“Fighting for Women”: New AEW Signee Lays Heavy Criticism on ROH Women’s Division Before Tony Khan

Published 01/21/2024, 1:33 PM EST

Former Ring of Honor (ROH) superstar and current All Elite Wrestling (AEW) superstar Deonna Purrazzo was a guest on the Talk is Jericho podcast hosted by Chris Jericho. In the episode titled ‘A Visit With The Virtuosa Deonna Purrazzo’, the 29-year-old superstar shared her thoughts on the ROH women’s division before it was bought out by AEW head Tony Khan.

Purrazzo is disappointed by ROH management under Joe Koff

During the 50-minute podcast, she discussed the lack of support for women’s wrestling in ROH and felt that the management, led by Joe Koff, has purposely held them back. She expressed her disappointment and felt that much more could have been done to promote women’s wrestling.

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She said, “I think there were people in higher positions that didn’t believe in women’s wrestling. I couldn’t tell you the emails I sent to Joe Koff and I would get the statistics from YouTube pages and Instagram numbers and be like, ‘look at the interaction we’re getting. Look at the numbers we’re bringing to the company. We deserve better.’ I don’t feel it ever happened.”

Purrazzo further explained her frustration at ROH and how it led to her departure in 2018 before joining Impact Wrestling. She said, “I felt like my hands were tied, but I’m trying so hard, I’m fighting for women to get this opportunity, and it’s not happening, and I don’t know what else I can do personally, professionally, and more I could give of myself to make it happen, so maybe it’s time to move on.”

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From ROH, she moved to other wrestling promotions like World Wonder Ring Stardom and TNA. She was also a part of NXT and WWE’s main roster before she settled at TNA, known as Impact Wrestling then. On the main roster at WWE, she was placed as a jobber to Nia Jax before being released as the creative team believed she was not yet ready for TV programs.

Despite her previous experiences, Purrazzo is optimistic about her future at AEW, which seems to be on a path toward the upliftment of women’s wrestling, as depicted by recent TikTok clips shared by the locker room.

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What do you think of the current state of women’s wrestling?

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Written by:

Have you ever tried imitating the gestures and catchphrases of your favorite pro wrestlers? Those people eh? Well, I am those people! Hi, I am Himangshu Sinha, a WWE writer at EssentiallySports who is realizing his dream of writing about his favorite pro wrestlers. As a WWE fan, I acknowledge my Tribal Chief the most. I admire Gunther and LA Knight.

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Donna Eva

“Fighting for Women”: New AEW Signee Lays Heavy Criticism on ROH Women’s Division Before Tony Khan

Purrazzo is disappointed by ROH management under Joe Koff

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