Deonna Purrazzo joining the IMPACT roster certainly made waves throughout the professional wrestling scene. Her impact – no pun intended – was immediate, and within months of her joining the promotion she had captured the IMPACT Knockout’s Championship.
Joining a new promotion is never an easy task, though, and there was certainly the risk of things not quite going according to plan. Purrazzo recently joined Spencer Love to discuss her run in IMPACT Wrestling thus far, and if all has gone according to plan for the Virtuosa.
“[It’s been] a little bit of both, I guess,” commented the Virtuosa on if her run with IMPACT had gone as she’d envisioned thus far. “I think – I didn’t really have any expectations. You know, when I got fired, it was kind of like, ‘okay, what’s the next step,’ and IMPACT was knocking right away, like, ‘hey, we want you here. What can we do to make this work?’ I’m just so fortunate that they were like, ‘we want to put you at the top right away.'”
However, that wasn’t due to any politiking or creative control on the part of Purrazzo, she says.
“I think people assume that when you leave WWE or you leave another company, it’s just like you have a list of demands,” she laughs. “‘I want this, and I want this, and I want to right this wrong,’ like, I was just like, ‘I’m cool to do whatever! And if you’re positive that I can fulfill your expectations, then let’s do it and I’ll give it a try.’ IMPACT has just been so gracious with the trust that they put in me, and I’ve been able to, I think, knock it out of the park every time.”
Of course, Purrazzo’s signing with IMPACT set the stage for the Virtuosa to face off for the first time ever with former Knockout’s Champion, Taya Valkyrie. On January 16th, the two will finally face off one-on-one in what can truly be described as a dream match.
It’s an endeavour that excites Purrazzo.
“Taya’s someone who I have never gotten a chance to be in the ring with, so whenever she’s vying for a Knockout’s Championship opportunity, I’m ready! I’ve said on numerous other interviews that that’s a dream match for me.”
“I’m excited for that and the possibility of that.”
Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.
