Knockouts

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.

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.

While many rightfully regard IMPACT Wrestling’s women’s division as one of, if not the, strongest division in the world, there are still those who take umbrage with the division’s moniker of Knockouts. Despite the long-term history of the name and its importance to IMPACT’s branding, there are those who believe that the name should change to be more reflective of the current times.

In a recent interview on Love Wrestling, reigning Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo gave her thoughts on the Knockouts name, the history behind it, and why she feels it’s here to stay.

Purrazzo was all too enthusiastic in giving her thoughts on the name and why it should stay.

“Yeah!” she responded when asked if she was a fan of the division’s moniker. “There’s been a ton of pushback, like, right when I started with Impact of the Knockouts name and I love it. I grew up knowing them as the Knockouts.

I never felt a negative connotation towards it as a fan. I just feel like a Knockout is beautiful, is sexy, is powerful, is strong – is a Knockout, literally.”

“I like it. I think it’s different,” Purrazzo continued. “There’s other women’s divisions and everyone else is a woman, and I feel like it gets grouped in with the Diva era, but I think that the connotations and just the way that they were – I don’t know what the word I’m looking for – but the way that they were portrayed is completely different, what a Diva was and what a Knockout was, and I think Impact, and even when it was TNA, developed a really strong women’s division by branding them as Knockouts and then allowing them to be strong, powerful, sexy, top athletes in their company. I grew up watching Divas and feeling like I wanted to change that perception.”

“I’m happy to be a Knockout,” closed the Virtuosa. “I’m happy to be the Knockouts Champion, I’m happy to continue to build that brand with me now.

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Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.