In talking about the Masters Champions Dinner menu, there are two groups of folks. There are the Masters champions who eat its contents with fork, knife and spoon. 

And there are those who poke and prod it. 

With that, we bring you an exchange this week on “The Steam Room” show, hosted by announcer Ernie Johnson and basketball hall of famer-golf junkie Charles Barkley. They’d been asked what they would put on their menu — and what Barkley thought of this year’s, which was developed by Rory McIlroy. Video of the answers is below, and below that are some thoughts. 

“>

Before we get to that, here is McIlroy’s complete menu: 

–There were four appetizers: peach and ricotta flatbread with balsamic, hot honey and basil; rock shrimp tempura with creamy spicy sauce; bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese and almonds; and grilled elk sliders with caramelized onion jam and roasted garlic aioli. 

–There was a first course: yellowfin tuna carpaccio with foie gras, toasted baguette and chives. 

–There was a choice for the main course: Wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon. With either came traditional Irish champ, sauteed brussels sprouts, glazed carrots with brown butter and crispy vidalia onion rings. 

–There was a dessert: sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream and warm toffee sauce. 

Barkley’s thoughts? He took issue with three items: 

–The peach and ricotta flatbread. “It’s a little too foo-foo for me,” he said. “… You got to have meat on your flatbread.”

–The bacon-wrapped dates. “Oh, come on. Stop it. That’s the only way you can up f**k up bacon.”

–The yellowfin tuna carpaccio. “That’s like really thinly like — yeah, no, no, no, no.” 

What about the main course? Barkley said this: “You know, I only eat tilapia. And there’s a couple other fish I eat, but not salmon. Branzino, I love branzino. And there’s one more I eat because fish is too fishy for me. I know that sounds stupid.”

And McIlroy’s dessert?  

“I don’t think you can go wrong with that,” Barkley said.

Here’s what Barkley would have:

–The main course? “I’ll take the fried chicken they got at the Masters. It’s some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had in my life when I was there.” 

–Appetizers? Shrimp cocktail and crab cocktail. 

–What else? A Caesar salad, no anchovies. And “some type of vegetarian bulls**t.”

–Any seafood? A dover sole. 

–Dessert? Key lime pie and apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

Additional thoughts?

Said Johnson: “I don’t even know what to say.”

Said Barkley: “Yummy.”

“>

Earlier tonight at WrestleMania 42, Paige (fka Saraya) made her long-awaited return to WWE for the first time in almost four years. Could Tony Khan counter this move by bringing in a beloved name to AEW?

The former WWE Divas Champion came out tonight as Nikki Bella’s replacement, as she was unable to fight through her ankle injury. This was an incredible return, as in the end, she and Brie Bella would end up winning the women’s tag team titles.

AEW has a stacked women’s division, and there is no shortage of stars who could steal the show. But one name who they were once interested in has been making waves after making her in-ring return following her release from WWE last year. This would be Charlie (fka Dakota Kai).

Her match with Kris Statlander last month was highly talked about within the wrestling world. She also faced off with Shotzi Blackheart earlier this week on HOG. Seeing as she is more active in the ring, Tony Khan could end up offering her an AEW deal. The promotion was reportedly interested in her a few years ago, but she chose to return to WWE. Now they could finally bring her in.

The former WWE Superstar is open to going to either AEW or any other major promotion

A few months ago, Dakota Kai finally broke her silence on her wrestling future, as she remains a free agent.

While appearing on Busted Open Radio, she mentioned how she was open to joining either AEW or TNA, seeing as there are a lot of names on their rosters she would love to face. She revealed that she hadn’t given it much thought, but hopefully her return to the ring pushes her to go all the way and get back into wrestling fully.

“I think once I get back into it, both [AEW and TNA] and so many more have people that I would love to face in the ring. I haven’t really like pinpointed it down to any particular thing. I just think once I do this match [against Kris Statlander] and get the wheels turning again and doing all that, wherever my path may lead, I’m open to it completely,” she said. [H/T – WrestlePurist on X]

It has been a while since then, and seeing as she has been making appearances in the independent circuit, it may not be long before she signs with a major promotion. She continues to be well-liked among the fans, and it will be interesting to see how things go for her if she goes back to wrestling full-time.