Deonna Purrazzo On Why She and Chelsea Green Didn’t Team in WWE

Deonna Purrazzo recently discussed her time in WWE and why the pitch for her to team with Chelsea Green was shot down. Purrazzo was a guest on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast, and you can see some highlights below (per Wrestling Inc):

On having a reputation as a “problem’ in WWE: “I was definitely labeled as a problem; I was definitely labeled as someone who has a loudmouth. But, I wanted, for a long time, I wanted to check every box. I wanted to say, and I think I went in with that mindset of, ‘if that doesn’t work out, I’ll be okay because I’ve already conquered what I would go back to.’ Me and Chelsea pitched being a tag team. Me, Chelsea, and Rachel Ellering pitched being kind of like a female Undisputed Era, Shield type thing.”

On why the tag team pitch was shot down: “Me and Chelsea were told like, ‘we just don’t know why best friends would be a tag team, like being best friends doesn’t mean you’re a tag team.’ And I was like, ‘Um, we have pictures together, we traveled the world together, she’s legitimately been my best friend for like seven years, I think that we work together.’”

On her and other WWE talents’ releases: “The grass is always greener, and another person’s trash is another person’s treasure, right? So, you didn’t like us, but look what we’re doing now, and I think that, as much as that’s been my success story, of you didn’t see anything, but look at all the other really cool things that other people see in me. I very much love when other people get to do that, and Mickie (James) has gotten to do that. Chelsea Green has gotten to do that, the IIconics have gotten to do that right now,” Purrazzo proclaimed proudly. “Taya Valkyrie is going to do that, Mia Yim is going to do that, Tegan Nox, Nixon, is going to do that.”

On WWE hoarding talent: “You just saw so many people come into NXT. I was signed with you know, Keith Lee and Io Shirai and there was a ton of people in my class. And there just came a point where okay, people also just aren’t being called up. So people are staying in NXT for three years, four years, five years, and at no point are new spots opening up. So there was someone like me, who, and I think people thought I deserved to be the champion or whatever, and I never thought that, I just thought I deserve to be something in some capacity.”

On how Impact restored her confidence: “I definitely had these moments of like, ‘is this really what I’ve wanted, like, did I really sacrifice all this to be treated like this?’ Or like, to not have my things that I’m most proud of about me count? Or like, you know, just question whether or I loved it or not anymore. Impact not only restored my confidence in wrestling, but as Deonna the human being. I’ve just been able to become healthier all around, believe in myself and have confidence and fall back in love with wrestling.”