Deonna Purrazzo recently spoke with Steelchair Wrestling Magazine, where she spoke about going up against Jordynne Grace, how she’s been welcomed by other superstars, and what her goals are going forward. Check out some of the highlights below:
On Jordynne Grace:
I mean, it’s crazy. I’ve only wrestled one match since I’ve been on Impact (against Alisha Edwards), and now with Slammiversary around the corner, I have been trying to prepare the best I can to have this title match and to come out victorious. That said, Jordynne Grace is great. Taya Valkyrie, the Champion she beat, was the longest reigning Knockouts Champion ever. She’s accomplished some really great things on Impact Wrestling thus far. She is an amazing athlete. She calls herself ‘The Hossette’, she’s strong, she’s powerful. She’s just got this brute strength, but with the technical side of my wrestling and how I present myself, every joint can be manipulated the same, no matter how powerful she is. As soon as I wrap the armbar, she’s done for it. I’m excited to step in the ring with her. I’m excited for Slammiversary because I’m going to walk out victorious. I’m going to be the new Knockouts champion.
On how she’s been welcomed:
The Knockouts division is crazy. I don’t like to say it’s the best of all time, but I’m going to say it. I think that every woman that Impact Wrestling have on their roster right now is diverse and presents themselves in a way that separates them from everyone else. Everyone has something different to bring to the table, and it makes it a really competitive environment. It also makes a really great locker room because everyone wants to work for everyone, everyone wants to put on the best possible show, everyone wants to be on the show. Everyone was just very welcoming to me, what I can bring to this division, and what I bring to the table and how that’s going to make them all a better competitor, so I’m so happy to be a part of this amazing and diverse division.
On her goals:
Obviously, with Slammiversary around the corner, I want to see myself as the Knockouts Champion. I want to put this company on my back and bring it wherever it’s going to go as the forefront of the division. That’s my goal, that’s something I’ve never been able to do before. I’ve never been a champion before, so this match coming up is my number one focus right now. I can only speak to what we’re going to do next week, and hopefully, that is to beat Jordynne Grace and become the Knockouts champion.
RELATED: Deonna Purrazzo Recalls Standout Match With Karen Q, Finds Inspiration In Fall Brawl 1997 PPV
Deonna Purrazzo also spoke with WrestleZone about her match ahead of her title match at Slammiversary, noting that while she never intended for “The Virtuosa” to be a character she’s now finding the right balance between her persona and her in-ring skills. She added that by immediately targeting Grace and getting the spotlight, she’s already getting more character development with IMPACT than she’s had in years.
“I think that’s been my biggest gripe over the past few years. It’s really wanting to have the platform to show the work that I’ve done and who I am, being a part of that is really what I wanted, to feel like my presence was felt. Coming out after the main event and attacking the champion, right there is more character development than I’ve got in a really long time so we’ve only been able to go uphill from there.
“We’ve only been able to show more sides of who I am outside of the ring and I think that is for me is the most important thing. I haven’t been shy about [the fact that that’s] the biggest thing that I lacked and for IMPACT to embrace Virtuousa, embrace who I am and what I bring to the table and understand it has really helped me bring that to the forefront and show the world what I haven’t been able to in the past.”
Check out our full interview at the top of this post.
