Bray Wyatt returned to live television for the first time since his appearance at the conclusion of WWE Extreme Rules over the weekend, debuting new entrance music and walking to the ring holding his customary lamp on his way to the ring.

Once in the ring, the crowd chanted welcome back and gave him a superstar’s return.

Wyatt was emotional in the ring, speaking for the first time as a genuine version of himself. He spoke of struggles in recent years and said over the last year he lost a lot of things: his career, self-confidence, two people very close to him, and he lost his way.

He continued that he thought everything he’d done was meaningless. He talked about speaking with fans who told him he’d saved their lives. Wyatt said to all the fans that they were there for him when he was weak and vulnerable and they saved his life.

In the middle of his promo, a video played on the screen with a masked man saying that “life is done, forget the future and the past, life is over, you’ve got no idea who you’re dealing with, but you will.”

After that Smackdown went off the air, setting up the long game for what incarnation of Wyatt will show up next in WWE.

On Feb. 20, 2019, the No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils played host to their heated rivals, the eighth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. While UNC was able to walk into Cameron Indoor Stadium and pick up an 88-72 win, the big story from that night was Zion Williamson blowing out his shoe while plating his left foot on the ground in the early moments of the game. Williamson ended up suffering an injury, but he eventually returned to the team later in the season.

Fast forward to Friday night and Grant Williams of the Boston Celtics got his own shoe blowing out moment — although best as I can tell, this one does not feature former President of the United States Barack Obama sitting courtside and saying “his shoe broke.” Williams pushed the ball up the floor during the team’s preseason tilt against the Toronto Raptors and got hounded by Scottie Barnes and Fred VanVleet the entire time.

At one point, Williams planted his right foot on the ground, which led to his foot blowing through his shoe.

Fortunately it seems like Williams was ok, which is good, because the Williamson incident showed that this can end poorly. Here’s hoping we do not get another shoe blowout this season.

Before the advent of TikTok, we hardly ever heard from Poison Control. But as challenges continue to go viral and people continue to eat questionable foods for views, Poison Control is staying busy! Their latest warning concerns the Paqui One Chip Challenge, a viral trend on TikTok that is causing all sorts or problems for school districts and people’s stomachs and throats.

You’ve likely seen a handful of these videos on your feed, a person eats a single spicy high capsaicin — and frankly disgusting looking — tortilla chip and slowly devolves from a normal functioning human to an absolute mess of watery eyes and gag reflexes. The idea is to eat the chip and see how long you can last before needing to drink or eat something for relief. It’s the sort of challenge that smart people see and say ‘not for me,’ and fun people see and say ‘I bet I can handle it.’ Paqui’s latest tortilla chip features a blend of Carolina Reaper and Scorpion peppers which are no joke, each pepper contains over two million Scoville Heat Units, so this is well beyond something you’d find on Hot Ones.

Even if your spice tolerance is high, you’re not getting through this chip without losing your mind or worse, which is why Poison Control has an official page (written by an MD!) explaining the dangers of taking part in the One Chip Challenge. According to Poison Control, high capsaicin consumption can cause mouth irritation, pain, and intestinal discomfort, as well as more serious health problems “including chest pain, heart palpitations, and even heart attacks. Consumption of larger amounts of capsaicin can also cause repeated vomiting that can lead to life-threatening esophageal damage.”

So, you know, fun times!

While it would seem like serious instances are extremely rare, the chips do in fact come with a warning label that states “keep out of reach of children,” which, as you might remember from being a teenager, is absolute cat nip to high schoolers. Most of the people taking part in the One Chip Challenge on TikTok seem to be incredibly young, and according to local Atlanta Georgia broadcaster 13WMAZ, the local Treutlen Middle and High School has seen 20 students missing class from becoming ill with the chips, with hospitalizations also occurring in California, Texas, and Alabama. That’s a strong chip!

So maybe skip out on this challenge, though feel free to live vicariously through a bunch of teenagers, college students, and full-grown adults who don’t know any better below! They might be burning their mouths but it looks like the kids are ultimately alright. So you know, feel free to laugh.

Capturing the perfect image is difficult even under the best of conditions, but when trying to get a snapshot of once-in-a-lifetime moments in nature, the task becomes herculean. The reward, however, is witnessing beauty almost too dazzling to be real.

On Oct. 6, Christopher Ison was awarded the title of Weather Photographer of the Year for his breathtaking photo of storm waves crashing against a lighthouse. According to My Modern Met, judges received entries from more than 119 countries and created a shortlist of 22 stunning images. The annual contest, held by the Royal Meteorological Society, celebrates weather of all forms, from whimsical rainbows to chaotic lightning storms and phenomenon in between.

Below are the eight winners this year. Believe it or not, some pictures were even taken with a smartphone.

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Main winner: “Storm Eunice” by Christopher Ison

Photo location: Newhaven, East Sussex, U.K.

Camera: Canon EOS R5

Ison’s bold, dramatic, almost monochromatic image comes as a result of Storm Eunice, an intense cyclone that wreaked havoc in the U.K. in February. Its 122 mph wind speeds set a new record in England.

Needless to say, getting the photo successfully (and safely) would not be easy. Ison chose to head to high ground and stand slightly further away from the harbor wall. With his back to the weather, he snapped the image.

“When the storm was predicted and that it was carrying the first ever red warning for the south coast, I knew I had to find a spot to record it – this was going to be big!” Ison shared.

2nd place: “Frozen” by Zhenhuan Zhou

Photo location: Ontario, Canada

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Photographer Zhenhuan Zhou perfectly captured the mystical essence of a frozen Niagara Falls in winter. Extreme low temperatures cause sheets of ice to form over the water’s surface, giving the illusion that the Falls have completely stopped, when in reality water continues to flow underneath.

The cold imagery is balanced out by the warm glow of a single light emanating from a cozy cabin, which clearly belongs to some kind of winter fairy.

3rd place: “Ghost Under the Cliff” by Emili Vilamala Benito

Photo location: Tavertet, Barcelona, Spain

Camera: Sony SLT-A99V

The shadowy figure shrouded in a rainbow seen in Emili Benito’s photograph is called a Brocken Spectre—an optical illusion that occurs when the observer’s shadow is magnified as it’s cast onto a cloud or mist.

The Brocken Spectre is a type of glory. Glories are often seen by air travelers, who notice the shadow of their airplane cast on clouds below. The airplane’s shadow will be moving along on the cloud tops, surrounded by a rainbow-like halo of light as it flies through the air.

Public vote winner: “Departing Storm Over Bembridge Lifeboat Station” by Jamie Russell

Photo location: Bembridge, Isle of Wight, U.K.

Camera: Nikon d7500, Sigma 10-20 lens

Photographer Jamie Russell has apparently been chasing storms all across the Isle of Wight, capturing gorgeous rainbows. But the one found after a show in Bembridge was the ultimate prize, causing him to rush into “waist-deep water, fully dressed” to compose this image.

This double rainbow comes as a result of sunlight being refracted twice within a raindrop. A key characteristic of the “second bow” is a fainter hue and reversed color sequence.

Mobile category winner: “Sunset” by Aung Chan Thar

Photo location: Kyaikto, Myanmar

Camera: Vivo X70 pro+

This one’s a delight to weather enthusiasts and architecture buffs alike.

The richness of the sunset happens because of Rayleigh scattering, aka nature’s Instagram filter. When the sun is very low (as in sunrise and sunset), its light has to travel further through the atmosphere. Blue light, which is shorter in wavelength than red light, is therefore scattered away and deflected before our eyes can see it. The longer wavelengths of orange and red light are scattered less, and therefore more visible. Not to mention gorgeous.

Mobile category runner-up: “Scotch Mist” by Vince Campbell

Photo location: Tarbet, Loch Lomond, Scotland

Camera: Samsung SM-J530f 3.71mm

I knew that smartphones could take some pretty epic pictures, but I didn’t know they could be this epic.

Photographer Vince Campbell was up before the sun and walking with his dogs Oscar and Ollie to capture this beautiful misty scene.

This is a “misty” scene, rather than a “foggy” one, because of the visibility. Mist and fog are both caused by water droplets suspended in the air close to the ground. Mist is less dense and dissipates more quickly. The rule of thumb is—if you can see more than 1,000 meters (in the pictures, for example, you can see all the way across the lake), then it’s mist. If you can’t see past 1,000 meters, it’s fog.

Young Weather Photographer of the Year winner: “Mammatus Sunset” by Eris Pil

Photo location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Camera: Pixel 3 Phone

“The sky was completely lit up in a way I had never seen before, like these beautiful backlit watercolor clouds,” recalled Young Photographer of the Year Eris Pil.

What looks like a Van Gogh painting in the photo are mammatus clouds, which, despite their fluffy, pleasant seeming demeanor, are created under tumultuous conditions. Often, but not always, they are sweet-looking harbingers of severe thunderstorms and even tornados. But hey, they’re nice to look at.

Pil shared that this photo was her “first time ever witnessing” mammatus clouds, and that she hopes for the “opportunity to see them again.”

Young Weather Photographer of the Year runner-up: “Tyndall Effect” by Shreya Nair

Photo location: Trivandrum, India

Camera: Redmi Note 9 Pro

Photographer Shreya Nair was taking a walk through their backyard in India when they spotted light peaking through the tree canopy.

This heavenly effect is known as the Tyndall effect. Similar to a Rayleigh scattering, the Tyndall effect is a scattering of beams of light that attach to floating particles like smoke or dust. Again, because blue and red light have different wavelengths, they are affected differently during this weather phenomenon. The Tyndall effect is why the sky appears blue.

Wanna bask in beautiful weather year-round from the comfort of your own home? The Weather Photographer of the Year 2023 calendar is available on pre-order.

Jalen Green is slated to have a breakout campaign during the 2022-23 campaign. After earning First-Team All Rookie honors last season, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft is expected to take another step forward as the kind of ultra-explosive scorer around whom the Houston Rockets hope to build in the coming years.

The thing that makes Green so interesting as a player is how he’s able to blend the ability to fill it up with the sort of crazy athleticism that makes it hard for anyone to slow him down. That second thing got put on full display during Houston’s preseason tilt against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, as the 20-year-old guard challenged noted guy whose name keeps popping up in Russell Westbrook trade rumors Myles Turner at the rim.

Turner, one of the league’s premier shot blockers, is not an easy dude to evade. But Green levitated and just stayed at the top of his jump for a beat longer than Turner expected, so he was able to bank it in and score.

As you might have noticed, the 6’4 Green capped this off by hitting the 6’11 Turner with a too small celebration. It is worth stressing that, under most circumstances, Turner is decidedly not too small, but hey, Green is a special athlete.

Ahead of her scheduled stint as the host and musical guest of Saturday Night Live this weekend, Megan Thee Stallion is probably already settled into New York City for the nationally-televised appearance. And apparently this gave a pair of thieves the crazy idea to break into the “Sweetest Pie” star’s home in Los Angeles while she’s on the road.

According to TMZ, Megan Thee Stallion’s home was broken into on Thursday night and the thieves came away, “…an estimated $300k – $400k in jewelry, cash, and electronics from inside.” A law enforcement source indicated that two people wearing hoodies and gloves broke open a window in the back of the house and proceeded to ransack Megan Thee Stallion’s bedroom while she was gone. Reports indicate that there is surveillance footage of the break-in, but that that police are in the process of trying to obtain more.

Along with her double-duty gig on Saturday Night Live this weekend, Megan Thee Stallion is also scheduled to play the brand new LA3C music in Los Angeles. Going down in December, she headlines the Saturday slate along with Snoop Dogg and Seventeen, while Maluma will headline Sunday’s Latin music night lineup.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

On screen, Jack Black is known for his comedic antics, versatile acting career and musical talents. Off screen, he appears to be a walking whirlwind of endlessly entertaining and loveable energy. (Did you see his quarantine dance? Epic.)

And as it turns out, he’s also a darn good human being.

Black hosts the Layla Paige and Friends Walk for TrinityKids Care, which raises funds for a hospice program that provides compassionate end-of-life care to children and adolescents in Los Angeles and Orange counties in Southern California. This year’s event was held on October 8, and a video from a family who met Black there is a sweet example of how celebrities can truly make a difference.

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Abraham is a 15-year-old with a rare mitochondrial disease called Pearson syndrome, who has been in palliative care with TrinityKids Care for the past year. Abraham’s mother, Veronica, told Upworthy that Abraham’s nurse knew of his love for the movie “School of Rock,” so she arranged for him to meet Black, who starred in the movie, at the event.

As they were introduced by the nurse, Black took Abraham’s hand and then knelt down to his level. Abraham told him that he was a “School of Rock” fan. When prompted about a song from the film, Abraham sang a bit. Then Black busted out a mini serenade of “In the End of Time.”

Watch:

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You can see the joy in Abraham’s face as Black sang to him, and the enthusiasm with which he responded.

“It’s almost been a week since the meet and Abraham is still talking about how he got to meet Jack,” says Veronica.

People are loving the interaction, as shown by the comments on the video:

“Jack Black has a kindness to him that you can hear in his voice. It’s always easy to forget that it doesn’t take much to do a kind deed, and being kind to others makes you happier, so it’s a win-win.”

“Jack Black is truly a pure, humble, KIND soul! Very rare! Love him forever! 💗💗💗💗”

“I don’t want to trust any celebrity but I trust Jack Black with my life.”

“Jack Black is now sharing the top echelon of great human beings with Keanu Reeves. ❤️”

What a special moment for this young man and his family. Celebrities are often bombarded with people trying to talk to them, and to see Jack Black take his time to make a connection with a fan and create a special moment for them is truly heartwarming.

Black has long been a supporter of the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, which funds research and supports patients and families affected by mitochondrial disease. Learn more about their work here.

Every now and then a whiskey is released that makes you ask, “is this really worth the same price as a used car?” A week or so ago, I received a package with a small sample of one such whiskey. I held off reviewing it because of life, work, and all that jazz; but also because I was honestly incredulous.

How much better can a $4,000 bottle — that’s the MSRP, not the secondary markup retail price — really be? Well… let’s find out together.

Before I dive in, let’s look at what The Las Drop is. The line is a super rare shingle that’s part of the wider Sazerac Company, which includes huge rum, cognac, and whiskey distilleries all over the world in one way or another (sometimes production, sometimes just distribution). The Last Drop is a program wherein the last great barrels of cognac, rum, or whiskey are blended or bottled as-is as one-off vintage releases. In most cases, these are single barrel releases with 150 to 200-ish bottles of 50-year-old rums or a single Buffalo Trace barrel from when the distillery was still called the Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. In short, The Last Drop releases are where Sazerac drops its rarest and most sought-after bottles of booze — expressions that are literally never going to be seen again. Ever. Hence the price point is in the thousands for these bottles.

Now that you have a little context, let’s dive into this brand-new $4,000 bottle of Kentucky whiskey and see if you should spend a couple of months’ rent on it.

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months

• We Blind Tasted A Whole Bunch Of $30-60 Bourbons To See If Any Could Beat Weller
• We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems
• We Blind Tasted Classic Bourbons And Were Shocked By The Winner
• The Best-Known Basic Bottles Of Bourbon, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• All The Double Gold-Winning Straight Bourbons From This Year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition

The Last Drop Signature Blend No. 28 A Blend Of Kentucky Straight Whiskeys

ABV: 60.7%

Average Price: $3,999

The Whiskey:

This blend is from Buffalo Trace’s Master Blender Drew Mayville, who’s been at the distillery since 2004. Mayville created this blend by sampling bourbons and ryes from the rarest and sometimes oldest barrels of whiskey in Buffalo Trace’s vast and numerous warehouses. While the exact details of the final blend are unknown, we do that the whiskeys in this blend are some of the rarest that the distillery had on its ricks. And since it is a blend of bourbon and rye whiskey, this is technically a “blended straight whiskey.”

The Bottle:

The bottle comes in a nice box with an oak frame that’s perfect for gifting or storing. It also comes with a 50ml sample bottle with a tasting book in case you want to save the bottle for the vault but still actually taste the juice.

Tasting Notes:

What’s amazing is that the moment you open the bottle, you’re whisked away to Buffalo Trace on the nose. It’s that dark red brick and black mold with the old rickhouse beams, dirt floors, sour mash fermenters, and green grass with fall leaves crunching under feet. The nose then starts to deepen into sticky toffee pudding, old dried-up figs, black-tea-soaked dates, burnt orange, cinnamon sticks, dried ancho chilis, firewood pitch, and a creamy underbelly of vanilla and toffee.

The palate warms with an ABV buzz that leads to soft vanilla cream with tart but dark berries floating next to orange zest and salted caramel. There’s a sense of old boot leather and Kiwi boot cream next to waxy cacao nibs, cherry cream soda, pecan and dark chocolate clusters, pistachios, and roasted root veg — think caramelized parsnips and carrots next to a Yorkshire pudding. The end becomes a luxuriously soft and creamy sip of stewed black cherries with anise and clove next to holly bushes and fir needles with a little bunch of spices — cinnamon sticks, star anise, dried rose, a stick of pine, dried orange peel — tied with an old waxy piece of twine.

Bottom Line:

Yeah, it’s amazing. Just f*cking amazing.

Is it worth $4,000? Yes. No.

I don’t know what you’re into.

I know this: it truly does taste amazing. It’s a hell of a thing that this isn’t a bourbon or rye, as it would easily be in the number one spot for those respective end-of-year lists. Moreover, these bottles tend to gain massive value if kept for investment. So maybe hold onto one for a decade and then buy a new car in ten years?

Ranking:

99/100 — This is up there with the best of the best.

How To Buy:

There are only 1,458 bottles floating around out there and a fair few have likely already been snatched up. Your best chance is to ask at your local very high-end whiskey retailer. Otherwise, this will likely pop up at charity auctions or aftermarket retailers soon enough (for a much higher price).

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Lil Baby, Tee Grizzley, and more.

Friday saw the releases of new singles from Symba (“Can’t Win For Losing“), A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (“Lay Up N Chill” with Pink Sweats), and Stormzy (“Hide & Seek“), along with the releases listed below.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending October 14, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Central Cee — No More Leaks

“When life gives you lemons…” — well, you know the rest. Life gave the UK drill upstart a great big handful of sour citrus but he’s found a way to make a sweet refresher, putting out his own four-track EP after a leak threatened to upend his plans.

G Herbo — Survivor’s Remorse: B Sides

That was fast. The turnaround between the A and B sides of Herbo’s latest full-length release was only a few days, but brought with it 13 new songs featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Conway The Machine, and Young Thug after the initial 12 with Benny The Butcher, Gunna, and Offset.

Lil Baby — It’s Only Me

The most anticipated release of the week, Lil Baby’s third studio album sees him take on 23 tracks while attempting to edge his way out of the street-focused lane in which he’s operated for most of his career. Earlier this week, I pointed out how T.I. faced a similar crossroads with the release of King; Baby doesn’t pull it off quite as smoothly as his predecessor, but offers a worthy entry to his growing discography.

Mavi — Laughing So Hard It Hurts

Charlotte alt-rapper Mavi has accumulated quite the following over the last couple of years. While you may not have heard of him, those who have are some of the most zealous converts I’ve seen in all my years covering hip-hop. The 16-track follow-up to his 2021 album End Of The Earth offers sufficient reason. Mavi is one of those rappers who rides the line between avant-garde and soulful introspection very well, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his profile rise sharply soon enough.

Tee Grizzley — Chapters Of The Trenches

After releasing his mixtape Half Tee Half Beast in spring of this year, the Detroit documentarian returns with a high-concept follow-up that presents each song as part of a story about a different character or incident in the life of a Motown resident..

Singles/Videos

Big Boss Vette — “Pretty Girls Walk”

St. Louis rapper Big Boss Vette is a new name but she already carries herself with the confidence of an established … well… vet. She’s got a polished flow and a good ear for beats; “Pretty Girls Walk” shows off both in a serviceable singalong portending strong possibilities for the future.

Doechii — “Stressed”

The trend of rappers premiering new songs on A Colors Show continues. The latest to join in is Doechii, whose latest single takes a hard left turn from the dance-influenced tracks for which she got attention earlier this year. This one’s a little closer to the established flavor of her TDE labelmates but she rides the beat with just as much charm as ever, detailing her efforts to keep calm in the face of a life of adversities.

Killumantii — “My Twin”

The Atlanta rapper offers up a bouncy single with a fun, flirty music video that evokes the exuberant energy of a girls’ night in. Kill’s been accumulating a fair degree of acclaim alongside fellow ATL upstarts Kali, Latto, and Omeretta The Great, and “My Twin” is a great example of that uplifting bond.

Nardo Wick — “G Nikes” Feat. Polo G

An unexpected but exciting combination of young voices, this one could have done with more soulful production such as the sort of music you’d find on one of Polo’s solo projects, but it certainly works on a lot of levels anyway.

Snot — “Simple”

Snot continues his musical evolution, emracing more of a groovy approach than his usual thrash-rap and proving to be every bit as effective, despite the tempo switch. Snot first showed glimpses of a desire to branch out on his album Ethereal earlier this year, and from all appearances, he’s going to keep that growth going on his next project.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

During Game 2 of the American League Division Series between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees, pitcher Shane Bieber was on the mound for Cleveland. At one point in the game though, announcer Bob Costas referred to him as “Justin Bieber” before realizing his mistake. “I actually called Shane Bieber, Justin Bieber,” Costas said. “I vowed that would not happen. I’m sure it’s not the first time it’s happened in his life… I wonder if he’s watching the game?”

It was a funny moment, albeit a bit awkward and it raised the question as to whether the pitcher and the pop star are related?

Is Shane Bieber Related To Justin Bieber?

This has actually come up in the past. The Topps baseball card company wrote “Justin” on a trading card of Shane. And the two Biebers ended up connecting on Twitter because of it.

Shane, who made a pretty good name for himself in baseball by winning the AL Cy Young Award as the league’s best pitcher in 2020, started getting the Justin comparisons so much , that he even made a jersey for himself that on the back says “Not Justin.”

But no, the two are not related at all. Justin was born in Ontario, Canada and Shane in Southern California. The pitcher attended the University of California Santa Barbara before being drafted into the big leagues. In 2019, Shane told MLB.com that, “We haven’t met. We’ll see what’s coming with it,” he said of the Topps baseball card fiasco. “It was kind of fun, just yesterday, getting tagged with that and gaining a couple followers and got some messages from some Beliebers, some original Beliebers. We’ll see what’s to come of it.”