Deonna Purrazzo says ending Mickie James' career would be a career-defining moment for the wrestler who potentially beats her in her last match.
James is currently on her "Last Rodeo", as she has stated that she will retire after her next loss. The veteran is set to challenge Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts World Championship in a high-profile match at the Hard To Kill pay-per-view on January 13. Purrazzo, who previously feuded with James and faced her in the main event of Hard To Kill 2022, recently lost to James in her own attempt to end the rodeo.
Speaking on Counted Out with Mike & Tyler, Purrazzo was asked to comment on what it would mean for someone to defeat James and consequently end her in-ring career. She stated that this victory would be a career-defining moment. Purrazzo also shared her belief that having the opportunity to do so has motivated everyone in the Knockouts Division to step up.
"I think that would be career-defining. You know, Tasha Steelz says, ‘I’m the greatest to beat the greatest,’ right. She beat Mickie James to win the Knockouts World Championship, but I think that’s been game-changing for Tasha, it kind of leveled her up a little bit. The person who gets to say I retired Mickie James, I mean what bigger thing is there to do, besides win the Knockouts World Championship, which after Hard To Kill, you might have the opportunity to do. But you’re gonna retire her? That in itself is an amazing feat. So I think it’s made our entire division work harder and level up, and ‘What more can I bring to the table? Because I want to be the one,'" Purrazzo said.
The former Knockouts World Champion was then asked to describe how impactful working with James has been, and Purrazzo responded by highlighting the veteran's experience. She noted that James has proven herself, as she has been successful in a number of ways. Purrazzo also stated that having a leader like James in the locker room has been a game-changer.
“I get asked this all the time just because Mickie’s so polarizing. She’s been wrestling 20-plus years. She’s done it all. I think that having someone with that experience, and I was actually talking to her the other day and I said, ‘If you give someone advice, or if you said, “I’d like this better or what about this, and we tweak this,” how could I ever argue that you’re wrong? The experience is there and is proof itself that it works. I can’t ever tell you, ‘No, you’re wrong’ because you’ve been there, you’ve done it, you’ve been successful, you’ve made money. So having that kind of leader in the locker room I think has been game-changing, but I think everyone in our Knockouts Division, in our Knockouts locker room can learn something when they’re in the ring with Mickie, sitting in the back, just shooting the shit with Mickie. We’re all gaining valuable professional and life experience from being around someone like Mickie James. So like I said, it’s been game-changing for me," Purrazzo said.
In the same interview, Purrazzo praised IMPACT for the way the company writes talent out of the show. Check out her comments here.
Purrazzo perviously discussed her experience working with James. More information is available here.
Click here to see the updated card for this week's episode of IMPACT Wrestling.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
