Deonna Purrazzo Calls Out AEW TV Absence and Admits Fans Still Don’t Get Who She Is

Deonna Purrazzo isn’t hiding her frustrations when it comes to her AEW run—or her absence from TV.

The former Knockouts and ROH Women’s Champion got brutally honest during her appearance on Muscle Memory, opening up about her return to Ring of Honor, behind-the-scenes talks with Tony Khan, and why the AEW audience still doesn’t fully understand who “The Virtuosa” really is. Purrazzo recently made her ROH comeback by facing Ashley Vox, a match that quietly made history.

“Yeah, it’s crazy. I didn’t even realize that that match I had with Ashley Vox was the first ever Pure Women’s Rules match ever. And so, it feels… Ring of Honor always feels like home to me. I feel like I bleed Ring of Honor blood. Like, I’m a Ring of Honor kid through and through.”

But her AEW absence since February hasn’t gone unnoticed—and Deonna knows fans are asking questions. She confirmed there have been conversations happening behind the scenes with Tony Khan about her status, but so far, the timing hasn’t lined up.

“Yeah… I mean, I think that they just announced this Pure, Ring of Honor Women’s Pure Championship Title Tournament. And I think that there was always an idea maybe for me to be in that, it was just a matter of, like, when that was going to happen. So there were some conversations had about, like, ‘We’re just waiting for this… and the belt… and things like that.’”

The real frustration for Deonna is how hard it’s been to make an impact when you’re not featured regularly on AEW TV. She feels like the fans still don’t fully get what The Virtuosa is all about.

“But I feel like I’m just at the point of my career where I just want to wrestle. You know, win, lose, draw, tell a good story. Like, I just want to be utilized in wrestling, and if there’s anything that comes out of that — even better.”

The constant flood of weekly wrestling content makes it easy to get lost in the shuffle, something Deonna knows all too well.

“But I think the key with any kind of TV company — televised product right now — is just consistency. There’s so much wrestling every single week… Monday Night RAW happens on Monday, and then Tuesday we’re rolling over to SmackDown, and then Wednesday… so it’s really hard to keep interest if you’re not featured 24/7 basically.”

And looking back, Deonna admitted that not explaining her persona from the start only made it harder for her to connect.

“I want to keep consistent with the AEW audience. I want them to get to know The Virtuosa because I feel like, even though I’m a year and a half in, they still don’t necessarily understand all that I’m about.”

“We didn’t explain to the AEW audience right away what the word Virtuosa meant. And I think that’s something I’ve struggled with my entire career.”

For now, it looks like Deonna’s eyes are on Ring of Honor, but she made it clear—she’s ready to wrestle, ready to tell stories, and ready for people to finally get who she really is.