Impact Wrestling's Knockouts Champion and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, Deonna Purrazzo joined Wrasslinews on The Wrassingh Show podcast for an exclusive interview to discuss her upcoming title match at Bound for Glory against the wrestling legend, Mickie James.
She also spoke about possibly teaming up with Britt Baker to go after Impact's tag titles, Impact's new digital media championship and more.
Following is the full video of our exclusive interview with Deonna.
Following are the main key points from the interview:
Q.1)
Does Deonna believe that she is the best wrestler in the world right now?
“Absolutely! I've said it since I started at Impact wrestling that I am the best technical woman's wrestler in the world.
I just needed the opportunity to prove it, and time and time again, Impact has given me the opportunity to prove it - and all over the world! So there is not a doubt in my mind that I am who I say I am- the Virtuosa, the greatest in the world.”
Q.2)
Deonna is just days away from becoming the longest reigning Impact Knockouts Champion ever. Does she fear that Mickie James might stop her from achieving that?
“No! You know, I’ve said it a bunch of times over the past few weeks.. Over the last year I've consistently shown what I can do in the ring! How I handle myself.. that I'm at the top of my own game right now right and Mickie hasn't had the opportunity to do that! She’s only had, to date, one match since coming back so.. that was Kylie Ray at NWA73. You know, so there's a lot of questions that Mickie has walking into this championship match but there are no questions about my ability walking into this championship match.. So there's only one outcome that I can ever foresee - and that is and still the knockouts champion!”
Q.3)
Does Deonna really feel like Mickie does not deserve a shot at the Knockouts Championship?
“I don’t, I don't think so because you know, Mickie has spun the narrative of this entire story that I'm the bad guy and I'm the disrespectful one but Mickie crashed my party at Slammiversary and then kicked me in the face!
She’s consistently put her hands on me first and you know, she's not done.. you know, in what Mickie would say - I think is to do business the right way and to be respectful and and I think she's a hypocrite!
I think that's the least that she's done in this situation and you know, I don't think that she's coming to Impact saying - ‘I want to be the Knockouts Champion! Give me matches to prove it.’ She just came in saying ‘I'm a legend, I've been here before, I’ve been a Knockouts champion
before, give me what I want!’ and Scott D’Amore gave it to her for some reason unbeknownst to me and I don't think that's fair!”
Q.4) Does Deonna regret attacking Mickie in her own home?
“I mean, sure! Maybe I overreacted a little bit but I also think that I’m willing to defend what's mine - which is Impact wrestling and the knockouts championship at any cost!
So if I have to prove that point by showing up to her house and saying yeah, I might be a great technical woman's wrestler but I will kick your ass anywhere! It doesn't have to just be in the ring.
I think I proved that point and that was what I was trying to do - is saying, ‘you’re not safe anywhere! You're messing with the wrong person, and i'm capable of finding you and taking care of business anywhere!’"
Q.5) Does Deonna plan on ending Mickie James’ career at Bound for Glory?
“I feel like Mickie is the type of person that won’t.. wouldn’t put her career on the line. I feel like she's confident enough to.. but I feel like she still feels she still has a lot to give right? So I don't necessarily think I'll be ending Mickie’s career when I defeat her but I think that when I when I lock in the ‘Venus de Milo’ and I break both of her arms she'll have a hell of a time coming back to wrestling this time.”
Q.6)
In addition to the Knockouts title and the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship, does Deonna plan on adding more championship gold to her collection in the near future?
“I would love that! You know, so obviously I'm the champ-champ right now. I have two but I think I need one around my waist and you know, it could be a singles championship, it could be our knockouts tag team championships! I don’t care - I just want all of the gold!
We are in the age of the virtuosa and I deserve all of the gold!”
Q.7)
Would Deonna go after Impact’s new inter gender title - the digital media championship?
“Yeah! I definitely think that's a possibility for me. If the timing was right and it was done properly, I would be more than happy to do some intergender wrestling and capture the digital media championship but I think right now, my focus is our women's division - our tag team division and you know, maybe getting a hold of those tag titles first!”
Q.8) Would Deonna like to face Britt Baker in a title vs. title for her AEW Women’s Championship?
“Absolutely! I think that is what I hear most and what I see most on social media - is ‘we need Deonna versus Britt to happen’ and it’s really cool because Britt is in real life my best friend and I've followed her journey way from years and years and years ago, when we were first starting in wrestling and I'm so so happy and proud of all of her success!
But, yeah! At the end of the day, if it's for the Knockouts championship or for the AEW women's championship - all bets are off! We gotta put our friendship aside and I think it would be a really, really cool dream match for both of us and the world but.. someone would have to lose their championship so I think again those tag team championships that we have in our knockouts division would be the perfect way for Britt and I to have matches together but not have to be against each other and have no one lose any of their titles.”
Q.9) Can we expect Deonna to ever show up at Britt’s house to attack her, just like she attacked Mickie James?
“Never! I would never do that to her! [laughs]”
Q.10)
Deonna’s thoughts on Awesome Kong going into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame this year.
“Yeah! I was so excited to hear that news at ‘Knockouts Knockdown’ to see her there at ‘Knockouts Knockdown,’ there's no one more deserving!
She is like the knockout OG! She broke barriers and glass ceilings and in so many ways for us as a knockouts division but as women's wrestlers in the entire industry!
As a whole for us to be able to do what we do today so we owe so much gratitude to Awesome Kong for what she's done and I think that this is the perfect way for her to kind of close that chapter of her life is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame!”
Q.11)
How does Deonna feel about The IInspiration, FKA The IIconics making their debut in Impact Wrestling, at Bound for Glory?
“Yeah! I think it's great for our roster!
I think the fact that Impact has really become a landing spot and people are seeking out Impact wrestling to give them the opportunities that maybe they didn't feel they got elsewhere or that Impact is giving people, who have been buying on the indies for a long time, the opportunity to be on a bigger stage and show what they got!
So, for the IInspiration to come in and want to be a part of our knockouts division - they’re in the knockouts tag team championship match against Decay at Bound for Glory. I think it's going to be a really special moment for our knockouts division and for Cassie and Jess, themselves.
I don’t see them as competition because i think that as of right now they're a tag team, they’re not coming for my knockouts championship.. so maybe it would be a different story if they decide they want the knockouts championship. But as of now, I love them both and I'm excited to see what they're going to do here at Impact wrestling"
Q.12)
Apart from her match against Mickie James, which other match is Deonna looking forward to the most, at Bound for Glory?
“I’m most excited for uh the X-Division match [featuring] Steve Maclin versus Trey Miguel versus El Phantasmo for the X-Division
championship!
Obviously Steve Maclin is my real life boyfriend, [ laughs] so there's that to it, and I just feel like I was in very much.. a similar space he was when he came into Impact wrestling. He kind of got the crappy end of the stick when he was released and for him to land on his feet at Impact with me, I love it! Because I get to travel with the person I love the most!
But he never really got the opportunities elsewhere to do what he's doing now, to be a singles competitor, to be in a title picture, to
have the opportunity, to be the character he wants to be.. which is very much to his real life experiences, so he's like a kid in a candy store right now! A kid on Christmas, with his eyes bright and like, there's so many possibilities and I love that for him I love watching him be able to succeed and put himself out there and bet on himself, so I'm betting on him becoming the X-Division champion at Bound for Glory but besides myself, that’s what I'm most excited for, is for him to get this
pay-per-view match for the first time!”
Q.13) Putting their rivalry aside, does Deonna respect Mickie as a wrestler? And can she say one good thing about James before they meet at Bound for Glory?
“Yeah! I can say one, just one good thing.. Mickie has always been a pioneer of women's wrestling and she's taken it upon herself now,
later in her career, to push forward women's wrestling, to be one of those people with a voice and with the power, to give people opportunities and you know, she put together the NWA Empowerrr pay-per-view - that was her thing.
She wanted me to be a part of it and I was.. you know, honored to be a part of it. Celebrating women's wrestling.. so she's really now, behind the scenes, pushing younger talent and giving them the opportunities that weren't necessarily always there for us. So I respect her for that.
I don't necessarily respect her for much else but definitely the fact that she loves women's wrestling tremendously and wants to see us all succeed is how I feel about women's wrestling so we have that in common and I love that she's helping push forward women's wrestling for the future!”
Q.14)
But all of that still doesn’t change the fact that Mickie does not deserve a shot at Deonna’s Knockouts championship?
“Exactly! Everyone has to earn a shot at the knockouts championship! Everyone else has had to earn a shot at the knockouts championship so I don’t know why Scott D’Amore doesn't stand by his own rhetoric! You know, he just like changes.. changes with wind!”
Q.15) Does Deonna think that she will head into Bound for Glory next year, still as the Knockouts Champion?
“Absolutely! I’m going to be the Knockouts champion forever!”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Wrassingh Show with a h/t to Wrasslinews for the transcription.