All Elite Virtuosa: Reviewing Deonna Purrazzo's Official AEW Debut

First off, I want to say, "It's been five years already?!"

It seems like yesterday that this, All Elite Wrestling, was a pipe dream, but it's been around for five years now. This past Monday marked the fifth anniversary of the birth of AEW, which came on midnight on January 1, 2019. After airing only pay-per-views, AEW's flagship show, Dynamite, hit network television on October 2, 2019, and in the time that has passed, we've seen AEW make their mark during the first few months, thrive during a worldwide pandemic, and stay strong as the lead counterpart to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Speaking of Dynamite, the first show of 2024 came after a very wild and crazy Worlds End pay-per-view event, which marked the last for one of AEW's original names, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF), as he was dethroned as AEW World Champion by Samoa Joe, and attacked by Adam Cole's reborn Undisputed Kingdom faction, coming after Cole was revealed as "The Devil," who had been plaguing MJF for several months.

The first Dynamite of 2024 included, among many other things, Mariah May's in-ring debut for AEW. She was signed by AEW a month or so ago, and she established herself in the role of a "fan girl" of Toni Storm, and actually announced a week prior that she would make her in-ring debut for AEW. Mariah's debut was a victorious one, a victory over Queen Aminata, who had been appearing on AEW quite a bit, mostly on the now-defunct Dark program. In a post match interview, Mariah voiced her lifelong desire to become a wrestler and finally made her big debut for AEW, but in classic heel fashion, she stated that her only regret was that her AEW debut came in New Jersey.

And that's when she came out.

New Jersey's own Deonna Purrazzo made her presence felt, as only she can, and she entered the ring and stood up to Mariah in defense of her home state. In addition, Deonna told Mariah that she would be coming for Toni Storm and her AEW Women's World Championship. Why? It's simple: The Virtuosa is now All Elite! Mariah gave a violent response; a slap to Deonna's face, only for Deonna to slap back and take down Mariah!

Hours before the episode aired, I read that Deonna Purrazzo could be AEW bound. I originally took that to mean that she would be signed by AEW eventually, but when I saw that the show was in Newark, I knew Deonna would appear on that night. This isn't her first appearance for AEW; she has appeared a few times for the promotion, most notably a 2022 appearance that saw her face off against Mercedes Martinez for the Ring of Honor Women's World Championship.

Those who have read my stories know that I'm a huge fan of Deonna Purrazzo; have been for a decade now. She's already a legend in indie circuits, and she's also been in WWE for a good bit before making the big jump to Impact Wrestling. It was during Deonna's time in Impact that she held the Knockouts World Championship three times, and had a reign as Knockouts World Tag Team Champion, as well as hold the AAA Reina De Reinas Championship.

I'm still beaming over this, as AEW now contains three of my big time faves in Taya Valkyrie, Thunder Rosa, and now Deonna Purrazzo. A lot of potential dream matches inside AEW's women's division. Deonna Purrazzo is quite the addition to the roster, and I am very excited to see her in action on Dynamite, Rampage, and on pay-per-view. The Virtuosa is a belt collector, and it's only a matter of time before the AEW Women's World Championship becomes part of her collection!