Last night, Deonna Purrazzo became the first of the WWE workers laid off last month to officially take the next step in her career – or at least the first that the public knows of. In a promo on the latest episode of Impact on AXS TV, Purrazzo declared that she’s headed to Impact Wrestling, and she’s keeping her Virtuosa gimmick. You can watch the promo here:
“I am @DeonnaPurrazzo – The Virtuosa.” #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/pV2SScVnvN
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) May 27, 2020
That’s a lot of math!
Impact is one of the few American wrestling promotions currently holding events, and the only one besides WWE and AEW taping wrestling TV. They’ve also been adding to their women’s division over the past few months; the company signed former AEW wrestler Kylie Rae to a long-term contract in March and indie standouts Kimber Lee and Tasha Steelz recently made their Impact debuts. So far there’s no word whether Purrazzo will be with Impact long-term, or just for a few appearances.
Since getting cut from the NXT roster, Purrazzo has spoken positively about Impact and its history of promoting women’s wrestling. She’s also explained why she had considered asking for her release from WWE, creative difficulties she had in the company, and that she thinks she was hired during a period of talent-hoarding.