IMPACT Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo recently spoke to the Sun about a variety of topics, including her thoughts on last year’s Speaking Out movement, how the Virtusoa character was developed in ROH, her WWE release and more. Highlights are below.
Says ROH is where she got to develop herself as a wrestler:
Ring of Honor was really where I got to develop myself as a wrestler. That’s where the ‘Virtuosa’ started. In [ROH] I was able to showcase my skills while developing the Women of Honor division.
Says every company has taught her something different:
Every company has taught me something different. When I first went to Impact, I was seven matches in, 19-years-old and terrified. It was a massive learning curve but a good stepping stone into the independent scene.
How she had to give NXT a try:
Leaving ROH to start at NXT, was a dream come true at the time. I felt like the one place that alluded me was NXT so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to finally have them saying ‘yes, we want you’ and not give it a try.
On her WWE release:
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way I had hoped [in NXT] but I do feel as though, again, it was another learning stage for me to tap into character development, and see what else I could bring to the table.
Reflects on the Speaking Out movement:
The Speaking Out movement was incredibly powerful and a necessary point in time to create change in wrestling. I was and still am proud that [survivors] found their strength to speak their truths and the wrestling community heard them.