Sports
Deonna Purrazzo touts Ring of Honor as having ‘great women’s wrestling,’ should be seen as landing spot
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Deonna Purrazzo was credited with helping restart the women’s division in Ring of Honor (ROH) when she joined the company in 2015. She was featured in one of the first women’s matches in the company’s history in nearly a decade at the time.
She spent three years with the company before she landed back in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2024. By that time, AEW co-founder Tony Khan had bought Ring of Honor and it became a sister company of AEW. Upon her return to Ring of Honor, she was thrust into a tournament to determine the first ROH women’s pure champion.
Deonna Purrazzo celebrates after winning her match during AEW Collision on June 15, 2024, at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)
In December, Purrazzo defeated Billie Starkz to be crowned the champion and has held the title ever since.
As a wave of new wrestlers hit the free-agent market over the last two weeks, Purrazzo touted the opportunities that Ring of Honor has for women’s wrestlers – something that was “really important” to the New Jersey native.
“I think what’s so great about Ring of Honor is that it kinda flies under the radar a little bit,” she told Fox News Digital. “So, you get to really develop and tell stories and show personality and maybe try something different than you would if you were on ‘Dynamite’ every single week. I think that there is really great women’s wrestling within Ring of Honor. Most weeks there’s four, five, six women’s matches and so I think that it doesn’t get enough credit online that it deserves for what it’s doing and the purpose it’s serving for women’s wrestling, which is, again, really important to me, starting in Ring of Honor, starting the women’s division 11 years ago.
“To get to see multiple women every single week grow and develop, I think it’s really important and I think that if more people saw it as a landing spot, we can maybe grow that perception in the public’s eyes.”
Athena sits at the top of the women’s division in ROH. She’s held the ROH Women’s World Championship for more than 1,200 days. Red Velvet is the current ROH Women’s World Television Championship and has held it for more than 150 days.
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Deonna Purrazzo attends Shaq’s Fun House at XS nightclub at Encore Las Vegas on Feb. 9, 2024. (Greg Doherty/Getty Images)
Purrazzo also has the opportunity to help veterans and first-responders in need.
She and her husband, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling star Steve Maclin, are putting on the Battle for the Brave on June 6. The charity event will benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Purrazzo stressed how important giving back to military veterans was to her in an interview with Fox News Digital earlier this week, especially as a military wife. Maclin served in the U.S. Marines.
“Growing up in New Jersey as well, 9/11 was such a big deal. For me, I was in second grade,” she said. “I didn’t understand what was going on but in the days after, I felt a sense of unity in that everyone came together, everyone was proud to be an American, and we were going to fight back and stand together and be one, united country. And I think that, that feeling has always stuck with me but being a veteran’s wife, it’s taken on a completely different role.
“Steve opening up about his service and things he’s seen and experienced with me has given me a new passion to let veterans know that, yes, war will always come home with you but it doesn’t have to define you. Steve was so lucky that he was able to find wrestling right after he got out of the Marine Corps and it saved him, in a way, from falling down the unknown path of ‘What am I? Who am I next?’
Pro wrestling stars Steve Maclin and Deonna Purrazzo stare at each other. (Provided to Fox News Digital)
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“And I think that’s something that our veterans deal with unbeknownst to the rest of the public. It’s not talked about enough. They say 22 veterans but right now the math is leading toward 44 veterans a day lose their lives to that battle – an identity crisis of who am I after service. So, that’s what it means to be American for me now, is showing that support for our veterans, showing that our country is here for them and we’re here to support them and we’re here to give them the resources that they need to live healthy and successful lives after service.”
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first against Bangladesh in the opening Test of the two-match series at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Friday.
Two youngsters, Abdullah Fazal and Azan Awais, are making their Test debut for Pakistan, while star batter Babar Azam has been left out due to an injury to his left knee.
The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27, with the second Test scheduled to be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet from May 16 to 20.
Pakistan occupy the fifth place after winning one and losing one of their two Tests. They have secured 12 points with a 50% win rate.
On the other hand, Bangladesh are currently eighth in the WTC standings, having earned one draw and suffered one defeat in their two matches so far.
The last Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh was played in August 2024, when Bangladesh claimed a historic 2-0 victory which was also their first-ever away Test series win against the Green Shirts.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Azan Awais, Abdullah Fazal, Shan Masood(c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Salman Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Noman Ali, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas.
Bangladesh: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.
It’s official, the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are expanding to 76 teams moving forward after committee members voted to approve the transition on Thursday.
In what has become a focal point of dissension among college basketball fans over the past year, the increase of teams that will now make up the postseason field passed through multiple layers to its final stage.
“The expanded bracket format will not impact regular season or conference championship schedules,” the NCAA said in its release.
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Some might be wondering why the NCAA is once again expanding the tournament. Look no further than the revenue it will create for schools across the country, which is tied into television contracts and sponsorship dollars that were too lucrative to turn down.
In the new agreement, the NCAA will also open new avenues for sponsorship agreements, which will include beer, wine, spirits and hard seltzer, just to name a few options.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley reacts after a call during the second half of an NCAA tournament semifinal game against Illinois at the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP)
Over the past month, NCAA officials met with media partners to hash out what the addition of 12 teams would create in terms of revenue for the postseason tournament, with Turner Sports being afforded additional games to broadcast each year.
In the new format, the First Four will now turn into the opening round, which will feature 24 teams participating in 12 games over a two-day period. Half of these matchups will take place in Dayton, Ohio, while the other games will be decided in a location to be announced.
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How will the additional teams be configured within tournament field?
For these opening round games, there will be a mixture of at-large teams and automatic bid qualifiers. Each 16-seed, and half of the 15-seeded teams, will participate in these games, while the rest will be configured of 11, 12 and the potential for a 13-seeded team.
Those teams that win will move on to play in the actual opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday and Friday.
Yes, I know this is a bit much, which has turned into a highly entertaining conversation across social media and within athletic departments in recent weeks.
UConn’s Dan Hurley warns NCAA tournament expansion could make the regular season ‘meaningless’
Nimari Burnett of the Michigan Wolverines poses with teammates holding the Midwest Regional Championship trophy after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., on March 29, 2026. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
It’s hard not to argue that college basketball is not simply just handing out further bids to increase the chances for a university to receive its participation ribbon.
But we are also seeing a substantial increase in expenditures on every college campus, which is another reason why expansion was pivotal for schools.
“The NCAA will be able to award more than $131 million in new revenue distributions to member schools participating in the basketball tournaments over the remaining six years of the NCAA’s broadcast agreements,” the organization announced.
Also, the NCAA will see an increase of $300 million in revenue from the media rights deal over the course of six years.
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South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley speaks during a news conference at the NCAA college basketball tournament Final Four in Phoenix on April 4, 2026. (John Locher/AP)
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“Expanding the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships is the right decision for the student-athletes and programs that will now have access to the greatest events in college sports,” said Board of Directors Chair Tim Sands, president at Virginia Tech.
Now, with the tournament preparing for an increased field, we can look ahead to the next television contract negotiations, where there will undoubtedly be conversations around expanding the number of teams once again.
KARACHI: Star batter Babar Azam is unavailable for Pakistan’s opening Test against Bangladesh due to an injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on Thursday.
According to the cricket board, the 31-year-old suffered an injury to his left knee and thus will not be available for the series opener, scheduled to be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka, from May 8 to 12.
The PCB further shared that the team’s medical panel was currently assessing the batter’s condition, with further updates regarding his fitness will be shared in due course.
“Pakistan batter Babar Azam will not be available for the first Test match against Bangladesh due to an injury in his left knee,” the PCB said in a statement.
“The team’s medical panel is currently assessing his condition. Further updates will be shared in due course,” it added.
Babar’s unavailability for the upcoming fixture serves as a major blow for the touring side, as the right-handed batter has been in splendid form, which saw him finish as the leading run-scorer of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11, accumulating 588 runs in 11 innings at a remarkable average of 73.02 and a strike-rate of 145.90 with the help of two centuries and three fifties.
Following his blistering century in the Qualifier against three-time champions Islamabad United, which led eventual champions Peshawar Zalmi into the final, the star batter shared that he has started to feel like he is getting back to his best.
Pakistan squad
Shan Masood (c), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
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