Deonna Purrazzo’s efforts to make it in WWE saw the Virtuosa end up in debt, just to be informed that she didn’t stand out enough. Purrazzo first appeared for WWE in 2014 as one of Adam Rose’s ‘Rosebuds’ in 2014 before making her in-ring debut the following year. On a recent edition of the Insight podcast, Purrazzo spoke about trying to make it in WWE, which proved to be a costly endeavor at the time.
“Late 2015, early 2016, I was in NXT at the tapings every other week. I was there 24/7 flying myself, actively going into debt so I could be in Orlando, Florida, to wrestle for NXT.”
Despite Purrazzo’s best efforts, she wouldn’t be signed at the time and would have to wait until 2018 before finally securing a contract. When asked why WWE didn’t pick her up three years earlier, the Virtuosa was somewhat flummoxed.
“That’s a really great question. I don’t know. Kind of always the answer was that I was a five-foot-two brunette, and there was a ton of us on the Indies.
“February 2016 they were just like ‘we have too many of you right now and go out there and keep making a name for yourself, and maybe it’ll come full circle.'”
Purrazzo would sign with WWE in April 2018 while backstage at a Shimmer Women Athletes event. Her signing resulted in her pulling out of that year’s All In, a precursor to AEW. Unfortunately, Purrazzo’s time under contract would see her wrestle just 16 times on TV before her release in April 2020.
Undeterred, Purrazzo reinvented herself after her release and would become a premier star in Impact Wrestling before joining AEW earlier this year. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on Purrazzo as she looks to capture the AEW Women’s World Championship.