of one thing,’ said Lukas, a longtime friend of Baffert, ‘that would be (being) a little bit careless.’

Responded Baffert, ‘There’s no carelessness here. There hasn’t been carelessness since quarterhorse days or whatever. We run a pretty tight ship, and I just wanted to clarify that.’

Bob Baffert and dead horses

Since the 1980s, Baffert’s operation has been based in California. As of 2021, he led the state’s trainers not only in prestigious victories with 17 Triple Crown races and 18 Breeders’ Cup races, but also in rate of horse deaths, according to the Washington Post.

Baffert ranked first among trainers with a rate of 8.3 dead horses per 1,000 starts, according to the Post, which reported the average death rate in California was 7.2 horses per 1,000 starts. 

But Clark Brewster, an attorney representing Baffert, said the Post’s data was misleading because the death per-start rate does not take into consideration the large number of horses Baffert trains. He also said Baffert’s rate of horse deaths in training and racing is among the lowest in California.

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has collected such data from 2018 to 2023 and its website shows Baffert had nine deaths in training and none in racing for that period. His rate of 6.37 deaths per 1,000 starts during that period does not rank among the highest for California trainers, although the CHRB does not provide those calculations on its website.

Mike Marten, public information officer for the CHRB, confirmed the figures on the state agency’s website.

Between 2011 and 2013, seven of Baffert’s horses stabled at Hollywood Park, the since-closed Southern California racetrack, died. The cause of death in each case was ruled ‘sudden death’ and led to an investigation by the CHRB, which described the clustering of sudden deaths as ‘highly unusual.’

‘Sudden deaths are most often defined as acute collapse and death in a closely observed and previously apparently healthy racehorse,” according to the CHRB investigative report. Artery and vessel ruptures are causes of sudden death, according to an online post by Virginia B. Reef, a veterinarian and faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania.

An executive summary of the CHRB investigation reads, ‘There is no evidence whatsoever that CHRB rules or regulations have been violated or any improper activity played a part in the sudden deaths.’

Then in December 2021, after a morning workout at Santa Anita Park, Medina Spirit collapsed and died.

Baffert said the cause of death was an unpreventable heart attack. The CHRB later announced the necropsy report on Medina Spirit revealed he may have suffered a heart attack but the cause of death remained ‘undetermined.’ No banned drugs were found in the horse’s system, according to the CHRB.

‘It’s painful,’ Baffert said. ‘With something like that, you find what you might have done different. But there’s nothing. Those things happen. There’s no rhyme or reason.’

But Elizabeth Banicki, a former exercise rider who said she worked for Baffert from about 2003 to 2010, said his operation is a conveyer belt of expensive horses being subjected to a ‘hammering’ training regimen.

The regimen ‘makes them or breaks them,’ she wrote to USA TODAY in a Facebook message.

Baffert denies such allegations, saying, ‘We don’t take any chances (with the horses). We’re very careful.’

Digging into the drug tests

In November 2020, the New York Times reported that Baffert’s horses had failed 29 drug tests over four decades.

‘The cases took months, if not years, to adjudicate and were met mostly with modest fines or brief suspensions, as Baffert asserted he did nothing wrong and blamed the results on environmental contamination or human error,’ the Times reported.

Brewster, the attorney, noted Baffert’s horses have never tested positive for a banned drug but rather for more than the allowable amount of permissible medication.

‘His regulatory history with medication violations, if you look at it in a thoughtful way, is minimal compared to other trainers’ records,’ Brewster said.

In suspending Baffert for a year, the New York Racing Association cited seven medication violations – including Medina Spirit’s failed drug test at the 2021 Kentucky Derby – at various tracks between 2019 and 2021.

Churchill Downs, in extending Baffert’s ban through the 2024 season following an initial two-year suspension, said Baffert had yet to accept responsibility for Medina Spirit’s failed drug test.

Fatalities at the Breeders’ Cup

When talking about Medina Spirit’s death, Baffert referred to another horse fatality.

Practical Move, which was entered in $1 million Dirt Mile at the Breeders’ Cup, collapsed and died after a gallop Tuesday at Santa Anita – the same track where Medina Spirit collapsed and died 11 months ago. A necropsy will determine the official cause of death, but Breeders’ Cup officials cited a suspected ‘cardiac event.’

‘There’s no way you can prevent that,’ Baffert said.

It was more grim news the following day. Geaux Rocket Ride, a contender in the $6 million Classic, was euthanized after injuring its front right leg during a workout four days earlier. Neither horse was trained by Baffert.

Just like that, the controversy over horse fatalities reared its head again and conjured up memories of the recent past.

In 2019, the last time the Breeders’ Cup was held at Santa Anita, a 4-year-old gelding named Mongolian Groom had to be euthanized after fracturing a hind leg during the Classic. The horse was one of 42 that died at the track that year, according to the Associated Press, and fueled outrage over the death rate of racehorses.

The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita Park, implemented a number of safety measures and pushed for reforms that have coincided with a drop in horse fatalities at the track. But in 2023, horse deaths on the day of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes have kept the horse racing industry under scrutiny.

Of course that includes Baffert.

‘I focus on the horses,’ he told USA TODAY, ‘and you got to keep the noise out.’

There was no audible criticism during two days of morning workouts for the horses, when Baffert arrived wearing a bright blue parka and his signature sunglasses. There were handshakes and a hug and at least one fan asking for a photo with Baffert. He complied.

‘You can finally be useful,’ Baffert told the guy taking the photo, and grins split their faces.

He also held court among a group of men, chatted with others and then got down to business: watching his Breeders’ Cup horses, nine in all, including the star – Arabian Knight, the favorite he has prepped for the $6 million Classic.

Sun splashed on the San Gabriel mountains in the distance. Horses snorted as they galloped across the dirt track. One of the biggest events in racing approached.

‘How’s the best trainer in the world?’ someone asked.

‘I’m doing great,’ Baffert said.

Alabama’s dreams of another SEC championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff are still alive.

The Crimson Tide defeated rival LSU 42-28 Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium, getting some revenge for last year’s defeat while staying on the inside track in the race for the SEC West title.  

This one started as a shootout, but the Tide took control down the stretch to put the Tigers away.

Crimson Tide QB Jalen Milroe was brilliant, throwing for 219 yards and rushing 20 times for 155 yards. He set an Alabama quarterback record with four rushing touchdowns.

His play was matched most of the game by Jayden Daniels. Alabama had few answers in the early going for LSU’s Heisman Trophy contender, who finished 15-for-25 passing for 219 yards with two touchdowns and added 163 yards and another touchdown on the ground. But Daniels was forced from the game in the fourth quarter after he entered concussion protocol following a hit that drew a roughing the passer penalty.

That took the air out of any potential LSU comeback.

The game was tied 21-21 at halftime, and LSU drove right down the field on its first possession of the second half to take the lead. But that would end the scoring for college football’s best offense.

Alabama answered with a touchdown to tie the game. LSU followed up with its first punt of the day and Alabama took the lead for good with a touchdown. Two plays into LSU’s next drive, Daniels threw an interception and Alabama cashed in once again to go up two touchdowns.

Daniels was hurt the next drive, and that was that.

LSU vs. Alabama highlights

College football Week 10 scores

Clemson 31, No. 12 Notre Dame 23No. 25 North Carolina 59, Campbell 7No. 6 Texas 33, Kansas State 30 (OT)No. 10 Ole Miss 38, Texas A&M 35No. 16 Tennessee 59, UConn 3No. 3 Ohio State 35, Rutgers 16No. 18 Utah 55, Arizona State 3Army 23, No. 17 Air Force 3No. 4 Florida State 24, Pittsburgh 7No. 15 Louisville 34, Virginia Tech 3Oklahoma State 27, No. 11 Oklahoma 24No. 1 Georgia 30, No. 14 Missouri 21No. 9 Penn State 51, Maryland 15No. 21 Tulane 13, East Carolina 10No. 24 James Madison 42, Georgia State 14No. 7 Oregon 63, California 19No. 23 Kansas 28, Iowa State 21No. 5 Washington 52, No. 22 Southern Cal 42No. 2 Michigan 41, Purdue 13No. 8 Alabama 42, No. 13 LSU 28No. 19 Oregon State 26, Colorado 19Arizona 27, No. 20 UCLA 10

LSU QB Jayden Daniels knocked out of the game

A 42-28 deficit in the fourth quarter is suddenly a secondary issue for LSU. Quarterback Jayden Daniels, a Heisman Trophy contender, was forced from the game after he absorbed a high hit that drew a roughing the passer penalty on Alabama’s Dallas Turner.

Daniels appeared shaken up on the play, lying on his stomach for a few moments. He was checked on by trainers and came out for Garrett Nussmeier, who completed a 5-yard pass to Brian Thomas. Daniels came back in, but then, following a false start and LSU timeout, he exited again and headed to the blue medical tent. Nussmeier came back in to replace him.

CBS reported that Daniels was in concussion protocol and would be out for the remainder of the game.

Alabama football extends lead after LSU’s Jayden Daniels throws interception

LSU and Alabama played clean football for three quarters, but Tigers QB Jayden Daniels surrendered the first turnover of the game. Daniels attempted a pass to Malik Nabers, but it was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Alabama DB Terrion Arnold at LSU’s 27-yard line. It was Daniels’ fourth interception of the season.

Alabama capitalized on the takeaway and found the end zone to extend its lead over LSU to 42-28. Running back Jase McClellan ran for a 10-yard touchdown. The drive was kept alive by a horse collar tackle penalty called on LSU LB Harold Perkins.

“We got to make a stop sooner or later defensively,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. ‘We have battled.’

Jalen Milroe’s fourth rushing TD gives Alabama football lead vs. LSU

Four rushing touchdowns for No. 4.

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe ended the team’s six-play, 68-yard touchdown drive with a 11-yard rushing score. It marked his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, a school record for a quarterback. He came into this game with five rushing touchdowns on the season.

His fourth TD run was reminiscent of his third. He faked out a defender by appearing like he was going to throw the ball before turning on the jets and breaking several tackles.

Milroe’s now up to 142 rushing yards in the game, in addition to 200 passing yards.

He’s not the only one making history. Alabama Kicker Will Reichard became the NCAA’s all-time points leader with his 500th point scored on Saturday. Bama is up 35-28.

Alabama football ties it back up vs. LSU on Roydell Williams’ 16-yard TD run

The Crimson Tide responded with a touchdown picked up entirely on the ground. Receiver Kendrick Law set Alabama up with good field position with a 30-yard kickoff return. They worked their way all the way down the field on seven run plays, the longest coming from QB Jalen Milroe, an 18-yard rush to convert a third-and-10. The drive ended on Roydell Williams’ 16-yard touchdown run.

The game is tied again at 28-28.

LSU takes lead vs. Alabama after Malik Nabers’ incredible toe-tap catch

LSU opened the second half with a score. Quarterback Jayden Daniels found receiver Malik Nabers for 17-yard and 30-yard completions on the 9-play, 75-yard drive, which was capped off by a 2-yard rushing TD from running back Josh Williams.

Daniels has 211 passing yards and two touchdowns, plus 155 rushing yards and another touchdown. Nabers has seven receptions for 136 yards.

The Tigers lead the Crimson Tide 28-21. 

Halftime: Alabama 21, LSU 21

Alabama left LSU with too much time.

The Tigers were able to march 75 yards down the field in 56 seconds to tie the ball game heading into halftime, 21-21. LSU did so in only five plays, including a 40-yard run and 28-yard run from quarterback Jayden Daniels, the drive capped by Daniels’ 26-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kyren Lacy.

So far, it has been a battle of the quarterbacks, who have looked unstoppable on the ground. Daniels has 164 yards in the air and two passing touchdowns, in addition to 137 rushing yards and one touchdown. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe has 165 yards in the air, in addition to 82 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns.

“Both quarterbacks are elusive. Both teams can make plays. It’s about making stops, really,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said at halftime. “This is what it’s going to be for four quarters. Buckle up. We got more work to do..”

Alabama has been slightly more efficient with the ball, converting 7-for-9 third downs, compared to LSU going 2-for-4 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.

The score could be higher. Both teams missed a field goal.

Alabama football’s Jalen Milroe picks up third rushing touchdown vs. LSU

The LSU Tigers haven’t found an answer for Alabama Crimson Tide QB Jalen Milroe.

Alabama needed three yards to convert a third down on its 33-yard line. LSU expected a run or short pass from Milroe, who instead connected with running back Jam Miller for a 35-yard pass down the field. Milroe overthrew receiver Isaiah Bond on what would have been a walk-in touchdown, but he was able to find the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown run, his third rushing touchdown of the game.

Milroe faked out defenders on the run by acting like he was going to throw at the line of scrimmage before he accelerated up the middle for the score. He’s up to 165 yards in the air and 82 yards on the ground.

Alabama leads 21-14. 

LSU QB Jayden Daniels gets rushing TD of his own to tie Alabama

It’s all even in Tuscaloosa.

After coming up empty the previous two drives following a failed fourth-down conversion and missed field goal, the Tigers put some points on the board. Jayden Daniels punched the ball into the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown run to tie the game 14-14.

Daniels has thrown eight completions for 137 yards and one touchdown and he’s picked up 69 yards with his feet, along with one rushing touchdown.

Malik Nabers, who caught two passes for 21 yards during the touchdown drive, leads all Tigers receivers with 89 yards on the game.

Alabama football kicker misses field goal vs. Tigers. Announcer jinx to blame?

Call it an announcer jinx?

CBS announcer Brad Nessler mentioned that Alabama kicker Will Reichard has not missed a field goal or extra point this entire year as he trotted onto the field for a 47-yard attempt. Reichard then missed the field goal attempt wide right.

“Oh boy, no good,” Nessler followed up.

Both teams have missed field goals in the contest. Alabama still leads LSU 14-7.

LSU football kicker misses 46-yard field goal vs. Alabama

Tigers QB Jayden Daniels exploded for a 28-yard run to get to the 50-yard line. He connected with his favorite target, receiver Malik Nabers, for a 22-yard pass to get to Alabama’s 25-yard line, but the drive stalled after an incomplete pass, run for no gain and a sack.

LSU sent kicker Damian Ramos onto the field for a 46-yard attempt, but he missed.

Alabama still leads LSU 14-7.

Alabama 14, LSU 7: LSU football’s gamble backfires

The Tigers gambled and it didn’t pay off.

LSU QB Jayden Daniels opted to throw to receiver Malik Nabers on fourth-and-1, but the Tigers were unable to convert and turned the ball over on downs at the Crimson Tide 42-yard line.

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe connected with receiver Isaiah Bond for a 21-yard pass to enter the red zone. Milroe did the rest with his feet. He rattled off three consecutive runs, capped off by a 4-yard touchdown run, his second rushing score of the game.

Alabama has scored 14 unanswered points and leads LSU 14-7. Milroe has 86 passing yards and 35 rushing yards.

Alabama football answers with Jalen Milroe touchdown run

We might have a shootout on our hands, folks.

After LSU went 85 yards on just five plays, Alabama answered with a five-play, 76-yard drive of its own. Quarterback Jalen Milroe was responsible for all but 4 yards on the drive, dicing up LSU with his arm and legs. He capped the drive with a 23-yard dash to the end zone that knotted the game 7-7 after the extra point.

LSU football strikes first with 46-yard TD pass from Jayden Daniels

The Tigers got on the board first on quarterback Jayden Daniels’ 46-yard touchdown pass downfield to receiver Malik Nabers, who trotted into the end zone untouched. LSU got help on the drive after a personal foul was called on Alabama LB Dallas Turner to set the Tigers up at their 42-yard line.

The Tigers lead 7-0.

What TV channel is LSU vs. Alabama on?

LSU vs. Alabama is slated to begin at 7:45 p.m. ET on CBS.

LSU-Alabama history 

LSU and Alabama have played each other 87 times, with the Crimson Tide holding the series lead at 55-27-5. 

The early years of the rivalry was dominated by Alabama, which included an 11-game winning streak from 1971-81. But since then, it’s been much more competitive, with Alabama leading the past 42 meetings at 24-17-1.  

One of their most famous matchups happened in 2011, when No. 1 LSU defeated No. 2 Alabama 9-6 in Tuscaloosa. The two teams later met in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, the first time in the BCS era the national title game was decided between two teams in the same conference. Alabama would dominate the game with a 21-0 win to claim the national championship. 

Saturday will be the 31st time the two teams have met as ranked opponents, the fourth most in FBS history behind Michigan vs. Ohio State, Oklahoma vs. Texas and Notre Dame vs. USC. 

Alabama 2023 season 

The Crimson Tide are 7-1 and 5-0 in the SEC, joining Georgia as the only SEC teams undefeated in conference play. Alabama was stunned in the home loss to Texas in Week 2, and questions lingered on a suspect offense, but it’s picked it up and the Tide have won their past six games to remain a College Football Playoff contender. 

Jalen Milroe has found some rhythm as the quarterback after he was benched earlier in the season, but the story has been the Crimson Tide defense. The unit only gives up 16.5 points and 306.4 yards per game, both of which are 17th in the country. The defense hasn’t given up more than 21 points this season in all of their wins; Texas scored 34 points in the win in September.  

LSU 2023 season 

LSU will head into Bryant-Denny Stadium at 6-2 and 4-1 in the SEC. After the Tigers were embarrassed by Florida State in the season opener in Orlando, LSU rattled off three straight wins against Grambling, Mississippi State and Arkansas.  

The Tigers were handed their first SEC defeat in a road shootout against Ole Miss, but have won another three games in a row with double-digit wins against Missouri, Auburn and Army.  

LSU has had the best offense in the country this season; its 47.4 points and 552.9 yards per game is first in the country. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is also a Heisman Trophy candidate as his 321.6 passing yards per game is third in the country, and his 25 passing touchdowns is tied for most in FBS with reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams. 

The biggest games left that will alter the College Football Playoff race 

November means the 2023 college football regular season is in its final month, which means there are a few games left that will determine which teams eventually play for the national championship. 

That starts on Saturday with a series of games involving some of the top teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll, including a matchup between No. 13 LSU and No. 8 Alabama that should decide the SEC West. 

And this continues through the month, culminating in what looks again to be the biggest pairing of the year in college football: No. 3 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan, with the winner likely advancing to the Big Ten championship game. 

Sprinkled in between are make-or-break games featuring every Power Five league and the best teams in the Group of Five. 

Read what the most important games left in the college football season are by clicking here. — Paul Myerberg 

Big college football games tonight 

No. 5 Washington at No. 22 Southern California 

Time/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC 

Why watch: Buckle up. This one should be quite a ride, an aerial show that would make Bessie Coleman proud. The Huskies have to hope their bad games are behind them as they begin a challenging final month. The Trojans, coming off a narrow escape themselves against California, aren’t firing on all cylinders either but remain more than capable of putting up a big score. USC’s Caleb Williams and the Huskies’ Michael Penix Jr. have combined for 49 scoring throws. They’ve also both had to take some chances to compensate for defensive shortcomings, so we might see opportunities for picks as well for the likes of Trojans DB Calen Bullock or Washington CB Mishael Powell. The primary breakaway threats for Williams are WRs Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice, and Penix looks most often for WRs Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk. 

Why it could disappoint: If you find poor defensive execution, well, offensive, then this might not be the game for you. But the explosive potential of both passing attacks should keep this one interesting well into the fourth quarter. — Eddie Timanus

College football picks Week 10

Here are our college football Week 10 expert picks: 

College Football Fix 

Ohio State was installed as the No. 1 team in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. But are the Buckeyes really the best team in the country ahead of Georgia, Michigan or even Florida State? Not part of the committee’s consideration when doing its ranking of the best 25 teams is the Michigan sign-stealing scandal that continues to get stranger and stranger. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had a wild interaction with a caller on his radio show Monday after the team’s loss to North Carolina State. Dan Wolken and Paul Myerberg discuss these topics and look ahead to an important slate of Week 10 games in this week’s version of the College Football Fix. — Erick Smith

Great American Tailgate 

Dive into college football and tailgating traditions in six states, and share your tailgating experiences with us by using #greatamericantailgate. 

Enter the Great American Tailgate by clicking here. 

College football Week 10 odds

The top college football betting apps favor No. 8 Alabama in the SEC showdown with No. 13 LSU. The Crimson Tide are 3-point favorites over the Tigers in the matchup in Tuscaloosa, according to the BetMGM college football odds. 

Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering college football betting promos in 2023.

Not interested in this game? Our college football betting guide can help you get started.

If you’re new to sports betting, don’t worry. We have tips for beginners on how to place a bet online. And USA TODAY readers can claim exclusive promos and bonus codes with the online sportsbooks and sports betting sites. — Richard Morin

All odds provided by BetMGM

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The offensive expectations for Iowa and Northwestern heading into their matchup Saturday at Wrigley Field in Chicago were historically low, with BetMGM’s opening over/under at 30.5.

The Hawkeyes and Wildcats didn’t even manage to meet that meager mark — or even get particularly close. Northwestern and Iowa combined for 17 points in the Hawkeyes’ 10-7 victory on Saturday, a game that improved their record to 7-2 in 2023. The teams combined for 339 total yards, with neither squad finishing with more than 170 yards, and rushed for a total of 193 yards on 82 carries (2.4 yards per rush).

The low point total was too unsightly to ignore, particularly at the end of a week in which it was announced that Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will not return for the 2024 season.

Just how bad was it, though? The Iowa-Northwestern point total was the seventh-highest scoring game this year at Wrigley Field: a venue that overwhelmingly hosts baseball games as the home of MLB’s Chicago Cubs.

Despite playing a traditionally lower-scoring sport than football, the Cubs had six home games during their 2023 season that had a higher combined point total than the matchup between the Hawkeyes and Wildcats.

Here are those games:

29 combined runs vs. Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 1 (20-9 win)23 combined runs vs. Seattle Mariners on April 11 (14-9 win)22 combined runs vs. Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2 (16-6 win)20 combined runs vs. Washington Nationals on July 18 (17-3 win)20 combined runs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 20 (13-7 loss)19 combined runs vs. San Francisco Giants on Sept. 5 (11-8 win)

Entering their meeting Saturday, Northwestern was tied for No. 107 among 133 FBS teams in scoring offense while Iowa was No. 120. The Hawkeyes’ win against the Wildcats was their third-consecutive game in which the point total failed to surpass 22.

WWE has had some big international shows in 2023, and it was no different with Crown Jewel, the second show in Saudi Arabia this year.

Roman Reigns, Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky all head back to the U.S. with their titles, but a new champion emerged with Logan Paul snatching the United States Championship from Rey Mysterio in just his eighth match. The victory cements the social media star and shows he’s built for a bigger run in the company and is not just a part-time celebrity.

Overall, the show was spectacular, with the big surprise of the night being the return of Kairi Sane. And even with a loss, LA Knight secured a big win Saturday night. Yet there were still some odd and confusing moments sprinkled in.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Crown Jewel 2023:

The return of Kairi Sane 

She’s back.

After leaving the company in July 2020, Sane made her long-awaited and triumphant return to WWE by coming to the aid of Iyo Sky in the Women’s Championship match against Bianca Belair. Most of the crowd seemed confused, or unsure, about Sane’s appearance, but the return was something WWE fans have been craving for months.

Sane aligning with Sky came as a shock, as it now puts the champion’s status with Damage CTRL up in the air. Questions will linger on whether she’ll stay with the faction or if she’ll form something else with her fellow Japan-native.

What we do know is that Sane is one of the best performers in the world, as she proved in NXT when she was one of the top stars in the developmental brand. Her first run on the main roster was great, and even though she left WWE on her own terms, fans wished they got to see her make a run toward a women’s title. It’s likely at some point we’ll see it, and fans will be tuned in to see the pirate dazzle every week.

But there was one slight issue with her return, which groups into a bigger issue from Crown Jewel…

Too many interferences 

Sane’s return was a great spot, but it was one of the many matches of the night to have interference of some kind, which spoiled what could’ve been some great matches.

Paul and Mysterio were headed toward a great finish, but a friend of Paul’s came in to give him brass knuckles for the cheap win. After Sane appeared, The Judgment Day and Jey Uso got involved with Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest in a match that was on fire from the start. And, of course, Reigns got another win after The Bloodline interfered.

It’s without a doubt part of the business, and it’s nearly a given to happen at least once during a pay-per-view, but ending the show with four straight interferences is too sloppy, and messed with what could’ve been a near-perfect event. It’s also part of a larger problem with Reigns’ title matches, as fans can guarantee a non-clean finish now — and that’s quickly grown old with viewers.

This year, Reigns has defended his title five times. Of those five matches, only one — Elimination Chamber — didn’t have direct interference. It’s been established The Bloodline reigns supreme in WWE, but this is a way it can grow stale with an audience that is craving something new. Whenever Reigns defends the title next, a clean finish would be appreciated.

How Solo Sikoa − and LA Knight − were major winners

It wasn’t for gold, but Solo Sikoa received a huge boost in his career by defeating John Cena, in a clean finish no less.

Much has been made of how long John Cena will continue his WWE career, with him even admitting the end of SAG-AFTRA strike would pull him away from the ring. Mix that in with him not having a singles win in over five years and it seemed like the perfect recipe for Cena to possibly go out with a win.

Instead, Sikoa brutalized Cena with a fury of Samoan spikes before pinning him in dominant fashion. Since his debut on the main roster, Sikoa has been somewhat of an enforcer for The Bloodline, doing whatever Reigns tells him to do — which hasn’t given him many chances to shine on his own. The win was big for Sikoa because Cena did a great job of helping him get over.

By legitimizing Sikoa as a singles competitor, there could be some opportunities for him to have his own storyline away from his family, and continue to show how much brute force he has. Similar to what’s going on with The Judgment Day, he could even make a run at a title, adding more gold to the family.

On the other side, there was no chance LA Knight was going to upset Reigns on Saturday night. Yet, he had the whole crowd on his side, and his electric personality added an extra level to what already is a major match. It didn’t result in a win, but LA Knight showed he’s more than capable of performing on the big stage.

Will he win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship anytime soon? Likely not. But will he stay in the main event picture? Absolutely.

Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre put on a show

The opener turned out to be the best match of the show, as Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre put on a dazzling display to start Crown Jewel.

There’s always near pinfalls in every match, but this one had so many close calls that you never knew who was going to pull away with the victory. The amount of talent each star has made it even better, with counter after counter happening in several spots.

Since becoming the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion title holder at Night of Champions, Rollins has had the goal of defending the title as often as he can in hopes of building its prestige. Moments like Saturday will certainly do it. While the belt is not yet at the same level as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, it’s getting up there. Another match between these two would certainly be a treat.

So much about the Michigan sign-stealing scandal is still unclear, but one key piece has become obvious: Tony Petitti, the new Big Ten commissioner, has only a series of bad options to deal with the growing calls for punishment from inside the league. 

Petitti could choose to do nothing, citing the need for the NCAA to finish its investigation, and deal with any fallout after the season. 

He could invoke the league’s sportsmanship policy and do something drastic like make Michigan ineligible for the Big Ten title. 

Or he could find some sort of middle ground like suspending coach Jim Harbaugh, which would suggest the seriousness of the allegations against Michigan but not prevent the team from pursuing its competitive goals. 

But all of those options, and perhaps some others being discussed among Big Ten administrators right now, are problematic. 

If Petitti stands down on this, he will look like a weak leader and suffer a massive credibility hit with the coaches and athletics directors who are rightfully aggrieved by an alleged sign-stealing operation that would absolutely impact competition if it was as elaborate and brazen as it seems thus far. 

If Petitti concludes that Michigan’s conduct was egregious enough to forfeit games or be banned from the postseason, he risks being accused of overreach and punishing players who — at least to this point — likely have no culpability in the ethical breach that was committed. 

And even if he were to put the punishment on Harbaugh, which might be the path of least resistance, there’s a huge risk in sparking an ugly legal fight that would leave everyone sullied to some degree. After all, nothing so far has connected Harbaugh to the alleged activities of Connor Stalions, a low-level staffer who was apparently sending associates all over the country to film the sidelines of future and potential Michigan opponents in an attempt to decipher their signals.

Though sign stealing is legal and part of the sport, in-person scouting is against NCAA rules. While the impact of what Stalions allegedly did can’t exactly be quantified, there’s little question that it’s an advantage in football to know what play an opponent is going to run. If that information was obtained through illicit means, it could potentially affect anything from player health and safety to gambling results. 

Not everybody thinks rules matter when it comes to sports, and particularly within the NCAA ecosystem, but it’s important to understand why this has made Michigan’s conference brethren so angry. Yes, some of it may be rooted in the Wolverines’ dominance over the last 2½ seasons. But if they believe that dominance was achieved at least in part by cheating, it’s a legitimate problem that cuts to the integrity of the game. 

And making this worse for Petitti is that it’s all unfolding in real time, with just a month left in the season. That’s not a lot of runway to figure out what’s fair for Michigan while also showing the rest of the Big Ten that he cares about justice for them. 

There’s a faction in the league that is seething even more now than it was at the beginning of the week because of how dismissively the College Football Playoff selection committee handled the Michigan issue. Boo Corrigan, the NC State athletics director and chairman of the committee, essentially said that this was an NCAA problem and not something for the CFP to litigate. Bill Hancock, the CFP executive director, said: “There’s no substantive evidence that anything happened that might have affected the game. All this committee does is evaluate what happens on the field during games. That’s why we are where we are.”

To many in the Big Ten, that sounds like a cop-out. Affecting the game on the field is the entire reason everyone tries to steal signs. If you’re taking it to the extent Michigan allegedly did, it skews the entire process of how you evaluate not just Michigan but all the teams Michigan played while having illicitly obtained information. 

So with the CFP deciding it wants nothing to do with this and the NCAA investigative process almost certainly dragging out well past the end of this season, any immediate consequences will have to come from Petitti.

And he’s getting hit from every direction. 

This has to be an uncomfortable position for Petitti, a longtime sports and television executive who took over at Big Ten headquarters earlier this year. This is supposed to be his honeymoon phase. Instead, he’s been placed squarely in the middle of a situation that will make important constituents mad no matter what he does and will force him to act with incomplete information. 

What many people forget, though, is that sports aren’t the American legal system. You aren’t innocent until proven guilty, and you don’t have to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. Unless Stalions and/or Michigan have some alternate explanation for why he was paying his buddies to be at games with cell phones pointed toward sidelines, Michigan is responsible for violating an NCAA rule and should pay a price this season. That’s black and white. 

What that price should be, though, is almost impossible to say because there’s no precedent and no punishment that will seem proportional. 

Even in 2010, when the college football world was roiling over allegations surrounding the recruitment of Cam Newton, he went through a short suspension and reinstatement process that essentially put any wrongdoing on his father. People may have rolled their eyes, but once the NCAA cleared him to play, that was that. 

It seems unlikely that a similar type of remedy would be available to Michigan for a lot of reasons, but mainly that people are better at covering their tracks on pay-for-play than Stalions, who put his business on a public Venmo profile, used his own credit card to buy tickets to various games and even bragged to some folks about what he was doing. 

At best, Michigan’s only real defense here is that Stalions was a lone wolf and the coaches, including Harbaugh, didn’t know how he was getting his extensive scouting reports on other teams. The school would then have to hope that any links proving involvement from coaches would come out much later. 

But that’s a risk for the Big Ten, too, if Pettiti doesn’t punish the Wolverines. Imagine Michigan celebrating a national championship, only to have an investigation reveal months later that Stalions’ plan was being endorsed at a higher level. The taint of that would stick to Michigan and the Big Ten for generations, especially when the conference would have had a clear opportunity to prevent it from happening. 

On the other hand, if Petitti chooses the nuclear option and shuts Michigan down, it could end up in an embarrassing legal fight. If Michigan, say, went to court and got an injunction that allowed it to play for the Big Ten title, Petitti might as well hand in his resignation on the spot. How could he possibly lead the conference under those circumstances? 

For Petitti, there’s not much time to act and few good options available. But with the rest of the Big Ten putting pressure on him to do something, standing aside while Michigan goes on with business as usual doesn’t seem like one of them.

Connor Stalions, the Michigan Wolverines football staffer at the center of the program’s sign-stealing scandal, has resigned, according to a statement from the school.

‘Connor Stalions resigned his position with Michigan Athletics this afternoon. We are unable to comment further regarding this personnel matter,’ Michigan said in a statement.

Prior to Michigan’s statement, multiple reports suggested that Stalions was fired.

According to The Athletic, Stalions ‘refused to cooperate with any internal or external investigations or discussions.’ Per the Associated Press, Stalions ‘failed to show up for a scheduled hearing Friday and informed the school through his attorney he would not participate in any internal or external investigations.’

Stalions has been accused of buying tickets to games against Michigan’s Big Ten Conference and possible future College Football Playoff opponents, scouting and recording video that would be used to decode their in-game signals so the Wolverines could have an advantage in games. In-person scouting is against NCAA rules.

“As he informed the school earlier today, Connor chose to resign because recent stories regarding his time with the University of Michigan have created a distraction for the team,” Brad Beckworth, Stalions’ attorney, told The Athletic.

“He hopes his resignation will help the team and coaching staff focus on (Saturday’s) game and the remainder of the season. Connor also wants to make it clear that, to his knowledge, neither Coach (Jim) Harbaugh, nor any other coach or staff member, told anyone to break any rules or were aware of improper conduct regarding the recent allegations of advanced scouting.”

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti met with Michigan President Santa Ono and athletic director Warde Manuel on Friday as the conference weighs whether to discipline the Wolverines’ football program for the scouting and sign-stealing scheme. Petitti was in Ann Arbor for the Big Ten field hockey championships. Big Ten spokeswoman Diane Dietz confirmed to the AP that Petitti met with Ono and Warde but provided no details.

The 28-year-old Stalions, a retired captain from the U.S. Marine Corps and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, allegedly bought tickets, using his real name, to almost three dozen games over the past three seasons. According to ESPN.com, 12 different Big Ten schools were scouted and the use of electronics and a paper trail were also found. Stalions then forwarded tickets to others around the country and also used television broadcasts to further the scheme. Central Michigan is investigating if Stalions was on the sidelines for their game against Michigan State.

Stalions was suspended by the university with pay two weeks ago. The NCAA is also investigating the allegations. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has denied any involvement in the sign-stealing scheme.

The No. 2 ranked Wolverines are scheduled to face Purdue on Saturday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the first College Football Playoff rankings announced on Tuesday, Michigan was seeded third behind Big Ten rival Ohio State and two-time defending national champion Georgia.