Deonna Purrazzo was declared to be an All Elite on the very first episode of AEW Dynamite of 2024. As seen on that January 3 edition of the AEW flagship show, Mariah May defeated Queen Aminata in her first-ever match in the promotion. After the match, the former TNA Knockouts Champion made her debut targeting the AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm.
Over the last three years, Deonna Purrazzo had a solid run with Impact Wrestling/TNA. Once the contract was over, she got signed with AEW and immediately entered a feud with Toni Storm. The two are now set to battle it out at AEW Revolution with the AEW Women’s World Championship hanging in the balance.
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Heading into 2024, AEW President Tony Khan hoped to revamp the AEW Women’s Division with new signings, and efforts on that side have been noticed. Speaking on a recent edition of The Hall of Fame podcast WWE’s Booker T gave his assessment of Deonna Purrazzo as a performer and how her presence could change the game for the female roster of the company,
“Purrazzo is … that girl next door that can go out and perform at a very, very high level. You look at her and you say, ‘Man, I can go out and take her from pillar to post.’ And then you get in the ring with her and you go, ‘Aw, she’s pretty good.'” (quotes courtesy Wrestling INC)
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Booker T further noted how her hard work in Impact/TNA helped Deonna Purrazzo to secure a lucrative contract with All Elite Wrestling. For those who don’t remember, The Virtuosa made a couple of previous appearances on AEW Dynamite during her tenure with Impact. The run includes a match against Mercedes Martinez for the Undisputed Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship in May 2022. This match happened after Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor and merged the two brands.
Since joining All Elite Wrestling, Deonna Purrazzo has wrestled four matches in AEW, two on Dynamite and two on Collision. The former Impact Knockouts Champion has walked away with the big in each of her matches. Since she knows Toni Storm very well from her early days, the assumption is that the AEW Women’s Title can change hands.
