On October 21, 2020, Deonna Purrazzo finally signed a long-term deal with IMPACT Wrestling, positioning her to be one of the faces of the brand’s expansion plans moving forward. It was a move that was widely praised throughout the professional wrestling industry; however, many were surprised that it had taken so long for the Virtuosa to sign with the promotion after making her IMPACT debut nearly five months earlier.
Purrazzo and I chatted recently to discuss her signing with IMPACT and the process behind committing to the promotion long-term.
While a contract may have taken longer than many fans may have expected, it was all by design, says Purrazzo.
“Well, I think that, for me, especially like the last – even before WWE and NXT, like, I was contracted to Ring of Honor – and then I left Ring of Honor and I went right to NXT, and there was no breathing room in between that,” she explains. “Now, I just think for me, it was I’ve signed two contracts. I wasn’t ready for what came with those things. I wasn’t necessarily happy with both of those contracts and the way my time had panned out. So, let’s take a step back and let’s kind of take a breather and see what happens and, you know, see, the way that creative sees me and the roles that I’m going to be put in and kind of feel this process out a little bit more now that I have some time.”
Of course, the current state of the world certainly didn’t help matters when it came to putting pen to paper.
“More than just personally, I mean, we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, and I think that it’s not just a hesitation on my part. It’s also a hesitation on theirs,” Purrazzo comments. “Like, ‘where’s our company stand? Where do we see this person? Are we going to invest in this person in the long term?’ I don’t know why it’s maybe taken this long, but I think if I had to surmise why, it’s just like a mutual understanding of, like, ‘let’s see and wait,’ and then the world’s crazy. So let’s see and wait (for) what 2021 brings us, you know?”
“We’ve grown this like mutual respect for each other over the last four months and really developed a great relationship that I can only hope transpires for the next couple years.”
Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.
