Fresh off of her AEW debut last Wednesday on Dynamite, Chris Jericho interviewed Deonna Purrazzo on Talk Is Jericho. She discussed her decision to leave TNA, how her AEW debut was kept a secret, WWE NXT and more.
Deonna Purrazzo on how she came to AEW:
“I knew my contract was coming up with IMPACT and I just kind of felt like if it was time to leave, it would be now. If this was the territories, now would be the time you leave. Britt Baker actually connected me with Tony Khan and we just got to talking. I knew the first Dynamite of the New Year was going to be in Jersey. That’s where I’m from. So I was like, that would be a dream scenario, a dream come true if we could do that, and it all worked out.”
On why she felt it was time to leave TNA:
“I was the champion for a very long time and IMPACT. I got to work with all of the women that were in our locker room and it was just like, what other stories are there to tell? Everyone kind of put me over at that point. I’ve beaten everybody. They kind of figured maybe I was on my way out, so I got to do the favors and put everyone else over on my way out. It was like, what else is there to do? There’s no one new coming in that I could work with. I don’t know what else there’s to tell here.”
Describing her AEW debut:
“I wasn’t allowed to be at the building until like four or 4:30. They put me in that wheelchair with the tarp over my head and threw me in a room by myself. It’s funny because I feel weird. Like, I’m being treated like a superstar and it’s just me. I don’t feel like I deserve this kind of treatment. So that already was like, Oh, this is cool. I am very emotional. I cry for wrestling all the time. I kind of tried to keep my cool all day like, just don’t think about it. Don’t think that this is a big deal. It’s fine. You’re fine. But then right as I got up into Gorilla, the girls segment went to the commercial break and I just broke down. Like, right up there, like, holy sh*t. This is happening and it’s a secret. I’ve not seen it anywhere on the internet. No one knows. My family’s here. My dad, my stepmom, and my in-laws were in the front row at hardcam, which I didn’t know until I got in the ring. I’m like, there’s my dad’s big head, like, okay, don’t cry in the ring. It was very, very emotional.”
On her time in NXT:
“I think I was a little bit too vocal about the things that I thought weren’t right or should be changed and then when it came to me being TV ready or whatever, I was very vocal about like, ‘Just tell me what you don’t like and what you do like, and I’ll do the things you do like, and I’ll work on the things you don’t like. Just be straight up.’ I’m a 100% honest person, just be honest with me. No one could tell me, ‘We don’t like this, we do like this’ and finally I just had a breaking point of like, this isn’t working for anybody. It sure as hell is not working for me. So either you’re gonna tell me what I’m doing wrong and I could fix it so I could be on TV because I came here to be a TV star, or I’m not going to be a TV star and you should just let me go’ and yeah, I was let go four weeks later.”
“I’ll always be just straight up. ‘This is what my problem is. This is what I need clarity on’ and I need that back. It’s like a mutual respect thing and I think I just got to a breaking point where I’m like, you’re not respecting me, so now I don’t respect you, This isn’t good for anybody because I remember sitting in someone’s office, like, in a screaming fight, and I’m like, that’s not who I am. Deonna Purrazzo the professional doesn’t do that, but now I’m like, Jersey Deonna, angry at home, and you don’t want to bring that to work. So I think I was very vocal and it got me a bad reputation, and then I couldn’t undo that.”
On who she would like to work with in AEW:
“I debuted and called Toni Storm out right away. She’s a great friend of mine, so we have good chemistry outside of the ring, so I would imagine it will be great (inside the ring.) I’m really excited about that. We worked a little when we both were in NXT. I’m excited for Britt to come back. She’s my best friend. I think there’s a lot of fun stories that we can tell. We could be a tag team. We could be rivals. There’s a lot to do there and I think whenever she’s ready to get back in the ring, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Talk Is Jericho with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. Quotes were transcribed by Jim for WrestlingNews.co.
