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Deonna Purrazzo was credited with helping reboot the women's division in Ring of Honor (ROH) when she joined the company in 2015. She appeared in one of the first women's matches in the company's history in nearly a decade at the time.
He spent three years with the company before returning to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2024. By that time, AEW co-founder Tony Khan had purchased Ring of Honor and it became a sister company of AEW. Upon her return to Ring of Honor, she was thrust into a tournament to determine the first ROH Pure Women's Champion.
PRO WRESTLING STARS LEAD SHOW TO BENEFIT TUNNEL TO TOWERS, SHARE WHAT BEING AMERICAN MEANS TO THEM
Deonna Purrazzo celebrates after winning her match during AEW Collision on June 15, 2024 at the Covelli Center in Youngstown, Ohio. (Frank Jansky/Sportswire Icon)
In December, Purrazzo defeated Billie Starkz to be crowned champion and has held the title ever since.
As a wave of new wrestlers hit the free agent market over the past two weeks, Purrazzo touted the opportunities Ring of Honor has for female wrestlers, something that was “really important” to the New Jersey native.
“I think the good thing about Ring of Honor is that it flies a little bit under the radar,” he told Fox News Digital. “So you can really develop yourself and tell stories and show your personality and maybe try something different than you would if you were on 'Dynamite' every week. I think there's some really great women's wrestling within Ring of Honor. Most weeks there are four, five, six women's matches, so I think she doesn't get enough credit online as she deserves for what she's doing and the purpose it serves for women's wrestling, which, again, is very important to me, starting with in Ring of Honor, starting the women's division 11 years ago.
“Being able to see multiple women grow and develop each week, I think is really important and I think if more people saw it as a landing spot, maybe we can increase that perception in the public's eyes.”
Athena sits at the top of the women's division in ROH. It has held the ROH World Women's Championship for over 1,200 days. Red Velvet is the current ROH Women's World Television Championship and has held it for over 150 days.
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Deonna Purrazzo attends Shaq's Fun House at XS Nightclub at Encore Las Vegas on February 9, 2024. (Greg Doherty/Getty Images)
Purrazzo also has the opportunity to help veterans and first responders in need.
She and her husband, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling star Steve Maclin, will host the Battle for the Brave on June 6. The charity event will benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Purrazzo emphasized how important it was for her to give back to military veterans in an interview with Fox News Digital earlier this week, especially as a military wife. Maclin served in the United States Marine Corps.
“Growing up in New Jersey, 9/11 was a big deal. For me, I was in second grade,” he said. “I didn't understand what was happening, but in the days afterward I felt a sense of unity where everyone came together, everyone was proud to be an American and we were going to fight back and stand together and be a united country. And I think that feeling has always stuck with me, but being the wife of a veteran, it has taken on a completely different role.
“Steve's openness about his service and the things he's seen and experienced with me has given me a new passion to let veterans know that, yes, war will always come home to you, but it doesn't have to define you. Steve was so lucky that he was able to find wrestling right after he got out of the Marine Corps and that saved him, in a way, from falling down the unknown path of 'What am I? Who am I next?'
Professional wrestling stars Steve Maclin and Deonna Purrazzo stare at each other. (Provided to Fox News Digital)
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“And I think that's something that our veterans are dealing with without the rest of the public knowing. It's not talked about enough. They say 22 veterans, but right now the math leads to 44 veterans a day losing their lives in that battle – an identity crisis of who I am after service. So, that's what being an American means to me now, to show that support for our veterans, to show that our country is here for them and we're here to support them and we're here to give them the resources that they need to live healthy and successful lives after service.
