Deonna Lynn Purrazzo (June 10, 1994) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is previously signed with Impact Wrestling where she is a three-time Impact Knockouts Champion. Purrazzo previously worked in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ring of Honor. She has also wrestled for many American independent promotions including Queens of Combat, Victory Pro Wrestling and East Coast Wrestling Association.
Early life[]
Born in Livingston, New Jersey, Purrazzo grew up in Jefferson Township, New Jersey and attended Jefferson Township High School.
Professional wrestling career[]
Early career (2013-2015)[]
Purrazzo trained at the D2W Pro Wrestling Academy during December 2012. She debuted on December 6, 2013 at D2W Season's Beatings 4 where she defeated Jana. Purazzo returned in 2014 during the February 7 edition of D2W in a match won by Jessie Brooks. For the remainder of 2014, she wrestled in D2W in singles matches against opponents including Mrs. X, Eddy McQueen, Ashley Brielle and Debbie Kane. She returned on January 2, 2015 for D2W in a match won by Debbie Kane.
Queens of Combat (2015-2016)[]
Deonna debuted for Queens of Combat as a villainous character on November 29, 2015, losing to Candice LeRae in a four-way match that also included Heidi Lovelace and Barbi Hayden at Queens Of Combat 7. She returned November 27, 2016 at Queens Of Combat 16, teaming with Kelly Klein to defeat Faye Jackson & Miss Diss Lexia in a tag match.
Victory Pro Wrestling (2014-2015)[]
At VPW Carnage in Centereach IX, held on July 26, Purrazzo teamed with Romeo Roselli in a winning mixed tag team match against Ashley Brielle and Damian Adams. She returned on April 11, 2015 at VPW where she and Romeo Roselli won a mixed tag team match, defeating Ashley America & Damian Adams. On June 6 at VPW Upper Limits 2015, Purrazzo wrestled in a Four Way Elimination Match against Nikki Addams, Ashley America and Karen Yu for the vacant VPW Women's Championship. The match concluded with Addams winning the title.
Queens of Combat (2015-2016)[]
Deonna debuted for Queens of Combat as a villainous character on November 29, 2015, losing to Candice LeRae in a four-way match that also included Heidi Lovelace and Barbi Hayden at Queens Of Combat 7.
Northeast Wrestling (2015-2017)[]
Purrazzo debuted on November 13, 2015 at NEW 20th Anniversary Show where she teamed with Alexxis Nevaeh in a tag match won by Mandy Leon & Velvet Sky. Her next match was on December 12 at NEW Christmas In Tavenville where she lost to Mandy Leon in a Santa's Little Helper Match refereed by Anthony Greene. She met Mandy Leon in a rematch held at March 4, 2016 at Wrestlefest XX but was again defeated. Their feud continued in a series of mixed tag matches beginning at NEW Retribution and at Spring Slam Tour: Schenectady where in both matches, Leon and her partner defeated Purrazzo and her tag partner Damian Adams. On November 5 at Autumn Ambush, Purrazzo defeated newcomer Maria Manic. Her previous NEW feud with Mandy Leon was renewed with a victory over Leon at Autumn Rumble.
On April 23, 2017, Purrazzo and Leon met again at Spring Slam Pocono Sumit where Leon avenged her previous defeat to Purrazzo. Their feud continued on May 26 at Spring Slam Tour: Newburgh, where Purrazzo defeated Leon. Their final NEW match of 2017 was held on June 9 at Zero Fear, where Leon defeated Purrazzo. On August 25, Purrazzo, wrestled her last NEW of 2017 at Wrestling Under The Stars Tour: Pittsfield, where she defeated Karen Q.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2014, 2016-2017)[]
Purrazzo made her mainstream wrestling debut during the May 10th taping of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, losing a singles match against Brooke at Knockouts Knockdown II. Purrazzo returned to TNA at the One Night Only: Live PPV and participated in a #1 Contender's Gauntlet Match, where she was eliminated by Awesome Kong. Purrazzo also competed at Knockouts Knockdown 2016 on March 17 and was defeated by Madison Rayne, despite Deonna turning heel during the match.
Purrazzo returned as a heel during the January 7, 2017 TNA Tapings in a match won by the returning Brooke. During the January 8 TNA Tapings Deonna wrestled a match won by Laurel Van Ness.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2015-2016)[]
Purrazzo appeared on the November 11, 2015 episode of WWE's NXT program and was defeated by Nia Jax. On the November 19th edition of NXT, Purrazzo lost to Asuka via the referee stopping the match.
On the January 7, 2016 episode of NXT, Purrazzo competed in a Battle Royal for the Number One Contender to the NXT Women's Championship where she and challengers Alexa Bliss, Aliyah, Asuka, Billie Kay, Cameron, Emma, Eva Marie, Liv Morgan and Peyton Royce were defeated by Carmella. On January 22, Purrazzo wrestled a match won by Asuka. The following week on January 27, she was defeated by Emma in singles action. On April 22, Purrazzo defeated by the powerhouse Nia Jax. Her last match of 2016 in NXT was on June 9 where she was defeated by NXT fan favorite Bayley.
On the December 13 episode of WWE Smackdown, Purrazzo was scheduled to compete in a match against SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, but was instead attacked by Bliss before the match had begun and was replaced with Becky Lynch. On the December 27 episode of SmackDown, Purrazzo turned heel and returned as La Luchadora to help Bliss retain the title against Lynch. On the following week, the evil Purrazzo competed as La Luchadora in a losing effort against Lynch, and joined Bliss in attacking Lynch after the match.
East Coast Wrestling Association (2015-2017)[]
On June 20, 2015 at ECWA Raising The Bar IV, Purrazzo's debut match was also a title match for the ECWA Women's Championship held by Renee Michelle. Her first ECWA singles victory was on June 27 at Summer Sizzler where she defeated Ashley America. On October 17, Purrazzo joined the 2nd Annual Super 8 ChickFight Tournament, eliminating Miranda Vionette during in the Quarter Finals. She then eliminated Brittany Blake during the Semi Finals. During the Tournament Final, she defeated Tessa Blanchard to become the new ECWA Women's Champion. On November 21 at ECWA 4 Life, Purrazzo successfully defended the title against Terra Calaway. Her second successful title defense was on December 5 at ECWA Toys For Tots IV where she defeated former Women's Champion Renee Michelle. Throughout the course of 2016, Purrazzo continued a successful title reign, including retaining the title at the conclusion of the 3rd Annual Super 8 ChickFight Tournament where she defeated the Tournament winner Karen Q. On December 3 at ECWA Toys For Tots V, Purrazzo again defeated Karen Q in a title rematch.
Purrazzo's title reign ended on October 21, 2017 at the 4th Annual Super 8 ChickFight Tournament, where she lost to Karen Q in a Three-Way title match. On November 25, she was unsuccessful in her title rematch at ECWA High Stakes against Karen Q.
SHIMMER Women Athletes (2017-2018)[]
Purrazzo made her SHIMMER debut on July 8, 2017 at SHIMMER Volume 92 where she defeated Cherry Bomb. She wrestled her second singles match at SHIMMER Volume 93, where she lost to Hudson Envy. She went on to wrestle in Volumes 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 and 99. At Volume 98 on November 12, Purrazzo and Ashley Lane as Team Hottest Free Agents challenged for the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship held by Totally Tubular Tag Team (Delilah Doom & Leva Bates).
The following year, Purrazzo returned on April 7, 2018 at Volume 100, losing to Madison Eagles. Seven days later on April 14 at SHIMMER Women Athletes Volume 101, Purrazzo defeated Eagles in a rematch with Submission-Only rules. Later at Volume 102, Purrazzo's final match was for the SHIMMER Championship, lost against the defending champion Nicole Savoy.
Ring Of Honor (2015-2018)[]
Purrazzo debuted on July 25, 2015 in a dark match won by Mandy Leon. On December 19, 2015, Purrazzo teamed with Hania The Howling Huntress in a tag match won by Mandy Leon & Sumie Sakai.
Purrazzo returned on April 1, 2016 at ROH Supercard Of Honor X, where she and Amber Gallows lost a tag match to Mandy Leon & Solo Darling. On July 8 at ROH Women Of Honor, Purrazzo teamed with Amber Gallows and Kennadi Brink in a three-on-three tag match against Faye Jackson, Solo Darling & Sumie Sakai. On August 27 at ROH Field Of Honor, Purrazzo lost a dark match to Taeler Hendrix. On September 17 at the ROH Reloaded Tour, Purrazzo teamed with her rival Mandy Leon in a tag match won by Jessicka Havok & Taeler Hendrix. On October 19 at ROH, Purrazzo defeated Candice LeRae. She wrestled her last ROH match of 2016 on December 4 at ROH Best Of 2016, defeating Sumie Sakai.
During the early months of 2017, Purrazzo wrestled primarily a series of dark matches, beginning on April 1 at ROH Supercard Of Honor XI, Purrazzo was defeated in a singles match against Kelly Klein. On April 8, Purrazzo won a Four Corner Survival match against Faye Jackson and Jenny Rose and Mandy Leon. On June 23 at ROH Best In The World 2017, Purrazzo teamed with Mandy Leon in a tag match won by Kris Wolf & Sumie Sakai. During the June 24 ROH TV-Tapings, she wrestled a three-way match against Karen Q and Kelly Klein. She spent the remainder of her ROH year in dark matches.
Purrazzo returned the following year for the January 20, 2018 episode of ROH. There, she teamed with Mandy Leon in a dark tag match defeating Jenny Rose & Sumie Sakai. On February 9 at the 2018 Honor Reigns Supreme event, Purrazzo competed in an unaired first round match in the ROH Women Of Honor Championship Tournament. She advanced in the first round after eliminating Holidead. During the March 31 episode of ROH, Purrazzo was eliminated in the quarter finals by Mayu Iwatani.
Purrazzo's final match was during the June 9 episode of ROH, losing to Kelly Klein.
Return to WWE (2017-2020)[]
Deonna returned during the first annual WWE Mae Young Classic, teaming with Jessica James in a dark tag match defeating Barbi Hayden & Nicole Matthews.
On August 8, 2018, Deonna returned to join the second annual Mae Young Classic. During the opening night of the tournament, Deonna advanced in the first round after eliminating Priscilla Kelly. The following night, she advanced in the second round after eliminating Xia Li. She later during the August 9 Mae Young Classic Tapings was eliminated in the quarterfinal by Io Shirai.
Raw brand (2019-2020)[]
Deonna debuted on the December 16 episode of Monday Night RAW, where she lost a singles match against Asuka. She returned in 2020 on the April 6 episode of Monday Night RAW, losing a match against Nia Jax.
NXT (2018-2020)[]
After signing with the WWE, Deonna made her return to NXT, during the August 16 house show, losing a match to Bianca Belair. She returned for the next day's house show, teaming with Dakota Kai in a tag match defeating Bianca Belair & Lacey Evans. Her first televised match since her return was on the August 18 episode of NXT, where she lost to Bianca Belair in a rematch. During the following week's episode on August 23, Deonna teamed with Dakota Kai in a tag match lost to Aliyah & Lacey Evans. During the August 25 house show, Deonna teamed with Io Shirai & Kairi Sane in a tag match lost to an all-former mixed martial arts team of Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir & Shayna Baszler.
Deonna spent the course of 2019 wrestling at NXT live events. On June 14 during the third night of the 2019 NXT At Download event, Deonna lost at title match for the NXT Women's Championship held by Shayna Baszler. In 2020, she made her televised NXT UK debut on the April 30 episode during which she lost a title match for the NXT UK Women's Championship held by Toni Storm. During the month of April, Deonna wrestled her final NXT matches involving qualifying for the Number One Contendership to the NXT Women's title.
Return to Impact Wrestling (2020–2023)[]
After her release from WWE, Deonna made her return on the June 23 episode of iMPACT! defeating Alisha Edwards in a singles match.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Fujiwara armbar
- Cosa Nostra
- Double armbar
- Jumping DDT
- Queen's Gambit (Cradle belly-to-back inverted mat slam)
- Venus de Milo
- Signature moves
- Bicycle kick
- Headbutt
- High knee followed by Russian legsweep
- Three Amigos (Triple rolling vertical suplexes)
- Paradise Hold, dropkick combo
- STO breaker, Complete Shot, Koji Clutch combo
- Stepover schoolgirl pin
- Robinson Carry
- Nicknames
- "The Virtuosa"
- Tag teams and stables
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Game Changer Wrestling
- GCW Women's Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked her #34 in the 2017 PWI Top 50 Females
- PWI ranked her #49 in the 2018 PWI Top 100 Females
- PWI ranked her #85 in the 2019 PWI Top 100 Females
- PWI ranked her #3 in the 2021 PWI Top 150 Females
- PWI ranked her #19 in the 2022 PWI Top 150 Females
- PWI ranked her #7 in the 2023 PWI Top 250 Females
- Ring of Honor
- ROH Women's World Championship (1 time)
External links[]
| 2017 PWI Top 50 Females |
|---|
| Asuka • Charlotte Flair • Alexa Bliss • Sasha Banks • Bayley • Io Shirai • Natalya • Sienna • Naomi • Kairi Sane • Mercedes Martinez • Shayna Baszler • Rosemary • LuFisto • Mayu Iwantani • Mia Yim • Allie • Ember Moon • Becky Lynch • Madison Eagles • Nicole Savoy • Nia Jax • Candice LeRae • Toni Storm • Hiroyo Matsumoto • Chelsea Green • Saraya Knight • Shazza McKenzie • Kay Lee Ray • Mickie James • Dakota Kai • Nicole Matthews • Alex Windsor • Deonna Purrazzo • Abbey Laith • Risa Sera • Viper • Carmella • Ruby Riot • Nikki Cross • Vanessa Kraven • Santana Garrett • Tessa Blanchard • Arisa Nakajima • Lady Lory • Shotzi Blackheart • Veda Scott • Alpha Female • Marti Belle • Zoey Skye |
| Mae Young Classic 2018 contestants |
|---|
| Aerial Monroe • Allysin Kay • Ashley Rayne • Deonna Purrazzo • Hiroyo Matsumoto • Io Shirai • Isla Dawn • Jinny • Kacy Catanzaro • Jessica Elaban • Kaitlyn • Karen Q • Kavita Devi • Killer Kelly • Lacey Lane • Meiko Satomura • Mercedes Martinez • Mia Yim • MJ Jenkins • Nicole Matthews • Priscilla Kelly • Rachel Evers • Reina Gonzalez • Rhea Ripley • Taynara Conti • Tegan Nox • Toni Storm • Vanessa Kraven • Xia Brookside • Xia Li • Zatara • Zeuxis |