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Several former WWE Superstars now ply their trade in AEW, but not all of them found success in the sports entertainment juggernaut before making the jump. Such is the case with Deonna Purrazzo, who recently addressed a video of her WWE RAW debut back in 2019.
Deonna Purrazzo is mostly thought of as a TNA star, having gained fame as The Virtuosa in IMPACT Wrestling. However, she spent the latter part of the 2010s in WWE, wrestling mostly on NXT but finding little success.
The 30-year-old was still relatively new to WWE's fanbase when she made her RAW debut on December 16, 2019, to face Asuka. A clip of her entrance that night has been making the rounds on social media, and fans have been commenting on the lack of reaction Purrazzo got from the WWE Universe.
The Virtuosa took to X /Twitter to address the clip, defending her unknown status at the time and claiming that she still managed to have a good match against The Empress of Tomorrow:
"This video circulates often as an insult but I always find it quite funny. Of course the crowd didn’t react- they didn’t know me or have a reason to care. I was an NXT talent who had, maybe, 10 televised matches & lost them all. DESPITE that, I still debuted on RAW & had a kick a** match against Asuka. There’s nothing insulting about that. 🤷🏻♀️," wrote Purrazzo.
You can check out Deonna's tweet here.
Deonna Purrazzo opens up on choosing AEW over WWE return
Deonna Purrazzo's TNA contract expired in December 2023, and she had several options open to her. Some expected her to return to WWE for another shot at the main roster, but The Virtuosa ultimately chose AEW and made her official debut for the young promotion in January this year.
The 30-year-old carefully considered her options before making the decision to join AEW. In a recent interview with Stephanie Chase, she revealed that she'd spoken to Triple H, but it was ultimately the missed opportunities during her original NXT run that convinced her to sign with Tony Khan.
"You know, it didn't work out, and now I was very bitter about that, but now I could say it just didn't work out, and I learned a lot about myself, but I was hesitant to go back into that situation knowing how I was treated, wanting to avoid that at all costs, and I just felt like there wasn't trust there for me to squander this great opportunity I knew was there with AEW," Purrazzo said.
Deonna Purrazzo is still finding her way in AEW, but it hasn't been an easy road. Her most recent feud with Thunder Rosa led to a major loss for her, and her next step in the promotion remains to be seen.
