Deonna Purrazzo Discusses Her Character Growth Since Joining AEW

AEW star Deonna Purrazzo has already undergone a big transformation since arriving to the promotion at the beginning of 2024. She arrived to a huge reception in her home state of New Jersey as people rallied behind her to dethrone "Timeless" Toni Storm at AEW Revolution. Since then, she has let her mean streak loose, with Thunder Rosa being the woman on the receiving end of many of her brutal submissions.

In the short time she's been in AEW, fans have seen two sides of Purrazzo, and these sides are still different from what the Impact Wrestling (now TNA Wrestling) audience saw for many years. In a recent interview with "Bodyslam.Net," Purrazzo explained why change was necessary after joining AEW. 

"We're introducing myself to a new audience, I can't be 'The Virtuosa' that was at TNA, it's a different iteration of who I am," Purrazzo said. "I've embraced this ... more like going to embrace my Italian side, we're going to embrace my aggressive side, and it's been fun because it's a new side of me."

Purrazzo's feud with Rosa seems to have wrapped up for now following their brutal no disqualification match on the June 15 edition of "AEW Collision." She believes "La Mera Mera" was the perfect opponent to showcase what the new version of "The Virtuosa" is meant to be. 

"The crowd loves her, obviously she's a former world champion, she has her own story to tell in terms of having to give up that championship and never losing, and I just think it was a really natural story for us to tell and to keep us all on TV and keep going. It really flowed one right into the other, and I think Thunder and I have also told a really, really great story."

Please credit Bodyslam.net when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.