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Just short of two weeks ago, Deonna Purrazzo was one of over 20 names released by WWE as the company reduced its headcount in a move to combat the economic obstacles faced due to coronavirus.
The Virtuosa told me about her WWE release and her future plans, but one thing I had to ask was how Deonna Purrazzo was able to keep her name while wrestling in WWE!
Several of the recently released WWE Superstars have had to change their names following their release, but Purrazzo will be wrestling under the same moniker - because it is her real name. The Fujiwara Armbar Specialist told me how difficult it was to keep her name when wrestling in WWE.
"It wasn't too difficult. I had only been asked once before the Mae Young when I was first hired, so back in 2018, to send a list of potential names. They were like, "You didn't do this and you need to do it."
Purrazzo went on to state that she was determined to keep her first name, but ended up not having to change her surname in WWE.
"Then I sent them a list of potential names and I said, "My name is the Deonna, you will never have another Deonna, so if I can't keep my last name, here are last names that I would like." And I just never heard anything back, and there was never another conversation - so Deonna Purrazzo is my birth name, so I get to keep that forever."
You can read the entire interview here.
Thank you so much to Deonna Purrazzo for taking the time to chat with me. You can follow Deonna on Twitter here, or check out her Pro Wrestling Tees site here, and her own merchandise site here for signed prints and more.
