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This week, skins of WWE legend and Hollywood star John Cena will debut in the popular video game Fortnite.
Fortnite's official Twitter account tweeted Tuesday that the skins will be available for purchase in the Item Shop starting Thursday at 8 p.m. ET:
According to the press release from Epic Games, gamers will be able to purchase both ring-gear and entrance-gear versions of Cena as part of the Epic SummerSlam promotion in anticipation of Saturday's WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
Also available for purchase will be a Five Digit Slapper Pickaxe and U Can't C Me Emote, both of which refer to Cena's signature taunt.
The 16-time world champion won't be part of SummerSlam since he is busy fulfilling his duties as one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood.
Most notably, Cena is the main character in the HBO Max series Peacemaker, which debuted in January to critical acclaim.
Last month, Cena appeared on an episode of Raw to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of his debut on WWE's main roster, and he mentioned his desire to get back in the ring in the future.
With WrestleMania 39 going Hollywood in Inglewood, California, next year, the door may be open for Cena to be part of those festivities.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson revealed his Fornite skin dubbed "The Foundation" on Thursday night. He will be available as a playable character in Chapter 3 of the game.
"We kicked off this new era of Fortnite by learning the mysterious masked stranger assisting Jonesy was none other than The Rock, the WWE wrestling legend and action film star," the press release stated. "Now Fortnite players can finally play as him, assuming you bought the Chapter 3 season 1 battle pass."
The addition of The Foundation brings new cosmetic items players can earn by completing side quests. The Rock's character comes in three variants: unmasked, steel blue helmet and black helmet.
The press release also laid out the rundown of challenges players will have to do to complete the side quests for The Foundation.
The NBA and Fortnite are teaming up for a special event ahead of the 2021 NBA postseason.
"The Crossover" will allow players to don a uniform from any of the league's 30 teams starting on May 21 at 8 p.m. ET.
Per an official release from Epic Games, locker bundles that were personally selected by NBA stars Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young will be available to gamers in the Fortnite item shop.
Gamers will also have the opportunity to get a Shoot & Score pack that includes "the Hookshot Emote and Mini Hoop Back Bling, which can feature the logo of all 30 NBA teams."
The event will also include a five-day team battle competition from May 19-23 featuring all 30 NBA organizations.
In addition to those items and events, there will be an NBA welcome hub added to Fortnite Creative on May 25.
The 2021 NBA postseason will begin with first-round games on Saturday and Sunday.
Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson will be immortalized in a video game, but it's not the latest Madden.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Pro Bowler will be the first NFL player featured in Fortnite as it implements his Griddy dance into the game.
Jefferson showcased the dance throughout his rookie 2020 season, including on his way to the end zone on this memorable play in September:
The LSU product continued to produce throughout the year, finishing with 88 catches for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns.
As the year progressed, even some of his older teammates got in on the Griddy dance:
The sensation continued to the point it will now be available as a dance in Fortnite, a game that has implemented other viral dances such as the floss, dab and the running man.
As Schefter reported, Fortnite has paid the creator of the dance, Allen Davis, for the rights.
Jefferson, who is a gamer himself and competed in the Streamer Bowl earlier this year, helped popularize it but won't take royalties.
Fortnite has also partnered with the NFL in the past to bring new skins to the game while introducing other events.
Neymar is coming to Fortnite.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar will be a key part of the game's Chapter 2 - Season 6 Primal Battle Pass, making him the first sports star in the game. He'll be joining video game icon Lara Croft and Rebirth Raven of the Teen Titans, among other new skins.
Neymar is an avid gamer and is an apt addition to the game. As he's shown in the past, he's no slouch when it comes to video games.
Epic Games told Bleacher Report that more details on Neymar's inclusion in the game will be revealed over the coming months. There has been no word on whether using his skin will allow you to dive under bullets or occasionally leave you downed despite not being hit by any shots.
The trio of Clix, Tarik Cohen and Xacial won Fortnite's Twitch Rivals: Streamer Bowl II on Thursday. It was the second year in a row Clix and Cohen won the event.
Scoped, Juju Smith-Schuster and Bounce_maxo finished second, while Tfue, Aaron Jones and Griffinmat were third.
The event featured 30 trios comprised of one Twitch streamer, one NFL player and one community champion, with teams competing in arena trios for over $1 million for charity. The winning team took home $250,000 for their charity.
The event had content creators such as Ninja, Nickmercs and Loserfruit and NFL players like Christian McCaffrey, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Keenan Allen, Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson, Austin Ekeler and Calvin Ridley.
Clix, Cohen and Xacial won the first round, while Nate Hill, McCaffrey and JonJon69 took Round 2:
Clix, Cohen and Xacial again took Round 3, while EmadGG, Lynn Bowden and Savixc took the fourth round:
Clix provided one of the highlight moments of the event in that fourth round, all alone with several teams still in the running. While Clix couldn't clutch the win, he picked up several huge eliminations by himself, accumulating much-needed points with the title on the line.
The 2020 Fortnite World Cup is the latest sporting event scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fortnite Competitive made the official announcement Thursday, adding that all remaining competitions scheduled for 2020 would move to an online-only format.
Last year's World Cup at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York sold out all 23,700 seats and was streamed by more than 2.3 million viewers, per Variety. Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf, 16, took home the top prize in 2019, earning $3 million for his victory.
There will be no title defense in 2020, and the possibility of a return in 2021 is too far down the line to forecast.
The governing body said it would like to host the World Cup next year, but without knowing when a return to large-scale events will be possible, it is holding off on making any declarations.
Fortnite Competitive will try to supplement the loss of the World Cup with other online tournaments in the meantime.
The game remains one of the most popular by both players and viewers with live streams of matches flooding services like Twitch and Mixer.
With the World Cup canceled, the game is working on more formats for players around the world to show off their talents and move up different ranking boards.
Still, it won't have the draw of the title event, which in 2019 featured a prize pool of $30 million.
Marshmello is no stranger to the world of Fortnite. The DJ and electronic dance music icon gained notoriety in January 2019 for hosting a full concert within the game that drew in millions of viewers.
On Tuesday, he used the platform for good, teaming up with FaZe Clan gamer Nate Hill and Verizon on a stream with proceeds benefiting small businesses around the country that have been hit hard by the spread of COVID-19.
Each time the hashtag #PayItForwardLive was used, Verizon donated $10 to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which has worked with the telecom giant to create a small business relief fund. That made the games rather secondary to Hill and Marshmello. After getting through a few Battle Royale matches on Fortnite, the two pivoted to making donations of their own.
The pro gamer and DJ dropped into random streams of small business employees or those who had been laid off and handed out $500 each to help support those struggling as the coronavirus continues to impact everyday life.
The reactions to Hill and Marshmello dropping in were almost as good as the reaction to the donations, with gamers unable to wrap their heads around the moment and some unable to stop shaking.
It made for an uplifting hour on Twitch as the two hosts chatted about their favorite small businesses—with Hill placing an order at a local sushi shop during the stream—as more than 13 million total viewers tuned in and tweeted along to raise money.
Wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Evans were among a group of NFL players who put their gaming skills to good use Saturday night.
The two NFL stars took part in a Fortnite tournament in an effort to raise money for the World Health Organization to aid in coronavirus relief efforts.
Other players believed to be taking part in the event were Myles Garrett, John Ross III and Kyler Murray.
Twitch announced earlier this week that Saturday would feature a stream-aid event that runs for 12 hours and features athletes and celebrities playing games, along with a number of musical performances.
All proceeds and donations from Twitch Stream Aid will be given to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the WHO.
