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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.

People are looking to profit off Damar Hamlin's tragic injury by creating fraudulent GoFundMe campaigns, advertised as helping the athlete who's currently fighting for his life ... but we're told the online company's already cracking down on anyone pretending to help the Bills player.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe tells TMZ ... there's only 1 verified fundraiser on the platform confirmed by Damar's family -- The Chasing M's Foundation Community Toy Drive, which has surpassed $4.7M since Damar's incident, as we reported.

We're told anything not authorized by the family is already being taken down in real-time.

For those unaware, several campaigns went live since Damar's cardiac arrest Monday night ... some saying the funds will benefit him directly while in the hospital, and others are exact replicas of his toy drive fundraiser.

It looks like the unauthorized campaigns didn't pick up a ton of steam ... one campaign was even created with the sole purpose of warning others about Damar-related scams.

It's worth noting that not all of these fundraisers appear to be malicious -- it seems some just want to help but didn't go through the proper channels to get it done properly.

A GFM spokesperson tells us the company's top priority is keeping people safe and to "protect the generosity of our donors" ... adding that it isn't uncommon for others to jump on the platform and try to help out. That being said, GoFundMe will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Vic Mensa is making the most of his co-headlining festival in Ghana this week -- he's also leading the charge on a project to bring clean water to 3 villages there!!!

Vic tells TMZ Hip Hop he was moved after seeing the desolate living conditions, including contaminated water, firsthand … and partnered with his father, a Ghana native, to launch their initiative.

The Chicago-born rapper says, "We're building 3 boreholes in different communities in Ghana to provide clean drinking water; the first being the Asokore Zongo in Koforidua where my family lives, which is already built."

Vic adds, "The other locations are a nearby community called Effiduase and then our ancestral village in the Volta Region, Amedzofe. Most people in communities like this in Ghana experience constant waterborne diseases."

We’re told Koforidua is home to around 200k people, Effiduase is estimated at 20k people and Amedzofe has a population of around 6k -- so, the project will make a significant contribution to the health and welfare of the region.

Barring any hiccups, drilling for the boreholes is said to take 3-4 weeks and includes 10-15 days of on-site drilling, followed by pipework and cable installations.

All the operations appear to be first class … water will actually be tested in a lab prior to human consumption, and we’re told the boreholes cost $45k to complete.

Vic will have his hands full pulling double duty, too. He’s slated to perform with Chance The Rapper, Erykah Badu and more on Saturday for the Black Star Line Festival ... which sounds like fun.

Dave Chappelle’s already having a ball in Ghana … and that was just at the airport!

Thousands have opened up their wallets in an effort to show love for Damar Hamlin following the Bills defensive back's scary collapse Monday night ... donating over $3 MILLION to the football player's toy drive fundraiser.

Hamlin initially started the charity effort back in 2020 -- in an attempt to gain funds so he could distribute toys to kids in need in Pennsylvania. His target goal was simply $2,500.

But, in the hours after Hamlin suffered a terrifying medical emergency during the first quarter of Buffalo's "Monday Night Football" game against the Cincinnati Bengals, donations flooded in.

It hit $1 million roughly an hour after the 24-year-old had been rushed to the hospital, and by Tuesday morning, it was at $3,496,590.

Several NFL players appear to have given to the cause, as 49ers stars Trey Lance and Christian McCaffrey's names were written on the donation list.

In his note on the Gofundme page, Hamlin encouraged those who couldn't contribute monetarily to still help the cause ... writing, "We are accepting donated toys at the Daycare Center or simply spread the word by sharing this fundraiser on your social channels."

As we reported, the Bills say Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after he tackled Tee Higgins to the ground. The team said, thankfully, "his heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment."

"He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition," Bills officials added.

Hamlin joined the Bills in 2021 -- and had started 13 games for the team this season.

You don't know how it feels to be in escrow on Tom Petty's oceanfront home, but someone else does ... someone who's about to be the new owner of the Malibu property.

Our real estate sources tell us Tom's estate has accepted an offer for the singer's 3-bedroom estate along Escondido Beach in the 'Bu.

The crib hit the market Dec. 14 with a $9,850,000 listing price, and we're told Tom's estate accepted an offer on Christmas Eve, though the sale is not yet complete.

The beachfront property is 2,200 square feet, and there's a main home and a separate guest house Tom used as a recording studio.

The place served as the inspiration for "Something Good Coming" ... one of the last songs he wrote before his death in 2017.

TP bought the home way back in 2010 for $6.8 million and the primary suite has a fireplace, walk-in closet, ocean view bath and a private, beachfront deck.

The estate sits on a 16,691 square-foot lot ... with 66 feet of beach frontage, and picturesque views of the coastline from almost every room in the house.

Britney Spears wanted to start fresh in a brand-spankin' new home to celebrate her freedom from the conservatorship ... but turns out, the grass ain't always greener, and she's planning on unloading the pricey pad.

TMZ broke the story back in June ... Britney and her hubby, Sam Asghari, plunked down $11.8 million back in June for a massive 11,650 sq. foot home on 1.6 acres in Calabasas. In fact, the home was located in the same neighborhood as Brit's ex, Kevin Federline.

However, sources close to Britney tell us she just hasn't fallen in love with the new home, and is planning on selling it in 2023.

But, don't worry, Britney won't be homeless, she still owns the Thousand Oaks mansion she bought back in 2015 for $7.5 million -- the same place that boasts one of the most iconic living room backdrops on social media ... thanks to Britney's Instagram videos.

Unclear if Britney will decide to start searching for another new home, or if she'll just stay in the OG crib ... but she'll have plenty of money free up once she unloads the new crib.

Leslie Jordan fans are eager to get their hands on the place he was just about to call home ... hoping to buy the new condo he purchased right before he died.

The condo was listed a few weeks ago, and fans have been flocking to the property ... so says Eric Ronjoy, the listing agent. He says some fans are even reaching out just to tour!

We're told some folks inquiring about the pad are self-proclaimed Leslie Jordan fans ... who feel a connection to the property since he bought it right before he passed and would have been the first property he ever owned.

Eric tells us ... out of 30 groups who have recently toured, half are lookie-loos who just wanted to see where Leslie was planning to live. Others are people interested in purchasing. One potential buyer even toyed with the idea of turning the condo into a Leslie Jordan memorial.

Some of you might remember the heartwarming video he posted back in August ... and he was over the moon about his new home.

TMZ broke the story ... Leslie died in October after suffering a medical emergency ... crashing his BMW into the side of a building.

In addition to the Leslie Jordan hook, the 2-bedroom pad has a lot of cool amenities ... including a rooftop pool, tennis court, gym and a balcony.

Before he died, Ronjoy says LJ ordered around $500K worth of new furniture. Fortunately, the purchases were canceled after he passed.

So far, no one has made an offer ... but with all the interest, it should only be a matter of time.

Brande Roderick is loving her experience with OnlyFans, because it's giving her something she's never had in her modeling career -- final say over what images get out to the world.

The former Playboy model recently joined the subscription-based platform, and while she tells us the financial benefits are great as a single mom ... she says the real treat is being able to have complete control over her own pictures and videos.

Brande, who famously dated Hugh Hefner back in the day, says she never had that kind of creative power when she was posing for Hef's magazine ... or when she was working with various other photographers.

While Brande says Playboy typically did a great job with the photos that made the magazine, she says she had tons of problems with the hundreds of other images snapped during photo shoots. They didn't make the final cut, but still ended up getting leaked or sold online.

With OnlyFans, Brande says she's able to call all the shots and carefully craft her image ... a big deal for a 48-year-old with 2 kids at home.

BTW, Brande's pretty upfront about what subscribers will get to see on her page, or more importantly, what they won't -- you gotta see her lay out the ground rules!!!

Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly held 4 meetings with members of President Joe Biden's cabinet in 2022 before his FTX empire collapsed, leading to his arrest on federal fraud charges.

The disgraced "Crypto King," who is at the center of one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history, sat down with senior White House advisor Steve Ricchetti on September 8, according to a new report by Bloomberg.

Sam allegedly had 2 follow-up meetings with Ricchetti on April 22 and May 12. He also reportedly met with Biden's deputy chief of staff, Bruce Reed. It's not clear what was discussed in any of the get-togethers.

As we reported ... Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Dec. 12. He was federally charged in New York with eight counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and a campaign finance violation. He faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted.

The Bloomberg report is but another example of Bankman-Fried's deep ties with the Washington D.C. establishment before Sam was accused of stealing $1.8 billion from investors in his cryptocurrency scheme. And it's no secret that Sam has donated millions to the campaigns of prominent politicians, including Biden.

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Pele was paid $120K by a major sneaker company to bend down at midfield and tie his shoe before a 1970 World Cup match ... giving birth to a bitter feud between Puma and Adidas!

Pele's death has unearthed all kinds of stories about the soccer legend, who died Thursday at the age of 82, following a lengthy battle with colon cancer ... including when the greatest player ever was paid the equivalent of $1 million (in 2022 w/ inflation) to tie a Puma soccer cleat, according to Joe Pompliano, who told the story.

It all started in 1924 when Adolf and Rudolf Dassler started a shoe company, Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. The shoemaker was successful, and Jesse Owens even wore their brand during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where Owens dominated in front of Hitler, winning 4 gold medals.

But, by 1948, the brothers had a falling out and decided to go their own way ... each starting a sneaker company of their own. Adolf created Adidas and Rudolf, Puma. The brothers swore to never do business with one another.

Things changed in the late 60s when the brothers buried the hatchet and began communicating again, all in the interest of self-preservation. Adolf and Rudolf made a "Pele pact," an agreement that both companies would stay away from Pele, the biggest sports star in the world, fearing a sponsorship negotiation could bankrupt both companies.

Unfortunately for Adidas, Puma didn't exactly abide by the pact. Prior to a World Cup quarterfinal match in 1970 between Peru and Pele's Brazil, Puma paid the soccer superstar $120K to walk toward midfield just before the start of the game, bend down, and tie his Puma shoe.

Of course, Puma wanted to capture the moment on video ... so to ensure they didn't miss the moment, the shoewear company reportedly went as far as to pay the cameraman!

Brazil beat Peru ... and ended up winning the entire World Cup. It was Pele's record third.

The Pele-Puma partnership didn't come to an end with the '70 WC ... the deal was a smash success for everyone involved.

Christmas came early for Travis Etienne ... the Jacksonville Jaguars running back copped himself a necklace of his own custom logo ahead of the holidays -- made with 60 carats of diamonds!!!

TMZ Sports is told the former Clemson star wanted to turn his personal symbol into a wearable piece ... so he hit up his go-to guy Ari The Jeweler for the job.

After one month of crafting the new bling, Ari delivered -- right before Christmas!!!

The massive chain and pendant feature Etienne's initials with his jersey number layered on top -- an exact replication of his clothing brand emblem.

Of course, Etienne has a knack for fashion -- he spends a lot of time working on his clothing brand ... which has everything from T-shirts, hats and activewear.

We're told the heavy piece is filled with VVS diamonds and 450 grams of white rose gold.

Unsure what TE put up for the iced-out set ... but we're told something like this would usually cost $100K+.

FYI -- the 23-year-old was drafted by the Jags in 2021, and signed a 4-year deal worth almost $13 million. In other words, he's good for it.

The person who concocted, recruited and ultimately turned on scores of parents who tried bribing their children's way into good colleges is about to get sentenced, and prosecutors say he's the worst of all and should be sentenced to 6 years.

Rick Singer will be formally sentenced next week, and TMZ has obtained a copy of document prosecutors just filed, saying Singer "was the architect of a massive, decades-long scheme to use fraud and bribery to secure admission of high school students to elite colleges and universities across the country."

Prosecutors say Singer profited from the scheme more than anyone and therefore deserves a much harsher sentence than the parents, coaches and others received.

As for comparisons ... more than 50 parents, coaches and associates of Singer's received sentences ranging from probation to 30 months.

Lori Loughlin received 2 months, and Felicity Huffman 14 days.

Prosecutors want an additional 36 months of supervised release, and restitution to the IRS in the amount of $10,668,841. They want millions more in other penalties.

Here's the thing ... 6 years ain't so bad, because the max was 65 years behind bars.

As for why the relatively light sentence ... Singer cooperated and was the key to convicting the parents and others. The docs refer to Singer making hundreds of recorded calls at the government's direction. He wore a wire as well to nail the targets. Prosecutors say if it wasn't for Singer, most of the parents who were convicted would have gotten off.

Where in the world is Kanye West?

Ye's ex-business manager says Kim Kardashian's ex has been playing a cat-and-mouse game for weeks, all over a lawsuit.

The biz manager, Thomas St. John, is suing Ye for $4.5 mil and is frustrated because he can't serve him with the necessary legal docs, this according to the US Sun.

The suit, over unpaid fees, can't move forward until Kanye gets served, either directly or through other means. St. John says he can't find a legit address on Ye.

Kanye has been spotted several times in the last 2 weeks ... both times in L.A.

TMZ broke the story, Kanye's been leading a nomadic life for months, traveling here and there and not really having a home base.

As for St. John and Kanye, that relationship blew up last January, according to St. John, when Ye screamed at him in aggressive fashion and pulled the plug on their relationship.

The upcoming season of the TV series "Super Sized Salon" is pushing forward despite the sudden death of its star, Jamie Lopez.

Sources who were close to Jamie tell TMZ ... the show's cast and crew hopped on a call this week with WE tv network honchos and everyone agreed they wanted to continue with the show, with the goal of continuing to tell Jamie's story.

Our sources say nothing is official yet, but there were discussions about making Jamie a multi-season offer before her recent death ... and now they envision some presence of Jamie in season 2 ... using old clips and interviews.

TMZ broke the story ... 37-year-old Jamie was hospitalized last weekend in Las Vegas and died due to heart complications.

"Super Sized Salon" premiered earlier this season on WE tv ... putting the spotlight on the staff and customers at Jamie's Babydoll Beauty Couture salon in Vegas.

Jamie owned 50% of the salon, with her partner and business manager JD Armelin owning the remaining half. We're told Jamie's cut will go to her next of kin. JD is already in the process of buying them out, with plans to give some equity to the other women who work at the salon.

We're told the plan is for JD to remain behind the scenes and eventually turn the salon into a franchise, while looking for another woman to become the spokesperson to continue Jamie's vision.

2022 has been a big year on many fronts ... take a look at the most lavish real estate stories of the year with some of the most eye-popping price tags.

For starters, Byron Allen set a record when he broke the bank on his $100 Malibu mansion ...  spending the most money an African American has ever spent on a home in the U.S.!!

Mark Wahlberg and Cher were among other celebs to list their homes ... they both asked for nearly $90M. Adam Levine also sought to make a huge profit, selling the home he snagged from Ben Affleck.

Remember, Ex-Disney CEO, Michael Eisner listed his massive Malibu mansion with a draw-dropping, record-breaking price tag of $225 million ... yeah, the one with 9 buildings that sits right on the beach!!

BTW, he could increase his wealth by 25% just by selling this bad baby.

You'll recall, "Full House" creator Jeff Franklin relisted his Bev Hills estate with a huge discount ... which, still came with a $60 million price tag. It sits on the property where the Manson family notoriously murdered Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Steven Parent, Wojciech Frykowski and Jay Sebring back in 1969. It's a true beaut, despite the dark past!

Adele didn't go easy on her pockets when she scooped up Sylvester Stallone's lavish estate, and plunked down a whopping $58M!!

Drew Rosenhaus, Leigh Steinberg, Jimmy Sexton and ... T.J. Ward?!

In just a short matter of time, the ex-Denver Broncos star could very well be in the same conversation as the trio of famed NFL superagents ... 'cause the former Super Bowl champ just started his own agency -- and he tells TMZ Sports he's looking to change the player rep game with it.

Ward launched the Player Above Sports Group recently ... and he said with all of his experience as a high-level NFL player, he believes he and his new team can impact athletes' lives off the field in a way other agencies can't.

"There's not a lot of player representation for players," the former defensive back said. "There's not a lot of guidance, in that aspect, for players by players and that's what I want to do."

"We want to give them something in a viewpoint from someone who's been there," Ward added. "I've done a few things in this league and have a lot of experience and I know I can help these players with their careers right now."

Ward played in the NFL from 2010 to 2017 -- logging time with the Browns, Broncos and Buccaneers. He said during his career, he suffered "ups and downs" with his representation, and he's now making it his goal to help ensure future athletes don't have similar issues.

Ward's already got a few clients under his belt -- including former Oregon star Nick Pickett -- but he's looking to grow quickly.