Deonna Purrazzo was released from WWE NXT in mid-April due to company-wide cuts brought on by COVID-19, and she’s already booked for her first title shot with Impact Wrestling. Purrazzo vs. Impact Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace has been confirmed for the July 18 Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Purrazzo recently spoke with entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet and said she would love to go to AEW, but Impact gave her security.
Purrazzo talked about whether she had talks with AEW after being released from WWE, and why she signed with Impact Wrestling.
“I mean like, some people had reached out, but it was all kind of like fleeting,” Purrazzo said of AEW. “There was no like, ‘You’re gonna have a meeting’ or, ‘We’re gonna sit down and do this.’ Luckily, I had been to Impact before, I know the people there and it was right away like, ‘We’d like to have you, let’s talk about it when we can.’ It was just more of a secure thing.
“But I also think too for me, I don’t want to… and it’s funny now that we’ve seen my debut so this is kind of like contradictory to what I’ve done, but I want to get back to the wrestler I was before NXT, and I want to find myself again and find happiness and all of the things that as a performer I lacked when I was competing in NXT. I want to do that before I go somewhere that’s as mainstream as AEW that has the critics of AEW. I don’t want to go there and be exploring myself and kind of fall into the same role that I fell in in NXT. And luckily Impact is a place that understands who I am, is totally on board with what they think I can do and are willing to give me the time to the character development that I need.”
Purrazzo continued and talked about possibly going to AEW in the future, noting that Impact is what she needed as a person and a wrestler right now.
“So I think all things considering, it just really worked out well there,” she continued. “But who knows, you know? I would love to go to AEW. There’s so many girls that I haven’t gotten to work with, friends that are there and I love what they’re doing with their women’s division. It was just like a timing thing and I think what I need more as a person and a wrestler right now.”
Purrazzo made her Impact in-ring debut on this week’s show, defeating Alisha Edwards. You can see video from that match above.
Below is Van Vliet’s full interview with Purrazzo:
