In the beginning days of her professional wrestling career, Deonna Purrazzo believed that WWE was always going to be her dream job. Thereafter, she received the opportunity to be a part of the previously Vince McMahon-owned company as a part of the NXT where dreams shattered for her so bad that she couldn’t be able to make a comeback due to trust issues.
In late 2023, Deonna Purrazzo became a free agent after her contract with TNA Wrestling expired. Since joining TNA in 2020, she emerged to be one of the top Knockouts, winning the Knockouts Championship multiple times and headlining pay-per-views for the company. She also won multiple other titles across multiple different promotions namely ROH and AAA which garnered attention from the WWE.
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However, instead of choosing WWE, Deonna Purrazzo decided to sign with Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling and she had good reasons for that. In an interview with Stephanie Chase, the current AEW Superstar was asked if she had discussions with WWE before debuting on Dynamite in January 2024. The answer was affirmative but she ultimately backed down signing having a fear of underutilization.
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Deonna Purrazzo believes she missed out on opportunities during her WWE NXT stint
“I gave all of that up to go to NXT. It didn’t work out. I was very bitter about that, but it just didn’t work out. I learned a lot about myself. I was hesitant to go back into that situation knowing how I was treated. Wanting to avoid that at all costs. I felt like there wasn’t trust there for me to squander this really great opportunity that I knew was there for AEW,” Deonna Purrazzo spoke her heart out.
“Who knows, in hindsight, had I not gone to NXT, had I been at All In, I could have been at AEW from the beginning, maybe.” (quotes courtesy Ringside News)
Deonna Purrazzo was originally signed with WWE in 2018 and was part of the NXT roster. WWE kept her under their wing for a couple of years and during that time span, she was barely used on TV. Before being granted the much-needed release, she never won a match which is an interesting stat to indicate how a gem talent like her was wasted.
That being said, Deonna Purrazzo had many reasons for being willing to leave the WWE during her first stint. Time will tell if she will return to the company, someday in the company which trades along with the “never say never” phrase. Her friend Chelsea Green is enjoying the best phase of her career in the WWE and she would love to have her back by the side.
