Deonna Purrazzo discusses signing with AEW.
On the January 3 episode of AEW Dynamite, Purrazzo arrived as the latest signee to All Elite Wrestling after spending a number of years with IMPACT Wrestling. This signing came as a surprise to many, as some fans expected her to sign with WWE after leaving IMPACT.
Purrazzo has quickly cemented herself as a big name in the company, as she has already picked up wins over the likes of Anna Jay, Red Velvet, and Taya Valkyrie.
While speaking to AEW's Unrestricted podcast for a new interview, Purrazzo said that she first spoke with Tony Khan about signing to AEW in December 2023.
“I spoke to Tony at the beginning of December [2023] and we were able to connect on a Zoom call and talk. We had only talked once, and we kind of went through the whole legal process and the contract signing, and then I hadn’t seen him until I got there on Wednesday and was about to go out.”
Purrazzo then recalled being worried that she wasn't going to be able to debut in her home state of New Jersey.
“I think that aided to the fact of like, okay, the audience was really excited for this. But then also to go online after the fact and just see all of my friends that I didn’t get to tell and all of the fans who were genuinely surprised, it was very overwhelming with the amount of love that I got from it. Just because Tony and I hadn’t spoken since that initial conversation, I didn’t think it was going to happen. I didn’t hear anything until Tuesday night, so as Monday happened, Tuesday happened, nobody’s said anything like it’s probably not gonna happen. The rumor mill is going around. Don’t be upset, the contract is signed so I will debut at some point, but don’t be upset if you don’t get to do this in Newark, it’s okay.”
Purrazzo went on and noted that the whole experience was rewarding.
If you missed anything from the January 31 episode of AEW Dynamite, catch up on the show here.
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