Talk about the very best of women’s wrestling in 2020 and the name Deonna Purrazzo is sure to be in the conversation. The former WWE NXT Superstar has made her way to IMPACT Wrestling, but it isn’t for the first time.
Between 2014 and 2017, Purrazzo made several IMPACT appearances back when the company was known as TNA. Whether it was against Chelsea Green or the woman who got her into IMPACT in the first place Madison Rayne, she picked up some invaluable experience along the way.
In an interview with Fightful, Purrazzo explained:
“It’s so funny. So, my phone right now is propped up high enough so you can see me at my desk, and just under the stack of DVDs that my phone is on, there’s Knockouts Knockdown 2014. I’m gonna try to pull it out slowly without screwing up the camera. But, I swear, my eighth professional match in front of a crowd was at Knockout Knockdown 2014 against Brooke Tessmacher. I was 18 years old. I wasn’t even 19 yet“
The match with Tessmacher taught Deonna a lot, and the experience has come full circle with her return to Impact:
“I was so in over my head, I almost killed her with body slams because I was so nervous and didn’t know what I was doing. To be able to have my career come full circle like that and go from that shy little girl who didn’t know what she was getting herself into to this confident Virtuosa that’s more than a moniker, it’s a transformation from that little girl to who I am now. This whole last few months has been so special to me because of the past I had with IMPACT! or TNA.”
The big difference now? Purrazzo has developed her in-ring skills, picked up a contract and now has a say in her own creative plans. Rather than just being happy to be there, Purrazzo came in with a huge amount of buzz around her:
“I wasn’t in the company then. I just came in for the Knockouts Knockdown and then another one and then I did a couple Xplosion matches. Just one shot opportunities. For me something that was always lacking was the character and, of course, I was brand new. I had no idea how to work a hard cam or floor cams. Or how to give a body slam properly. So, the second time I came back, it was like, ‘I’m confident in my wrestling ability, but I still don’t have a character to it.’ This time I had all that written out,”
Purrazzo will be defending her IMPACT Knockouts Championship against Kylie Rae at the Bound For Glory pay-per-view on October 24.
Check out our official store at PRO WRESTLING TEES, show us your support and buy a shirt. You can visit our store by clicking here.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter @BodySlamNet and on Instagram @BodySlamDotNet
Also check us out on Facebook and give us a like and share by clicking HERE.
