Deonna Purrazzo was released from WWE on April 15th, 2020. She signed with the company in the spring of 2018. Aside from making it to the quarter-finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic, the 25-year-old never won a match on WWE programming. She rarely won on house shows or live events either.

During a recent interview with Fightful, Purrazzo spoke about the backstage culture in NXT. She said it was one where everyone is expected to just be happy to be there.

“I just feel like NXT is a culture of you’re grateful for what you get and you don’t ask for more, and I wasn’t grateful for what I got,” Deonna said during the interview. “Because I feel like I worked my ass off to get to NXT. I worked my ass off to prove I belonged there when I got there.”

Purrazzo would continue to mention that she pitched ideas for her, Chelsea Green, and Rachel Evers to form a stable.

“[I] thought out character ideas, vignettes for me as a tag team, for vignettes of me, Chelsea (Green), and Rachel (Evers) as a trio, for myself,” she continued. “I just invested a lot of me in different ways that they could use me and use my potential and it did fall on deaf ears. Because when I got opportunities they were given to other people because ‘I wasn’t ready,’ and I didn’t let it slide.”

Purrazzo’s last match for the company was on the April 6th, 2020 edition of RAW. She lost to a returning Nia Jax that night. Before signing with WWE in 2018, she had wrestled with Impact, ROH, and Stardom.

• Deonna Purrazzo On How She Felt About Her WWE Release

The full interview can be read here.

Former NXT star Deonna Purrazzo was one of the stars that were let go by the company last week and the list includes names such as Kurt Angle and Rusev.

The former WWE star recently had an interview with SportsKeeda where she talked about things such as the support she has received since her release from the company and more.

When asked how she felt after getting the call from the company, Purrazzo claimed that she knew in her heart that she would get the call and revealed that she was unhappy with her position in the company:

“I kind of knew, in my heart, that I would get a call last week. It’s not something that I didn’t expect because I was unhappy for the last six or so months with what I was doing in NXT – and I let office people know that. We had conversations where I said, if nothing is going to happen for me, I’d just rather be let go.”

• Also Read: Cain Velasquez Reportedly Part Of Coronavirus Budget Cuts

Deonna Purrazzo also discussed how the company did not announce the NXT releases publically but she decided to go online and address the situation after knowing about it.

Apart from this, the former NXT star also talked about her future and a potential AEW run as well. You can check out her comments about possibly joining WWE’s rival promotion at this link.

WWE released more than a dozen talents as part of their budget cuts recently due to coronavirus and people have been speculating about the future of these released stars.

One such star in Deonna Purrazzo recently had an interview with SportsKeeda where she talked about a number of things and also discussed her future.

The former NXT star was asked which company she could end up working in and she said that ideally, she would like to join AEW and be part of their kick-ass women’s division:

“I guess, ideally, like, I haven’t been to AEW yet, so… Britt Baker is my best friend, she works there, they have a kick-ass women’s division now.” said Purrazzo. “It’s a lot of people I’ve never worked with, and it’s a brand-new product – so I would love to experience that and be part of it.“

Also Read: Vince McMahon Comments On WWE Morale Amid Coronavirus

Deonna Purrazzo continued by saying that if an AEW run is not an option then she would be interested in joining impact, noting that they also have an amazing women’s division right now with stars such as Tessa Blanchard and Kylie Rae.

The former NXT star signed a development contract with the company in May 2018 and competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic. She made a couple of appearances on Raw as well but was never officially called up to the main roster.

Deonna Purrazzo has a message for people who chant her boyfriend’s name during her matches. She posted her comments through her social media channels recently.

I wrestled 4 yrs before I met my boyfriend. Worked for ROH, Impact, WWE/NXT consistently for years, helped create a women’s division & wrestled across the globe before meeting my boyfriend.

If you chant for him while I’m wrestling, you don’t deserve to see me wrestle.

Period 👁

— The Virtuosa (@DeonnaPurrazzo) March 17, 2019

Purrazzo is believed to be dating ROH’s Marty Scurll at the moment. She is not the first wrestler to voice concerns about fans focussing too much on who they are dating, however.

Similar concerns were raised by fans of AJ Lee and CM Punk when some fans began chanting CM Punk during AJ’s matches in 2014. Aaron Solow once raised concerns about a promotion’s commentators referring to him as “Mr. Bayley”.

https://twitter.com/aaronsolow/status/977783665865515008?lang=en

• Deonna Purrazzo Talks Leaving Indies For WWE

Deonna Purrazzo – the Virtuosa of NXT

Purrazzo trained at the D2W Wrestling Academy in New Jersey. She wrestled just 4 matches for the academy’s promotion before competing on a TNA One Night Only Knockouts PPV. She lost to Brooke Tessmacher on the show.

After training with Rip Rogers, she debuted for Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2015 and also wrestled a couple of dark matches for ROH that year. In 2016, she started to get booked with ROH’s Women of Honor division as well. In 2017, the bookings seemed to really start coming for Purrazzo. She did tours with Stardom in Japan, wrestled matches for Impact and ROH as well. Bookings with promotions such as RISE and Shimmer started happening around then as well.

She was officially signed to NXT in the summer of 2018. Purrazzo made it to the quarter-finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic before being eliminated by Io Shirai.

The second episode of the 2018 Mae Young Classic aired on the WWE Network last night. Matches 5 through 8 were shown as the tournament reaches the halfway point of the opening round.

Mae Young Classic 9/12 Results

Donna Purrazzo defeated Priscilla Kelly

Before the match, Purrazzo spoke about being an alternate in last year’s tournament and how disappointed she was.

EVOLVE’s Priscilla Kelly has had obstacles in her path to get to the Mae Young Classic as well. She was once featured on the television show “My Big Fat Romanian Gypsy Wedding” where she was being shopped around as a potential bride while she was just 14-years-old.

It would be Purrazzo who would come away with the victory. She made Kelly tap to her Fujiwara armbar.

Zeuxis defeated Aerial Monroe

Cedric Alexander was shown in the crowd to watch his wife, Aerial Monroe, perform.

It would be Zeuxis who punched her ticket to the second round, however. The luchador picked up the win with a Spanish Fly from the top turnbuckle.

Kacy Catanzaro defeated Reina Gonzalez

The woman from American Ninja Warrior that everyone has been talking about picked up her first win on WWE programming here. There was nearly a foot height difference between the two but the smaller Catanzaro was not deterred.

It was a David and Goliath battle with Catanzaro using the ropes to try and gain an advantage on her much larger opponent. Catanzaro would then pick up the victory, seemingly out of nowhere, with a victory roll.

After the match, it looked like Gonzales was going to attack Catanzaro but she then lifted her up on her shoulders instead. Catanzaro will face Rhea Ripley next.

Mercedes Martinez defeated Ashley Rayne

Ashley/Madison Rayne took a long road to get to the WWE. Once she got there, she’d lose her first match to Mercedes Martinez.

In a bit of a surprise, Rayne (who had been featured in promos leading up to the tournament) was knocked out in the 1st round.

Martinez made it all the way to the semi-finals last year and she’s off to a good start already in this year’s tournament as well. She picked up the win with a Fisherman Buster to advance to the second round.

WWE will air the second episode of the 2018 Mae Young Classic tonight. Former Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne will make her WWE debut tonight.

Blue-chip prospect from American Ninja Warrior, Kacy Catanzaro, will also be in action tonight.

Mae Young Classic Preview 9/12

Ashley Rayne vs Mercedes Martinez

Known in Impact Wrestling as Madison Rayne, the former Knockouts Champion takes on Mercedes Martinez in the 1st round tonight. She’ll be in tough, however, as Martinez made it all the way to the semi-finals of last year’s tournament.

Martinez is a regular for SHINE, Shimmer, RISE, and WSU. Ryane has competed for Impact, ROH, and at All In already this summer.

Kacy Catanzaro vs Reina Gonzalez

Catanzaro is receiving rave reviews since starting at the WWE Performance Center earlier this year. She is formerly of American Ninja Warrior, a show which Matt Cross was also once featured on.

Catanzaro will be up against fellow WWE PC trainee, Gonzales. The 6-footer is also said to be impressing trainers as of late. This should be a David vs Goliath type situation for Kacy but if she’s really as good as the rumors state, she’ll be able to handle it.

Deonna Purrazzo vs Priscilla Kelly

Deonna Purrazzo returns to the tournament this year to take on EVOLVE regular, Priscilla Kelly. Purrazzo was an alternate in the tournament this year but signed a WWE contract earlier this year. She lost to Bianca Belair on the Takeover: Brooklyn IV preliminary card which would later air on NXT.

Kelly is only 21 and just getting her career started. Purrazzo will be looking to lock in her Fujiwara armbar tonight.

Aerial Monroe vs Zeuxis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoPHuRS3A3E&frags=pl%2Cwn

Monroe was trained by her husband, Cedric Alexander, and George South. She sometimes goes by the nickname “Big Swole” and is formerly of the United States Air Force. Her opponent tonight is the Lucha Strong-Styled Zeuxis. .

Tonight’s episode of NXT will feature matches taped before Takeover: Brooklyn IV on Saturday night. The main event will feature a match for the United Kingdom Championship.

Two matches have been announced for tonight’s show. Fans can likely expect several highlight packages of Saturday’s Takeover event as well.

NXT 8/22 Preview

WWE United Kingdom Championship
Pete Dunne (c) vs Zack Gibson

The winner of the NXT U.K Championship tournament in London earlier this year will get another crack at Pete Dunne tonight. Dunne defeated Gibson in Royal Albert Hall following Gibson’s tournament victory.

Meanwhile, Dunne has expressed interest in challenging for Ricochet’s newly won NXT North American Championship. He’ll have to get by Gibson tonight for that to happen, however.

Bianca Belair vs Deonna Purrazzo

A back injury forced Bianca Belair out of title contention but she’ll return tonight to take on newcomer Deonna Purrazzo. Belair is hoping the newly signed Mae Young Classic competitor isn’t the first one to hand her a loss in NXT.

Purrazzo made her in-ring NXT debut at a live event on the 17th. She competed in the MYC tapings which were held on August 8th and 9th.

The fallout from NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV

With two new champions crowned on Saturday, fans can expect to see plenty of the Takeover fallout tonight.

Ricochet is the new NXT North American Champion but you can bet Adam Cole won’t simply let that go without a fight. Shayna Baszler was also dethroned by Kairi Sane and does not appear finished with the original MYC winner either.

Newly signed WWE NXT talent Deonna Purrazzo was recently interviewed by Brian Fritz of Sporting News to talk about journeying to WWE after her success on the indy circuit. She first talked about working a segment with current RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss back in December of 2016 on SmackDown Live:

“You get to interact with everyone and you get to take a little piece of each person with you, each bit of their knowledge that they’ve accumulated over their years wrestling. To be able to come in just for a week or a day at ‘SmackDown’ and really just gain all that knowledge, it helped me be a more well-rounded wrestler outside and in my own endeavors.”

Purrazzo, like Bliss, is extremely short standing only at five-foot-two, and discussed how that impacts her style inside the ring:

“I’m very, very meticulous when I get in the ring. I very much believe that no matter my size or my opponent’s size, everyone’s joints work the same. So if I can pinpoint whether it’s the Fujiwara armbar or even if it’s someone’s leg, we all break down the same at the end of the day. I very meticulous and very methodical when I get in the ring.”

Finally, Purrazzo revealed it wasn’t really difficult to let go of all the opportunities on the indies in order to land her “dream job” with WWE:

“Your dream job comes along once in a lifetime. So, to give up other opportunities wasn’t a big deal to me because this is where I wanted to be. I wanted to be a part of NXT. I wanted to come to the Performance Center every day and work towards being a WWE superstar one day.”

You can read Purrazzo’s full interview with Sporting News by clicking this link here.

Deonna Purrazzo will report to the WWE Performance Center today (Mon. July 16, 2018) after signing with the company back on May 31st.

One of Purrazzo’s trainers, Rip Rodgers, took to his Twitter and posted a photo of Purrazo and announced she’ll be starting in Orlando tomorrow:

https://twitter.com/Hustler2754/status/1018707173478748162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Purrazzo was an alternate for last year’s WWE Mae Young Classic. While she didn’t compete in the tournament, she did participate in a dark match at the second night of tapings. Back in December of 2016 she was scheduled to have a match with Alexa Bliss on SmackDown Live, however, Bliss attacked Purrazzo with the SmackDown Live Women’s Title and the match never got underway.

The 24-year-old was also scheduled to work “All In” but was forced to pull out of the appearance after signing with WWE. It should be interesting to see how her career progresses under the WWE’s guidance, and how soon she’ll make an impact on NXT.

Cody Rhodes is generally complimentary of Triple H when he speaks about his time in WWE. He decided to take a jab at WWE’s COO recently on Twitter, however.

Cody’s jab came after it was revealed that Deonna Purrazzo has pulled out of All-In on September 1st, 2018. Speculation is Purrazzo is likely going to be competing in the Mae Young Classic next month.

It’s been incredible to see first hand what @MattJackson13, @NickJacksonYB, & @CodyRhodes envision for pro wrestling.

I am so sad I won’t be wrestling at #AllIn but my heart will be there September 1st ♥️ https://t.co/LnrwHN1ErJ

— The Virtuosa (@DeonnaPurrazzo) July 3, 2018

“It’s been incredible to see first hand what @MattJackson13, @NickJacksonYB, & @CodyRhodes envision for pro wrestling. I am so sad I won’t be wrestling at #AllIn but my heart will be there September 1st ”

Cody responded to Deonna’s Tweet with some advice on how to handle her potential photo with Triple H.

Take 1 large step forward in the photo, he likes to make people look shorter than him.

Good luck D. Beat everybody. Run up the score.

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) July 3, 2018

“Take 1 large step forward in the photo, he likes to make people look shorter than him. Good luck D. Beat everybody. Run up the score.”

WWE Signing All-In Talents?

Last month, Cody addressed the possibility of WWE signing talents scheduled to appear at All-In. The discussion began when a fan asked Dave Meltzer on Twitter about how WWE might decide to counter the Chicago event.

“Nope and tickets are sold,” Meltzer responded to a fan’s question of possible WWE action against the event. “All they can do it try and sign the talent on the show and pull them, and most are under contract elsewhere past that date.”

Cody saw the Twitter conversation and responded. “That’s a possibility,” Cody admitted. “Everybody has different goals. If your goal is to take a meet/greet style handshake photo, and pretend to be excited about going back to wrestling school…that’s your prerogative ha.”

Nia Jax Comments On Her Match At Extreme Rules

The WWE Raw Women’s Championship match set to take place at Extreme Rules was spiced up with the Extreme Rules stipulation yesterday, and the challenger Nia Jax has some thoughts about it that she shared on her Twitter:

It isn’t about just about winning the #Raw Women’s Championship back. It’s about putting an end to this. An #ExtremeRules Match means I can use ANY means to make you pay for what you’ve done. This ends the #MomentOfBliss.

— Lina Fanene (@LinaFanene) July 3, 2018

Deonna Purrazzo Will Not Be At All In

Cody Rhodes revealed on Twitter that Deonna Purrazzo will not be making an appearance at the All In event after he was asked who she was going to face. Deonna Purrazzo is currently signed to WWE’s developmental territory NXT.

Click here for more news on the All In event.

Deonna is unable to do All In. We love her. She’s phenomenal. She’s kicking ass/breaking arms no matter where you see her.

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) July 3, 2018

😭💔 https://t.co/f179L5mhdr

— The Virtuosa (@DeonnaPurrazzo) July 3, 2018

Bullet Club’s planned “All-In” event in Chicago on September 1st, 2018 added two big names yesterday.

The first to declare yesterday was Deonna Purrazzo:

https://twitter.com/DeonnaPurrazzo/status/983472105105870854

The 23-year old Purrazzo is part of ROH’s Women of Honor division. She lost in the quarter-finals of the WOH Championship Tournament recently.

I’m @ALL_IN_2018

September 1st! pic.twitter.com/B5dCG3nNf2

— Kazuchika Okada (@rainmakerXokada) April 10, 2018

Kazuchika Okada Declares He’s All-In

IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, has also declared he will be at the event on September 1st, 2018.

Okada’s inclusion in the event is significant for a few reasons. He is NJPW’s top star and the event will be taking place not long after the annual G1 tournament. When it comes time for All-In, Okada might already be involved in his next big storyline rivalry.

– WWE announced Saturday that the seven Superstars who will compete in the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match at WWE Elimination Chamber will face off in a Gauntlet Match this Monday night on Raw. Ahead of the Gauntlet Match, Finn Balor proclaimed in this video below that he’s not the underdog. Rather, he’s “over, dawg.”

I’m not the underdog,
I’m OVER, DAWG! #RAW #WWEChamber pic.twitter.com/VpCzW6RHwR

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) February 18, 2018

Balor will be facing John Cena, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Elias, and Intercontinental Champion The Miz.

– At Saturday’s WrestleCircus event in Austin, Texas, Leva Bates (aka Blue Pants in WWE NXT) cosplayed Zack Ryder.

Hey, broski. WWWYKI!

@ZackRyder cosplay for @WrestleCircus . It was mostly effective against @christijaynes, @DeonnaPurrazzo & @ImChelseaGreen ??? #theshowmustgoon #cosplay #woo pic.twitter.com/7FZ4hhVjyX

— Leva Bates (@wrestlingleva) February 18, 2018

Bates faced Deonna Purrazzo, Christi Jaynes, and Ryder’s girlfriend, Chelsea Green, in a Fatal 4-Way Match. During the match, Bates kicked Jaynes with the Broski Boot.

It was a double Broski kick by @ZackRyder & @ImChelseaGreen at @WrestleCircus… um I mean @wrestlingleva … or do I? #TheShowMustGoOn #WrestleCircus pic.twitter.com/igTZUsl9YF

— Reid Harris Cooper (@reidhcooper) February 18, 2018

The match ended with Green pinning Bates to become the No. 1 contender to the Lady of the Ring Championship.

When @ImChelseaGreen came on chat and actually said she thought she'd made out with @ZackRyder instead of @wrestlingleva "WHO"S LEVA?", I was floored laughing. #TheShowMustGoOn #WrestleCircus pic.twitter.com/ORpyMYrQm1

— Reid Harris Cooper (@reidhcooper) February 18, 2018

• Who is Paige’s new boyfriend?

– In episode 87 of “Being The Elite” on YouTube The Young Bucks, Cody, Kenny Omega, and Marty Scurll are followed in the lead-up to their respective matches at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo, Japan. Towards the end of the video you see the tension continue to build within The Bullet Club as Kenny Omega gets into an argument with the rest of the club at a restaurant:

– As Ring Of Honor continues to announce their Best Of 2017 awards; the promotion has awarded Deonna Purrazzo Women Of Honor Wrestler Of The Year, and Cody Rhodes ROH Wrestler Of The Year.

– On a related note, ROH has signed Deonna Purrazzo to a non-exclusive contract per a report from Squared Circle Sirens. Purrazzo later confirmed this on Twitter:

Ring Of Honor Signs Deonna Purrazzo – https://t.co/fyZRSAtCiS pic.twitter.com/J4pSpVxuTK

— squared circle sirens (@SCsirens) January 12, 2018

https://twitter.com/DeonnaPurrazzo/status/951627494297358336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

NXT enhancement talent Deonna Purrazzo is the wrestler who played the masked La Luchadora character on last week’s SmackDown. For those who missed it, Luchadora distracted Becky Lynch and cost her a win over SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss.

PWInsider reports that Deonna is backstage for tonight’s SmackDown and will be working the gimmick but she has not signed a deal. No word yet on if she will be the one under the mask when it’s revealed.

– Last week’s Total Divas viewership is in after being delayed due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The show drew 461,000 viewers, down from the season six premiere that drew 632,000 viewers. Total Divas ranked #46 on the Cable Top 150 last Wednesday night, down from the previous week’s #22 ranking.

– WWE officials are moving forward with plans for the early-2017 all-women’s tournament on the WWE Network, according to PWInsider. No word yet on exactly when the tourney will be taped but there is interest in Heidi Lovelace, Nixon Newell, Evie and Kimber Lee, among other indy wrestlers. There’s also talk of using NXT enhancement talents Rachael Ellering and Deonna Purrazzo.

– SmackDown GM General Manager is not letting up as he tries to bring RAW Superstars Cesaro and Sami Zayn to Tuesday nights. After Sami’s heated segment with RAW GM Mick Foley last night, Bryan tweeted the following to Zayn:

https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan/status/803438482949607428

Ring of Honor – Supercard of Honor X – Night 1
April 1, 2016 from the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Dallas, Texas

• Bobby Fish defeated Christopher Daniels
• Roderick Strong defeated Moose
• Dalton Castle defeated Cheeseburger, Joey Daddiego, Adam Page, Frankie Kazarian and Donovan Dijak (Six-man Mayhem match)
• Kyle O’Reilly defeated Matt Sydal
• Mandy Leon and Solo Darling defeated Amber O’Neal and Deonna Purrazzo
• Adam Cole defeated ACH
• The Briscoes and War Machine defeated The All Night Express, Silas Young, and Beer City Bruiser (Eight-man tag team match)
• Jay Lethal (c) retained the ROH World Championship against Lio Rush
• Colt Cabana made his return and confronted Jay Lethal
• The Young Bucks defeated The Motor City Machine Guns