Deonna Purrazzo opens up about leaving TNA/IMPACT.
Deonna Purrazzo had been with the company since 2020. She won the Knockouts World Championship three times, and she also held the Knockouts World Tag Team Championship. Purrazzo entered free agency on January 1 and ultimately signed with AEW.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho, Deonna Purrazzo discussed her decision to leave TNA/IMPACT. She stated that it felt like the time to leave. Purrazzo also noted that making her arrival in AEW in New Jersey would be a dream scenario. (H/t Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription)
“I knew my contract was coming up with IMPACT, and I felt like, if it was time to leave, it would be now,” Purrazzo said. “If this was the territories, now would be the time to leave. Britt Baker actually connected me with Tony Khan and we got to talking. I knew the first Dynamite of the new year was going to be in Jersey, that’s where I’m from, so I was like, ‘that would be a dream scenario. Dream come true if we could do that,’ and it all worked out.”
Deonna Purrazzo: What Else Was There For Me To Do In TNA?
Deonna Purrazzo continued by describing how she felt like there were no other stories for her to tell in TNA. She noted that it seemed like there was nothing else for her to do.
“I was the champion for a very long time in IMPACT,” Deonna Purrazzo said. “I got to work with all of the women that were in the locker room, and it was like, ‘what other stories are there to tell? Everyone has kind of put me over at that point, I’ve beaten everybody.
“They kind of figured maybe I was on my way out, so I got to do the favors and put everyone else over on my way out. It was like, what else is there to do? There was no one new coming in that I could work with, I don’t know what else there is to tell here.”
Deonna Purrazzo made her AEW in-ring debut on the January 13 episode of AEW Collision, where she defeated Red Velvet. She will face Anna Jay on the January 17 episode of AEW Dynamite.
WrestleZone will have coverage of AEW Dynamite as it airs on Wednesday.
