Deonna Purrazzo Says Being the One to Retire Mickie James Would Be ‘Career-Defining’

– Impact Wrestling star Deonna Purrazzo recently appeared on Counted Out with Mike & Tyler, where she discussed Mickie James currently being on her last rodeo, and how she will retire after her next loss. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

Deonna Purrazzo on potentially becoming the wrestler to retire Mickie James: “I think that would be career-defining. You know, Tasha Steelz says, ‘I’m the greatest to beat the greatest,’ right. She beat Mickie James to win the Knockouts World Championship, but I think that’s been game-changing for Tasha, it kind of leveled her up a little bit. The person who gets to say I retired Mickie James, I mean what bigger thing is there to do, besides win the Knockouts World Championship, which after Hard To Kill, you might have the opportunity to do. But you’re gonna retire her? That in itself is an amazing feat. So I think it’s made our entire division work harder and level up, and ‘What more can I bring to the table? Because I want to be the one.'”

On the impact Mickie James makes in the locker room: “I get asked this all the time just because Mickie’s so polarizing. She’s been wrestling 20-plus years. She’s done it all. I think that having someone with that experience, and I was actually talking to her the other day and I said, ‘If you give someone advice, or if you said, ‘I’d like this better or what about this, and we tweak this,’ how could I ever argue that you’re wrong? The experience is there and is proof itself that it works. I can’t ever tell you, ‘No, you’re wrong’ because you’ve been there, you’ve done it, you’ve been successful, you’ve made money. So having that kind of leader in the locker room I think has been game-changing, but I think everyone in our Knockouts Division, in our Knockouts locker room can learn something when they’re in the ring with Mickie, sitting in the back, just shooting the shit with Mickie. We’re all gaining valuable professional and life experience from being around someone like Mickie James. So like I said, it’s been game-changing for me.”

James is scheduled to challenge Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship at Impact Hard to Kill on January 13.