Former WWE star recalls nixed plans for a supposed female Shield
A former WWE star has disclosed some ideas she had for a supposed female version of The Shield alongside her fellow stars. She pitched the idea to the management during her time in Stamford-based promotion.
The former WWE star in question is Deonna Purrazzo. She is currently signed to AEW. Purrazzo worked in the global juggernaut and TNA Wrestling before arriving in the Tony Khan-led promotion.
During her recent interview with SHAK Wrestling, Deonna Purrazzo spoke about her nixed plans to form a female version of The Shield alongside Chelsea Green and Rachael Ellering. She explained how the trio practiced their entrance at the Performance Center.
"We practiced this endlessly, and there was no way we were going to be able to come through the crowd like The Shield did, but we had like one person from here, one person from there, and one from the middle, and the music we had picked like there was almost spotlights bam bam bam, and there was (...) see, you know, one two, three and then all of us together and I have the video somewhere on my phone that we had them record at the PC and we thought we had something really cool going."
The AEW star further added how her plans didn't materialize in WWE but she had a great run with Chelsea Green in TNA Wrestling:
"So, I'm really sad that we never got to like see the full VXT come to life but on the flip side of that, me and Chelsea Green did have a great run as Vex in TNA. So, I can't complain too much but if our vision had come to life, I think it would've been really really cool." [15:52 - 16:40]
The Shield was one of the most dominant factions in WWE between 2012 and 2014. It comprised Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose (aka Jon Moxley), and Roman Reigns. The faction reunited for three different runs in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Former WWE star Deonna Purrazzo's current run in AEW
Deonna Purrazzo had a great start to her AEW run after her debut in January 2024. However, she failed to capture the Women's World Title from Toni Storm in her first pay-per-view match.
She was recently feuding with Thunder Rosa for weeks, culminating in a pre-show match at Double or Nothing 2024. Purrazzo registered a victory against Rosa at the event.
The 30-year-old and Rosa are set for a rematch on AEW Collision this week. Only time will tell what the Tony Khan-led creative team has in store for the duo.
If you use any quotes from the article's first half, please credit SHAK Wrestling and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.