Browsing: showdown

The pre-game buzz had this as a showdown between two of world footballâ€s most intriguing young No 10s, Comoâ€s Nico Paz v Juventusâ€s Kenan Yildiz. A 21-year-old Argentina international whose dazzling debut campaign in Serie A persuaded Tottenham to make an unsuccessful €70m bid to buy him in the summer, taking on the 20-year-old trequartista with 25 appearances already for Turkeyâ€s national team.

Fabio Capello could not pick between them, ranking Paz and Yildiz alongside Romaâ€s Matías Soulé as the finest “fantasisti†– artistic playmakers – in Serie A today. The newspaper Il Giornale played on the players†shirt number and young age as they billed it as a battle “da ‘10†(e lode)â€. In the Italian academic system, a grade of 110 e lode (with honours) is the highest one can achieve.

Was it all a little manufactured? There is acute awareness in Italy about how Serie Aâ€s spending power has diminished, even its richest clubs no longer able to compete financially against European rivals with 2-3 times their annual income. The need to nurture and develop young talent has never been greater. It can be tempting, in that context, to get ahead of oneself any time a new prospect starts to emerge.

Still, these players were starting – and starring – for their teams. Yildiz had been Juventusâ€s most essential attacking player so far this season, with a goal and three assists in his first six league games, plus a further one of each in Europe. Capello noted how he was more two-footed than Paz. “The Argentinian [also] has more freedom of expression, Kenan has to deal with more pressure because of his clubâ€s context.â€

Francesco Totti offered a different perspective. Put on the spot with a question about young Italian talents during a promotional appearance for a betting company, the former Roma captain could not name even one he felt excited about. “Letâ€s say right now there arenâ€t many,†said Totti. “The only guy Iâ€m watching right now, who isnâ€t Italian, is Nico Paz. He intrigues me a lot.â€

How could he not? Paz opened this season with a spectacular free-kick goal against Lazio, and even that might not have been as memorable as the assist he made in the same game, spinning away from Nuno Tavares before releasing Tasos Douvikas with a through-ball that travelled half the length of the pitch without leaving the ground.

Few had even expected to see Paz return to Como this season. He joined from Real Madrid last summer, but the Spanish club hold a buy-back option that would have allowed them to sign him for just €9m. Pocket change, for a player named as Serie Aâ€s best Under-23 performer after bagging a combined 14 goals and assists in 2024-25. With Luka Modric departing, Madrid had space for fresh creative talent.

Quick GuideSerie A results Show

Lecce 0-0 Sassuolo, Pisa 0-0 Hellas Verona, Torino 1-0 Napoli, Roma 0-1 Inter.
Como 1907 2-0 Juventus, Cagliari 0-2 Bologna, Genoa 0-0 Parma, Atalanta 0-0 Lazio AC Milan 2-1 Fiorentina

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They opted instead to prioritise the signing of the winger Franco Mastantuono, three years younger, from River Plate. With Arda Güler already primed for the No 10 role, Madrid could not guarantee Paz the playing opportunities he craved. Their buy-back option runs through to 2027, with only a gentle increase in price for each additional year they wait to exercise it, so it made sense to leave him at Como for this year.

Madrid are also entitled to half of any transfer fee should the player be sold to a different club instead. The fact Tottenhamâ€s bid was rejected may speak as much to Xabi Alonsoâ€s interest in eventually bringing Paz back to the Santiago Bernabéu as it does to Comoâ€s strong financial position, owned as they are by the billionaire Hartono brothers.

The knowledge Paz was staying put may also have helped dissuade Cesc Fàbregas from seeking out new pastures himself. The Como manager had plenty of suitors, from Inter to Bayer Leverkusen, after leading his club to a top-half finish on their return to Serie A.

He has even better tools at his disposal this time around. Como spent more than €140m on transfers over the summer, with headline signings including the teenage wingers Jesús Rodríguez and Jayden Addai from Real Betis and AZ Alkmaar, as well as Martin Baturina and Nicolas Kühn, who delivered standout European performances for Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic last season.

Still, though, Paz has been the star, sitting just behind a lone striker in Fàbregasâ€s 4-2-3-1. From there he drops readily to either side, showing a slight preference to drift right and cut in from there on to his stronger left foot. From that side he provided the assist for Comoâ€s opening goal against Juventus on Sunday.

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Cesc Fàbregas has found a star in Nico Paz at the heart of Comoâ€s 4-2-3-1. Photograph: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images

Moments after posing beside the pitch with his latest personal accolade, Serie Aâ€s Rising Star of The Month award for September, Paz trotted back over to take a corner. He played the ball short to Lucas da Cunha, who returned it to him with a backheel. Paz then swung a cross with his left boot towards the far post, where Marc Oliver Kempf arrived to force it home.

This was only the fourth minute, but already Paz was on the way to ensuring that his duel with Yildiz would be less a shootout than an execution. Juventusâ€s No 10 did his best, carrying the ball forward where he could and delivering more threat than his teammates, but Comoâ€s was a spectacle every time he touched the ball: teeing up Ãlvaro Morata here, running away from defenders there, dummying a touch one way only to execute a one-two with the heel of his weaker foot in-between.

Perhaps Totti was right. There are plenty of talented young players but even in elite football only a handful of special ones, and week by week Paz looks ever more like he belongs to the latter category. A terror in possession but also out of it, harassing opponents relentlessly with his 1.86 metres (6ft 1in) frame.

He sealed the points with a gorgeous 79th-minute winner. After receiving a pass from Máximo Perrone on the right flank close to halfway, he accelerated through the next 30 yards, jagged back inside Andrea Cambiaso and crashed the ball into the far corner. The thousand-yard stare on the Juventus full-backâ€s face said it all.

This was supposed to have been an opportunity for the Bianconeri to assert their title credentials. A win would have moved them level with Inter at the top, temporarily, ahead of Milanâ€s game on Sunday evening. Instead, Juventus were left to contemplate the prospect of a next match away to a Madrid team so overloaded with talent that it could consider a player like Paz – for this season at least – surplus to requirements.

Meanwhile, Como finished the weekend sixth in the Serie A table. Much of their success must be credited to Fàbregas, whose gathered his players on the pitch at full-time to share with them “only one word. Only one word. Iâ€m so fucking proud of you.â€

Still, it is hard to look past the contributions by Paz, who has either scored or assisted eight of Comoâ€s nine goals this season. “Heâ€s a champion,†said Fàbregas in a post-game interview. “Iâ€m very calm about him and his future. With this humility, and this hunger, he can go wherever he wants to go.â€

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Next Match:

Southern Connecticut State University

10/21/2025 | 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 21 (Tue) / 7:00 p.m.

 Southern Connecticut State University

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. –In a match filled with momentum swings and long rallies, the Pace University volleyball team battled fiercely but came up just short in a five-set showdown against Saint Michael’s College on Saturday afternoon at the Goldstein Fitness Center. After dropping the first two sets, the Setters stormed back to even the match before narrowly falling 3-2 (17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 14-16). The result moves Pace to 8-7 overall and 0-4 in the Northeast 10 Conference, while the Purple Knights improve to 5-13 and 2-2 in league play.

The opening frames saw Saint Michael’s capitalize on early errors, but once the Setters found their rhythm, the energy inside Goldstein shifted dramatically. Behind the offensive consistency of Cyanna Shirley and Kadence Ackmann, the Blue and Gold clawed their way back into contention and used strong serving and net defense to seize momentum in the middle stages of the match.

Shirley powered the attack with 14 kills on a .407 hitting percentage and four blocks, while Ackmann matched her with 14 kills, 18 digs, and a pair of aces. Emily Cineus added eight kills and four blocks, while Aralyn Saulys posted 17 assists, 14 digs, and two service aces to lead a balanced offense. Setter Camila Rodriguez finished with 16 assists, one ace, and five digs, and Alice Bender anchored the back row with 13 digs and two aces.

After the Setters won back-to-back sets to force a decisive fifth, both sides traded points in a tense final frame that featured seven ties and five lead changes. Despite Pace’s relentless defense and a surge of late kills from Shirley and Ackmann, the Purple Knights escaped with a 16-14 finish to close the match. The Blue and Gold tallied 83 digs, 22 total blocks, and 10 aces in the loss, highlighted by Leah Mendez’s eight block assists at the net.

Pace will look to bounce back on Tuesday, October 21, when it returns home to host Southern Connecticut State University in another NE10 match-up at the Goldstein Fitness Center.
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Next Match:

San Francisco State

10/18/2025 | 5 p.m.

Oct. 18 (Sat) / 5 p.m.

 San Francisco State

History

LOS ANGELES — Cal State LA’s women’s volleyball team came up short Friday night in a first-place showdown between California Collegiate Athletic Association unbeatens.

The Golden Eagles dropped the first two sets and saw a spirited comeback come up short in a 25-16, 25-12, 24-26, 25-20 loss to Cal Poly Pomona in the CCAA Game of the Week in University Gym. Cal State LA (12-4, 8-1 CCAA) had a nine-match winning streak snapped, while Cal Poly Pomona (11-4, 9-0 CCAA) won its ninth straight match with the four-set win.

Neither team had lost since Cal State LA beat Cal Poly Pomona in a five-set match in the finale of the Cal State LA Invitational last match. The Broncos, with their win on Friday, still haven’t lost since then.

The Golden Eagles now trail the Broncos by one game as the conference hits the halfway point of the season. The teams will not meet again during the regular season.

Samarah DaCoud had 19 kills and six digs and hit .326 for the Golden Eagles, while Ayjah Landers had eight kills, three blocks and seven digs.

Sarah Ybarra led Cal Poly Pomona with 21 kills and five blocks, while Elle Walker had 13 kills and Charlotte Koerber had 10 kills and 19 digs.

Madison Clark had a team-high five blocks, while Arielle Chandler had 15 set assists and six digs.

Cal Poly Pomona had a 61-40 advantage in kills and a 13-9 edge in blocks. The Broncos outhit the Golden Eagles, .333-.125. The Golden Eagles had five service aces – two by Jameson Sanders – and nine errors, while the Broncos had six aces and 10 errors.

The Golden Eagles started slowly and dropped the first two sets before storming back and making things very interesting. Cal State LA faced an early 5-2 deficit in the third turning things around. The Golden Eagles took a 17-12 lead after a kill and ace by DaCoud, but then had to battle late to stay in the match. Cal Poly Pomona tied it at 20-20 before a kill by Zuhal Cetin, a block by DaCoud and Rachel Lowe and an attack error gave the Golden Eagles a 23-20 lead. The Broncos tied it at 23-23 and 24-24 before a block by Clark and DaCoud and a kill by Landers pushed the match to a fourth set.

Cal State LA fell into a 12-7 deficit before a service error, an attack error, back-to-back aces from Sanders and a block by Landers and Lowe evened the set. The set was tied for a final time at 18-18, but back-to-back kills by Ybarra gave the Broncos a 20-18 lead and, after Cal State LA got as close as 21-20, the Broncos scored the final four points to close out the match.

Cal State LA will return to action with a home match against San Francisco State on Saturday at 5 p.m.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have booked their 8th trip to the National League Championship Series since 2013 by walking off in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. While Dodgers fans celebrated advancing, it was Orion Kerkering and the rest of Philly left wondering what if.

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On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman break down the unfortunate error by Kerkering that led to the Dodgers eliminating the Phillies — and why he doesnâ€t deserve all of the blame. The guys then go on to question whether the Phillies have a larger issue brewing with their roster after failing to win the World Series in recent seasons and whatâ€s next for their impending free agents.

Also on this episode, Jake and Jordan discuss the Chicago Cubs taking down the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4, forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Milwaukee this Saturday. With the Brewers failing to capitalize on a 2-0 series lead, the question now is: who will the Brew Crew turn to in the must-win game to help validate their season? Later, the guys preview the ALDS Game 5 between the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, featuring what is sure to be one of the most enticing pitching matchups of the postseason — George Kirby vs. Tarik Skubal.

(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

1:00 – The Opener: Dodgers advance to NLCS

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20:25 – Where do the Phillies go from here?

26:04 – Cubs force a Game 5

30:47 – Brewers make questionable choices

42:49 – Tigers-Mariners Game 5 preview

47:35 – ALDS Game 5 prediction

ðŸ–¥ï¸ Watch this full episode on YouTube

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WWE NXT scored a ratings victory over AEW Dynamite with the shows going head-to-head on Tuesday night.

The NXT vs. TNA Showdown special averaged 625,000 viewers on USA Network, an increase of 9.3 percent from last week. With Nielsen changing its ratings methodology, this is still the second-lowest reported audience total for NXT since July 15.

AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday, airing on TBS outside of the show’s normal night, averaged 321,000 viewers. That’s down 31 percent from last week and is the lowest reported audience in the history of the show.

In the 18-49 demo, the NXT episode drew a 0.12 rating. That’s up 20 percent from last week but ties the second-lowest number the show has done in that category so far in 2025.

Dynamite drew a 0.07 rating in the demo, which is a decrease of 22.2 percent from last week and is a record low number for the show.

It should be noted that starting two weeks ago — when Nielsen began using its “Big Panel + Data” measurement system to determine ratings — there have been nearly universal severe declines for both WWE and AEW wrestling programming.

As compared to the same week in 2024, NXT’s average viewership was down 28.5 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 50 percent. AEW’s viewership was down 2.4 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 30 percent. Both shows aired head-to-head during this week last year as well.

Here’s a look at the last 11 weeks of ratings data for both programs:

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In the end, it was a tie.

Four matches took place at NXT vs. TNA Showdown on Tuesday, with brands walking away with two wins each. In the opening match, TNA Tag Team Champions The Hardys defeated DarkState to win the NXT Tag Team titles for the first time, becoming double champions.

That was followed by the womenâ€s Survivor Series elimination match, which saw Team NXT (Jacy Jayne, Lola Vice, Sol Ruca, and Jaida Parker) defeat Team TNA (Kelani Jordan, The IInspiration, and Mara Sade). It boiled down to Jordan taking on both Jayne and Rouca. Jordan hit a Spanish fly but missed a 450 as Ruca got the knees up. Ruca hit a sol snatcher but didnâ€t realize Jayne tagged herself in, pinning Jordan to steal the win from Ruca.

After Ethan Page defeated Mustafa Ali, the main event took place pitting Team NXT (Ricky Starks, Trick Williams, Myles Borne, and Jeâ€Von Evans) against Team TNA (Mike Santana, Moose, Frankie Kazarian, and Leon Slater) in the menâ€s Survivor Series elimination match. The key point of the match had Williams ditch Starks, leaving him as the only man remaining on team NXT. Starks battled all four TNA wrestlers by himself, managing to eliminate Kazarian and Slater. But the numbers game proved to be too much, as Moose and Santana ultimately picked up the win for their team after Santana connected with a discus clothesline.

The end of the show saw the NXT GM Ava and TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella congratulate each other on their team’s successes. Ava then invited the Knockouts division to compete on next weekâ€s NXT in a battle royal to determine Jacy Jayneâ€s challenger for Halloween Havoc. Santino accepted the offer to close out the show.

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TNA Wrestling proved a real point and sent a dangerous message at ShowDown.

WWE NXTâ€s October 7 episode was a special ShowDown event, which was a major crossover between NXT and TNA Wrestling. The night was promoted as a battle of brands, and the event carried the energy of an invasion storyline, even if they had to change that event name.

The main event was a Menâ€s Survivor Series-style match that saw NXTâ€s Ricky Saints, Trick Williams, Jeâ€Von Evans, and Myles Borne take on TNAâ€s Mike Santana, Frankie Kazarian, Moose, and Leon Slater. Joe Hendry served as the special guest referee, adding even more intrigue to the contest.

Frankie Kazarian was able to take out Myles Borne early on, which gave TNA an advantage. Then Jeâ€Von Evans was eliminated by Leon Slater to make it 4 on 2 as they went to another commercial break.

The match continued until Trick Williams walked off on Ricky Saints, leaving him to fend for himself. The former Ricky Starks was alone with the rest of the TNA team, and things didnâ€t look good for him. Suddenly, he was able to get a pin on Frankie Kazarian to take him out of the match.

Leon Slater jumped on Saints after that, but the NXT Champion didnâ€t lay down. Then Saints was able to pin Slater as he turned a splash into a pin while he got his knees up. Moose jumped in next, but Saints fought him off the best he could. Saints kept taking all the abuse he could from Moose as Joe Hendry served as referee. Moose tagged in Mike Santana after that to continue the abuse on Saints. They continued and Moose accidentally speared Santana for a near fall, and then Moose nailed Saints with a powerbomb before Santana hit a Spin The Block to take out Ricky Saints for good and win the match for TNA Wrestling.

We will have to see what is next for TNA Wrestling and NXTâ€s relationship. This ShowDown event was certainly a special night for pro wrestling.

Whatâ€s your take on the ShowDown event, and how it all turned out? Do you think that they should have booked it better? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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Tuesday night’s NXT North American Championship fight was over 750 days in the making, as former WWE talent and current TNA star Mustafa Ali took on current champion Ethan Page in a long-overdue opportunity for NXT gold. The night’s contest had Orlando crowd’s hearts in their throats, but when the bell finally rang, Page was the one standing tall, still the North American Champion.

Ali was relentless in his NXT title pursuit from the beginning, with his agile in-ring style overwhelming Page early on. The champion eventually found his footing when he threw himself against the ropes to trip up a top-rope bound Ali, but the match remained into a back-and-forth brawl, where Page’s wily use of the ring’s surroundings weathered Ali’s explosive in-ring finesse to keep Orlando on edge.

Tuesday’s contentious match-up came to a climax when the men took a trip over the ringside commentary table. While Page came out unscathed, Ali’s foot got caught in the table’s equipment wires. Ali’s entanglement prevented him executing a likely match-ending top rope dive, and Page opportunistically capitalized by pushing Ali from the top rope. With an incredible crash to the outside breaking Ali’s exhausted body, Page only needed a Twisted Grin to retain his title.

Ali “politicked” his way to Tuesday’s title opportunity on the recent September 30 episode of “NXT,” where he delivered a passionate promo about his missed opportunity in WWE. Reports have since come out to claim that NXT head Shawn Michaels previously had plans to bestow the gold onto Ali prior to his 2023 release, which came just days before his North American title match with previous champion Dominik Mysterio.

Lexis King and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. appeared in a backstage segment following the match to show interest in Page’s title, but no official challenge has been made as of writing.

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WWE

While AEW is hosting “AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday” tonight, it is a battle of the brands over on Showdown, with talents from “WWE NXT” and TNA colliding in the ring. One of the Showdown matches pitted four women of “NXT” against four TNA representatives in the style of Survivor Series, meaning the only way to win was to eliminate all of the other team’s members.

With former TNA Knockouts Champion and current “NXT” star Jordynne Grace officiating this cross-promotional match, TNA’s Mara Sade (fka Jakara Jackson) secured the first elimination, courtesy of a roll-up on Jaida Parker. Moments later, NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca evened the score for team “NXT” by driving Sade into the mat with a Sol Snatcher. Lola Vice followed suit shortly after when she struck TNA’s Cassie Lee with a spinning backfist, then pinned her for “NXT’s” second elimination.

In an attempt to avenge the pinfall on Lee, Jessica McKay surprised Vice with a roll-up of her own. Vice, however, escaped it and locked in a submission, forcing McKay to tap out and leaving TNA Knockouts Champion Kelani Jordan as the lone member of her respective team.

Despite being down in numbers, Jordan remained resilient and used the personal fractures of team “NXT” to her advantage. Following a push to Vice that knocked NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne off the apron, Jordan nailed Vice with an Angle Slam for an elimination of her own. Jordan continued to build momentum with a facebuster and a Spanish Fly to Ruca, though Ruca eventually shifted the tide by blocking her 450 Splash. When Ruca then planted Jordan with a Sol Snatcher, Jayne quickly tagged herself in to capture the final pinfall on Jordan for a team “NXT” win. Ruca and Jayne stood tall in celebration as the sole survivors afterward.Â

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The Hardy Boyz have cemented themselves in further into pro wrestling history.

The ShowDown event on the October 7 episode of WWE NXT also featured a Tag Team Championship Unification Match that brought together two generations of tag team wrestling. Dion Lennox and Osiris Griffin of DarkState represented NXT as tag team champions, while TNA sent Matt and Jeff Hardy as with their tag team titles.

The two teams met with both championships on the line, each looking to walk away as the unified titleholders. Naturally, this was a match that a lot of people had their eyes on.

This match kicked off the historic show, and the Hardy Boyz showed up for their 3rd match in NXT ever, as they wore all white for the occasion. The Dudley Boyz and TNA President Carlos Silva were also at ringside for the match.

The Hardy Boyz are shoo-in WWE Hall of Famers, but they have never held the NXT Tag Team Titles. They walked into ShowDown with the full intention of adding another title to their vast collection.

Although only two members of DarkState were supposed to be in this match, all four members jumped the Hardy Boyz to start things off. Then Matt and Jeff fought them all off before the bell even rang. Then things got going, as both teams tried their best to keep up the matchâ€s momentum and gain an advantage.

They wrestled through a commercial break, and by the time we came back, Jeff Hardy was selling in the middle of the ring. Fans chanted for Hardy as the match continued. Then Jeff nailed a Whisper In The Wind on both DarkState members, so he could tag in his Broken brother.

Matt Hardy was able to get out of Doomsday Device and hit a Twist of Fate on each member. Jeff got the tag after that and he climbed up for a Swanton Bomb to win the match and claim the NXT Tag Team Titles. History was made at ShowDown, and now the Hardy Boyz will be around NXT much more often.

Whatâ€s your take on the tag team title match at ShowDown? Did the end surprise you at all? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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