"I was definitely labeled as a problem" - Deonna Purrazzo on WWE rejecting most of her pitches
Former Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo recently recalled WWE turning down several of her pitches and being labeled a 'loudmouth.'
The Virtuosa signed with WWE in 2018 and was released in April last year along with multiple other talents due to budget cuts. She spent the majority of her two-year run on the NXT brand.
During her appearance on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast, Deonna Purrazzo stated that she pitched numerous ideas during her time in the company. The ideas included going on a losing streak and then snapping.
"I mean I was definitely labeled as a problem [in WWE]. I was definitely labeled as someone who has a loud mouth but, for a long time I wanted to check every box... I pitched losing and making that a thing until I snap, you know what I mean? I pitched I don’t even need to win the match. Let me just keep the armbar and get disqualified and that can set up a feud with this babyface and I would do extra promos and film stuff at home, Deonna Purrazzo said.
Despite giving it her all, WWE did not consider Purrazzo's pitches. She believes that advocating for herself might have gotten her into the bad books of the creative team.
"I really can say at the end of the day, I put every bit of me into that place to make it work and it didn’t because when I feel taken advantage of or I feel like I’m not wanted, then I have an opinion about it and I’m going to stand up for myself and I’m going to advocate for myself and I don’t necessarily think at the time that was what they wanted out of talent," she added. (H/T POST Wrestling)
Monday Night #RAW meet @DeonnaPurrazzo! https://t.co/GtlDyJkQAd
Deonna Purrazzo on WWE rejecting her and Chelsea Green's pitch to be a tag-team
Deonna Purrazzo's best friend Chelsea Green was also released in April last year due to budget cuts. They pitched being a tag team during their time in WWE, but their idea was turned down.
Deonna Purrazzo recounted being told that just because they were best friends doesn't mean they should be a tag team.
"Me and Chelsea [Green] were told, ‘We just don’t know why best friends would be a tag team. Being best friends doesn’t mean you’re a tag team’ and I was like, ‘… Um, we have pictures together, we’ve traveled the world together... I thought that was absurd but I couldn’t be a tag team with my best friend because we were best friends," said Deonna.
The beginning and the end are same place. #Virtuosa 👁 https://t.co/v24oHcEbGe
Deonna Purrazzo returned to IMPACT Wrestling after leaving WWE and enjoyed a run with the Knockouts Championship. She dropped the title to Mickie James at Bound for Glory. However, she is scheduled for a rematch at the upcoming Hard to Kill pay-per-view next month.