After waiting for quite some time for a suitable TV time, Deonna Purrazzo is gradually picking up the pace on the AEW roster. Just days ahead of her first match in 2025 against the veteran Toni Storm, she’s trending on social media on the internet wrestling community through her outside gigs.
South Carolina Gamecocks and Illinois Fighting Illini battled in the Cheez-It at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday. From the sidelines, Deonna Purrazzo was scoring a victory over Ched-Z, the bowl game mascot. Trying to apply her pendant Fuziwara armbar on the mascot, she eventually picked up a three pin-count in a video that went viral on social media.
“Entire Feud Was Career-Defining For Me,” Deonna Purrazz On Facing WWE Legend
. @DeonnaPurrazzo just scared the crap out of the Pop-Tarts of the #PopTartsBowl. pic.twitter.com/wIZxcE73FF
— Scott Fishman (@smFISHMAN) January 1, 2025
Deonna Purrazzo promotes online degree offered by SNHU
Deonna Purrazzo has also featured in a new commercial for Southern New Hampshire University, a college in the USA known for its online degrees and national accreditation program. The current AEW roster member graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from SNHU in 2023 and henceforth she features in the ad as an alumni, touting the benefits of an online degree program at SNHU.
“I didn’t need to be anywhere to register, I didn’t need to talk to anyone in person. Everything could be done through my laptop or over the phone,” Deonna Purrazzo said in the ad. “I was ringside writing papers and getting journals done.”
After her tenure with TNA Wrestling came to an end over a year ago, Deonna Purrazzo decided not to re-sign with promotion to explore new opportunities. This led her to sign up with All Elite Wrestling and make an immediate appearance on AEW Dynamite in the first 2024 episode aired on TBS. She quickly went on to challenge for the AEW Women’s Championship but was unable to win the belt.
Appearing on the INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Deonna Purrazzo was recently asked what goals she has left to accomplish in professional wrestling. In response, she said that she needs to win the AEW Women’s World title which remains her career resolution for 2025. Admittedly, she felt like getting comfortable in TNA, but then she had to find herself again in AEW to be compatible with newer challenges.
