Deonna Purrazzo Credits Lack of Trust for Reason Behind Turning Down WWE Return

WWE has several former Superstars who have not returned. While some would leap at the chance to sign a new WWE contract, Deonna Purrazzo is not one of them. The Virtuosa has reservations about going back to WWE because of her initial run with the company.

Deonna Purrazzo has explained her hesitancy about returning to WWE. She became a free agent at the end of 2023 when her contract with TNA Wrestling expired. Since joining TNA in 2020, Purrazzo was one of the top Knockouts, winning the Knockouts Championship multiple times and headlining pay-per-views. Instead of choosing WWE, she decided to sign with Tony Khan’s company.

Purrazzo ultimately signed with AEW, debuting on the January 3rd episode of AEW Dynamite. In an interview with Stephanie Chase, Purrazzo was asked if she had discussions with WWE.

“I did. It kind of came down to a few weeks before I was a free agent of talking to everybody. Talking to Triple H and William Regal. I talked to, obviously, Tony Khan. Trying to figure out what the best decision for me was going to be. I felt, ultimately, back before I went to NXT the first time, I was supposed to be on All In. I was supposed to be doing all these great things, going back to Japan.”

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“I gave all of that up to go to NXT. It didn’t work out. I was very bitter about that, but it just didn’t work out. I learned a lot about myself. I was hesitant to go back into that situation knowing how I was treated. Wanting to avoid that at all costs. I felt like there wasn’t trust there for me to squander this really great opportunity that I knew was there for AEW. Who knows, in hindsight, had I not gone to NXT, had I been at All In, I could have been at AEW from the beginning, maybe. I could’ve been here for five-and-a-half to six years. I was really worried that I would be giving up something really great for something that I already knew the potential outcome of.”

Purrazzo signed with WWE in 2018 and was part of the NXT roster. She never won a match before being released in 2020. She had many reasons for wanting to leave the company the first time, including feeling that she was passed over for television opportunities she believed she deserved more.

Whether Deonna Purrazzo will return to WWE remains to be seen. She may find herself back someday, and it’s possible she could have a successful run there. Her friend Chelsea Green would likely love to have her back in the locker room. The challenge would be to make her name bigger than it was before signing with AEW, but it’s unclear if her current run with Tony Khan’s company has achieved that.

What’s your take on Deonna Purrazzo? Do you think she should consider a WWE return? Let us know what you think in the comments section!