Fired

Sasha Banks is back in the ring ... just not with the WWE.

The former women's champ officially joined New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), debuting as "Mercedes Mone" with the promotion.

Mercedes Varnado, who went by "Sasha Banks" during her tenure with the WWE, arrived at NJPW's WrestleKingdom 17 at the Tokyo Dome in front of a packed crowd.

Mone confronted Kairi, former WWE athlete and the current IGWP women's champion, setting up a showdown between the two at New Japan's Battle in the Valley event on Feb. 18 in San Jose, California.

"I am here in New Japan and Stardom to make more [history]," Varnado said on the mic after she attacked Kairi.

You'll recall ... last May, Mercedes, alongside WWE superstar Naomi, reportedly walked out of a taping of "Monday Night Raw." Neither wrestler appeared on any of the company's programming since the incident.

Sasha and Naomi were suspended indefinitely -- and Wrestling Inc. reported WWE released Banks in June.

Ahead of her NJPW debut on Wednesday, which was not publicized, Mercedes -- who spent ten years with the WWE -- thanked a host of individuals who helped her over the years, naming Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, William Regal, and the WWE Universe.

The Denver Broncos have fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett amid their disastrous 4-11 season ... just one day after the team suffered a massive 51-14 loss to the Rams on Christmas.

Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner released a statement on Monday ... thanking the 43-year-old coach for his hard work and dedication to the organization, but saying it was time for a change.

"Following extensive conversations with George and our ownership group, we determined a new direction will ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos," Penner said.

"This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach."

Hackett became the Broncos' head coach in January 2022 ... just a few months before the team traded for Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.

Both Hackett and Wilson struggled this season with the Broncos' offense ... only scoring 15.5 points per game.

The embarrassing 51-14 loss against the Rams on Christmas night was the last straw ... leaving the Broncos with a 4-11 record and at the bottom of the AFC West standings.

"Moving forward, we will carefully evaluate every aspect of our football operations and make whatever changes are necessary to restore this franchise's winning tradition," Penner added.

Orlando Brown is losing a movie role because of his domestic violence arrest ... a role the alleged victim actually got him.

TMZ broke the story ... the former Disney star was arrested Thursday for misdemeanor domestic violence after cops in Ohio responded to a call about a fight in progress between two men.

Matthew Sanders, the alleged victim, tells TMZ ... he's directing and producing a movie called "Up The Score" and wanted Orlando to be part of it, because he considers OB not only a friend but extremely talented.

Orlando's legal issues have been well documented over the years, and Matthew says Orlando had been living at his home in Ohio since November during preproduction for the movie. We're told there were no major issues until Thursday's incident.

Matthew, who told cops Orlando came at him with a broken-off knife blade and a hammer, believes OB is struggling with a mental illness. He thinks Orlando is at times out of touch with reality, and he's bummed he wasn't able to help Orlando make a movie comeback.

Orlando was supposed to have a secondary role in the movie ... a dramedy about a military man who meets someone on social media and leaves his family for this person only to find out they are not who they said they were ... but that's no more.

Matthew tells us Orlando is no longer allowed to live at his house at this point in time and is currently removed from the film.

Wrestling star Mandy Rose is no longer getting a WWE check, but she sure as hell is still raking in the dough ... 'cause TMZ Sports is told the former NXT champ has made $500k off her sexy content in just one week!!

Mandy was fired Wednesday after posting racy pics on the subscription-based platform FanTime (similar to OnlyFans) ... something that's a big no-no for the WWE brand.

While the firing was controversial in the eyes of many, it's also done wonders for Rose's business on the platform ... with her agent, Malki Kawa, telling us the 32-year-old has earned a whopping $500,000 from her FanTime page since she got the ax.

In fact, Kawa predicts Rose will be the newest self-made millionaire by Christmas ... 6 days away.

Before Rose was fired, she competed for WWE on NXT's roster, where she had been the women's NXT champion for over 400 days.

Mandy dropped the title to Roxanne Perez on Tues, Dec. 13 -- and she was released by the company the next day.

Rose's content drew the ire of WWE, most likely because, in 2020, Vince McMahon, then-CEO and Chairman of the wrestling conglomerate, issued a letter to all wrestlers stating they must terminate using any third-party platforms where they use their name and likeness in ways that are detrimental to the company.

St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Dan McLaughlin will not return to the booth next season ... after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated last week, he announced Thursday.

According to the St. Louis Dispatch, Dan, who was arrested for DWI for the third time on Dec. 4, agreed with the Cardinals org. and Bally Sports Midwest that it was time to step away.

"I have spent the last several days reflecting on my steps towards addressing my health and the well-being of my family and me," Dan said in a statement. "My sole focus needs to be on my recovery, which I have started, and that of my wife and children."

"I thank all of the people of Bally for their support throughout the years and wish them the best," he added. "As I move forward, I, please ask for your patience and your privacy. Thank you. God Bless."

As we previously reported, Dan, who called games for the Cards since 2000, was pulled over by Creve Coeur Police after they noticed his white sedan failing to stay in one lane ... and he was subsequently arrested for DWI.

McLaughlin, 48, was ultimately charged with Persistent Offender of Driving While Intoxicated -- a Class E felony offense with a maximum potential penalty of four years behind bars.

"Dan McLaughlin will not return as the Cardinals television play-by-play announcer on Bally Sports Midwest," the team and BSM said in a joint statement.

"Dan has been the voice of memorable Cardinals moments for 24 years. We thank him for his contributions to Cardinals baseball, to Cardinals fans, and for his many charitable efforts."

The Arizona Cardinals reportedly fired their offensive line coach/running game coordinator for groping a woman in Mexico City ... just hours before the team played against the 49ers.

ESPN, citing sources, reported Wednesday morning Sean Kugler was accused of inappropriately touching a female on Sunday night. The outlet reports Mexican authorities were made aware of the allegations, and then told the Cardinals of it all. Kugler was fired a short time later and sent back to Arizona on Monday morning.

The Cards had arrived in Mexico on Saturday night for the big game against S.F. on Monday. The team went on to lose the contest, 38-10.

Arizona officials have yet to confirm the report ... in announcing the firing on Tuesday, head coach Kliff Kingsbury would only say Kugler had been involved in an off-field "incident."

Kugler had been on the Cardinals' staff since 2019.

Return to the office or resign!!!

Elon Musk was secretly recorded giving that ultimatum to remote-working Twitter employees while discussing plans for a 40-hour work week during a recent staff meeting. As you may recall ... some employees were clocking 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week to meet Musk's aggressive demands following his $44 billion purchase of the company.

A clip from the fiery recording was released by ABC News Thursday night ... and Musk can clearly be heard laying down the law.

"Let me be crystal clear, if people do not return to the office when they are able to return to the office -- they cannot remain at the company. End of story," Musk pointedly says on the audio.

A Twitter worker pushes back ... "Even if people returned to the office. The offices are separate offices -- we won't be in person anyways."

But, Musk isn't having it ... "You can still maximize the amount of in-person activity."

He then compares Twitter to his other company, Tesla, to drive home his point, "Tesla is not one place either, but you know, it's basically if you can, if you can show up at an office and you do not show up at the office, resignation accepted!"

Musk goes on to say plenty of Tesla employees work remotely, but they are "exceptions" and "exceptional people." He ends with ... "I totally understand if that doesn't work for some people. But that's the new philosophy for Twitter."

The world's richest man recently cleaned house at Twitter, slashing half the workforce. The fired employees sued Musk for violating federal and California laws by not giving them proper notice before they were canned and offering them unfair severance packages.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney for the laid-off workers, told ABC News she will use the audio clip as evidence to show Musk is eliminating remote work to avoid paying employees without giving them proper notice -- a violation of the WARN Act.

Meanwhile, Musk also announced Twitter may fall into bankruptcy if more people don’t sign up for his $7.99 monthly subscription service to offset slumping ad sales.

The Indianapolis Colts have fired head coach Frank Reich following the team's blowout loss to the Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium ... and, stunningly, have named former star offensive lineman Jeff Saturday the interim HC.

Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed the news on his Twitter page on Monday morning ... which caught most folks off-guard, considering Jeff has ZERO coaching experience in college or the pros.

His only experience came as ... err, a high school coach with Hebron Christian H.S. in Georgia. His last season on the sidelines was in 2020 ... where his team finished with a 3-7 record.

The Colts dropped to 3-5-1 after losing to New England, 26-3 ... as the team demonstrated an inability to score offensively under rookie quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

Reich took over the Colts in 2018 -- after Josh McDaniels scorned the franchise at the last minute -- leading the team to a 10-6 record that season and an 11-5 record in 2020.

Reich led the Colts to the playoffs twice.

However, the 60-year-old play-caller didn't always enjoy success in Indy ... in 2019, he finished with a 7-9 record, and things were assuredly trending in that direction this season.

The org. benched Matt Ryan ... and turned to Ehlinger to salvage their season, but after falling further behind in the AFC South race, Indy is giving up on the Reich experiment.

Kevin Durant is getting what he wanted this offseason -- the Brooklyn Nets have fired head coach Steve Nash ... after a 2-5 start.

48-year-old Nash was hired back in September 2020 ... and was 94-67 at the helm.

Of course, Durant gave the Nets an ultimatum back in June ... saying he wanted to either be traded or have Nash and general manager Sean Marks gone.

He later agreed to stay in BK ... with both sides saying they would "move forward with our partnership."

Nash recently had a meltdown against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 26 ... where he was ejected in the third quarter.

The Nets went 48-24 in 2021, 44-38 in 2022 ... and 2-5 this season under Nash.

Kyrie Irving previously made shocking comments about Nash in September 2020 ... when he claimed the Nets didn't have a real head coach.

There were reports this summer that Kyrie hated Nash ... and thought he was a terrible head coach.

Nash released a statement minutes ago ... saying, "It was an amazing experience with many challenges that I'm incredibly grateful for."

"It was a pleasure to work with the players, performance team, and front office every day," he added. "I'm especially grateful to my coaching staff and video room who are a talented group with so much character and professionalism."

"Lastly, thanks to Brooklyn and the passionate fans who support this team. Family first and my family has found a home here and LOVES being a part of this beautiful community. I wish the Nets all the success in the world and the Nash's will be rooting for our team as they turn this season around."

The firing comes as the team deals with distractions off the court as well ... after Kyrie came under fire for posting a link to a movie that has been criticized for spreading what many consider antisemitic beliefs.

Jacque Vaughn will serve as interim head coach starting Tuesday night against the Chicago Bulls.

Elon Musk officially took the reigns at Twitter on Thursday … as he closed his $44 billion deal for the social media giant, but then he quickly started to clean house.

In his first order of business as the company’s new CEO, Musk reportedly went on a firing spree, picking off at least 4 senior executives.

Among those canned were now former Twitter head Parag Agrawal, Policy executive Vijaya Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and top Legal and general counsel Sean Edgett. Security guards ushered one or more of the execs out of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, the New York Times reported.

The Tesla/Space X boss gave no formal reason for their removal... but it was no secret there was tension between Musk and the Twitter chiefs during months of legal wrangling that nearly derailed the sale of the company.

After inking the megawatt deal, Musk triumphantly tweeted late Thursday night, “the bird is free” seemingly a reference to him making Twitter an inclusive place for all voices and opinions. Twitter has received a rash of criticism for kicking conservatives -- including 45th President Donald Trump -- off its platform for allegedly disseminating misinformation and hate speech.

Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist, has promised to reverse Trump's "permanent ban" from the service. He also plans to foster his new open vision for the so-called "digital town square," which some critics say will only exacerbate the spread of fake news and poisonous content.

But, Musk hit back at his critics, explaining ... "In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost."

Paul Pierce continues to be the butt of the joke after his viral raunchy twerking party last year -- his friends trolled him by getting a birthday cake with a picture from the infamous Instagram Live session ... and it's hilarious!!

Pierce, who celebrated his 45th birthday last Thursday, posted a picture of the cake on Twitter ... which poked fun at his NSFW gathering that led to his exit from ESPN.

On the cake is a pic of Paul -- who looks mesmerized -- pictured next to a scantily clad woman with the words, "Monica come through," and "Happy Birthday Habibi."

"My boys got me this cake fa my bday they play to much," Pierce said on Twitter ... seemingly accepting the friendly jab.

Remember ... the former Celtics superstar posted a video on Instagram showing him having a good time as scantily-clad women twerked on the floor behind him.

Pierce was fired from his ESPN job just days later.

Paul didn't seem too phased by his firing at the time ... posting a video of him smiling and laughing, saying, "Big Things coming soon stay tuned make sure u smile."

Shoutout to Paul for being a good sport about it all.

Dennis Peek, the recently-fired Wendy's employee with Down syndrome, isn't fully retiring yet -- he's about to live out one of his lifelong dreams by becoming a police officer.

This is all kinds o' perfect ... turns out Dennis is a huge fan of "The Andy Griffith Show" -- his sister Cona Young Turner tells us her brother especially loves Barney Fife, the hilarious deputy played by Don Knotts.

She says Dennis knows a few of the officers in the nearby town of Mount Holly, NC, and after they saw what happened to him at Wendy's ... the police department decided to put him on the force for a day.

We're told Dennis will be sworn in on Thursday ... they'll give him a uniform and a hat that he gets to keep once his shift is over. He's gonna be busy, riding in a police car, a police boat and he'll check in on a few businesses in the department's golf cart.

ICYMI, Dennis's story went viral when he got fired from his job at the fast food chain last week after devoting 20 years to the company. Cona claimed managers told her Dennis couldn't do his job like a "normal" person.

As we reported, Dennis doesn't know he was terminated ... his family opted to tell him he's simply retiring.

The longtime Wendy's employee with Down Syndrome -- who was recently fired -- is now getting a happy ending, complete with a huge party and a major key.

Here's the deal ... Dennis Peek was unceremoniously canned a few days back after working at a Wendy's in Stanley, North Carolina for 20 years. The news was particularly devastating for Dennis' family -- his sister and guardian, Cona Young Turner -- tells TMZ ... Dennis doesn't know he was terminated, and instead thinks he's retiring.

The family is being super sensitive about the situation, but we've learned the city of Stanley is kicking in to give him a proper retirement send-off. Cona says during the party, Dennis will be presented with a key to the city and a commemorative plaque.

She says the Carolina Restaurant Group -- which operates the Wendy's where Dennis worked -- offered Dennis his job back and the family at first agreed, but she says the family ultimately decided against it.

We're told Dennis previously mentioned to his family he wanted to retire ... so his sister thinks it's best for him to move on from Wendy's.

Cona says Wendy's offered to cover costs for the retirement party, but as of now the city will foot the bill ... and folks in town are chipping in too.

The retirement bash is set for Nov. 5, and the family's also asking people to send Dennis "Happy Retirement" cards.

While Cona was initially looking into filing a wrongful termination lawsuit of a special needs worker, she tells us ... the family will NOT pursue legal action.

The Matt Rhule era in Carolina is over -- the Panthers just announced they're parting ways with their head coach after a 1-4 start.

It's no secret -- the Panthers have been a mess so far this season ... and have really struggled during Rhule's tenure, going 5-11 and 5-12 in his first two years on the sidelines.

The decision comes just weeks after Panthers owner David Tepper said the organization would be "patient" with Rhule.

The Panthers lost 37-15 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday ... and after the game, he was questioned about his job security.

"I've got nothing to say about that now, just here to talk about the game today," Rhule said. "Would never want to make this about me."

Rhule had four years left on his $62 million deal ... but it was clear the organization felt it was time to make a change ASAP.

Prior to the Panthers, Rhule was the head coach Baylor University, where he turned the program around. In his first year the team went 1-11. In 2018, his second year, they went 7-6. Then, in 2019, the team, ranked as high as 7th in the nation, went 11-3, and played in the Big 12 Championship.

He won the Chuck Neinas Coach of the Year Award in 2019, which is voted on by fellow coaches.

Before Baylor, Rhule coached at Temple ... going 28-23 and bringing success back to the program.

Steve Wilks will serve as interim head coach.

The sister of the longtime Wendy's employee with Down Syndrome who was recently unceremoniously canned is lashing out at the franchise.

Dennis Peek worked at a Wendy's in Stanley, North Carolina for 20 years, was fired without notice a few days back, and now his sister claims managers at the fast food joint told her Dennis couldn't do his job like a "normal" person.

Dennis's sister, Cona Young Turner, wrote on Facebook, "I am heart broken to say they have fired him ... They told me was unable to perform the duties of a normal persons job."

She went on ... "His dream was to retire from there some day and he was looking forward to a huge retirement party, we may just give him that party and tell him he has retired because he does not understand being fired."

She now says Wendy's has offered Dennis his job back, but he's not biting. She also says she's looking into filing a wrongful termination lawsuit of a special needs worker.

Cona says Dennis was deeply hurt by the firing, but she's gonna throw him a big retirement bash.

A San Antonio police officer is out of a job after shooting a teenager who was eating a meal in a car parked outside a McDonald's ... and the incident is all on video.

The shooting went down Sunday night at a Mickey D's, but police just released bodycam footage showing the cop firing multiple shots into the car.

The officer walked up to a parked car, opened the driver's door and the teen behind the wheel freaks out in between bites of a burger. The kid then reversed to drive away and the cop started shooting.

Several gunshots ring out as the car drives off into the night, with the officer giving chase.

As it turns out, San Antonio PD says the officer was at the fast food joint for a disturbance call unrelated to the vehicle from the shooting.

Cops say the officer approached the car because he thought it was the same vehicle that allegedly evaded police the day before.

The teen reportedly suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He was initially charged with evading detention and assault on a police officer but those charges have since been dismissed, and the case is closed.