Deonna Purrazzo: The Secret to Crafting Stories That Keep Audiences Hooked | DSH #1432

Summary

Digital Social Hour Episode Summary: Deonna Purrazzo – The Secret to Crafting Stories That Keep Audiences Hooked | DSH #1432

Release Date: July 4, 2025

In this compelling episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in a deep and unfiltered conversation with professional wrestler Deonna Purrazzo. The discussion traverses Deonna's diverse experiences, ranging from competing in celebrity poker tournaments to her impactful role in women's wrestling. This summary captures the essence of their dialogue, highlighting key moments, insightful reflections, and Deonna's personal narratives.

---

1. Navigating New Challenges: Celebrity Poker Tournament

The episode opens with Deonna reflecting on her unexpected success in a celebrity poker tournament.

• Deonna Purrazzo shares her initial apprehension:

  "[00:31] I think I did not expect to make it as far as I did whatsoever."

• She discusses her strategic approach to the tournament, aiming not to be the least competent participant:

  "[00:32] ...my strategy was to not be the first person out of the tournament."

• Her performance exceeded expectations, defeating 23 opponents and reaching the tournament's midpoint:

  "[00:33] I knocked Hendry Cujo out... I think I did, so I'm on a high right now."

• Deonna humorously recounts her preparation, including attempts to maintain a poker face through Botox and stylish sunglasses, though she ultimately forgot to wear them:

  "[01:17] ...I brought nice, cute, like... stylish, sleek Gucci sunglasses... but I forgot about them."

This segment showcases Deonna's competitive spirit and adaptability, traits that resonate deeply from her wrestling career.

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2. Longing for Home: Culinary Cravings and Authenticity

Transitioning from competition, Deonna delves into her nostalgic cravings for New Jersey's authentic cuisine while living in Orlando.

• She expresses daily miss for local favorites:

  "[03:26] Every day. I live in Orlando now... what would it be like to go home and just have a piece of pizza right now or a bagel right now."

• Deonna narrates her attempt to recreate a traditional New Jersey dish, emphasizing the challenge of finding authentic ingredients in Orlando:

  "[04:05] We were like, we're going to make this like literally as authentic as we can make it... it wasn't open by the time we were going."

• The conversation highlights the importance of cultural roots and authenticity in personal life:

  "[07:05] We need to eat authentically."

---

3. Personal Struggles: Trauma from Edibles and Weed Use

Deonna candidly shares her traumatic experiences with edibles and marijuana, shedding light on her mental health journey.

• Recounting a distressing incident:

  "[09:36] ...I took 10 milligrams of an edible... I was laying on the couch... felt like I was paralyzed... thought I had committed suicide."

• She discusses the profound impact this event had on her:

  "[10:16] ...that was the last time I ever did an edible. It's the last time I ever smoked weed because I was, holy crap, what is my mind capable of?"

• Deonna discusses a recent alarming experience her husband had at a Criss Angel show due to excessive edibles:

  "[10:17] ...my husband is like, I'm gonna take a 50 milligram edible... halfway through the show... I feel like I'm in another dimension."

• These narratives emphasize her resilience and the importance of mental health awareness:

  "[10:17] ...I don't do any type of drug anymore. You're gonna be okay. I'm here for you."

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4. Experiencing the Supernatural: Criss Angel Show in Vegas

The conversation shifts to Deonna's recent experience attending a Criss Angel magic show, blending her belief systems with the show's dark themes.

• Deonna describes the intense atmosphere:

  "[12:22] ...there's dark crows flying around. I felt like I was in hell."

• She reflects on the dichotomy between her faith and the eerie nature of the performance:

  "[12:08] ...I do believe in God. I'm kind of a God-fearing woman at this point in my life. Like, should I be here? Is this evil?"

• The show parallels her wrestling experience in terms of suspending disbelief and captivating the audience:

  "[13:03] ...just forget all of that stuff. He put on an incredible show... similar to pro wrestling in terms of suspending belief."

---

5. Championing Women's Wrestling: Storytelling and Representation

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Deonna's insights on women's wrestling, storytelling, and representation in the industry.

• Deonna lauds the progression of women's wrestling, emphasizing deep and relatable storylines:

  "[16:37] ...our biggest storyline is Toni Storm and Mariah May... it's almost becoming inevitable for us."

• She highlights the importance of authentic character development and audience investment:

  "[17:08] ...our biggest storyline... people were really upset that they didn't earn that main event spot, but they like 100% earned it."

• Deonna shares her pride in setting standards for future generations:

  "[18:01] ...we are setting a standard for women's wrestling... we have to tell that type of story... it's so rare."

• She discusses collaboration and input in storytelling processes within wrestling promotions:

  "[19:03] ...Mercedes Monet... gets the open forum to be like, I'd like to work with this person and these are my ideas."

• Deonna pays homage to wrestling legends who paved the way for women in the sport:

  "[20:00] ...Gail Kim... she is the OG for me..."

---

6. Returning to Roots: Commitment to Ring of Honor

In the concluding segment, Deonna reveals her upcoming ventures, particularly her involvement with Ring of Honor (ROH).

• She expresses enthusiasm for ROH's new women's championship tournament:

  "[21:50] ...we've just announced an inaugural tournament for a pure Ring of Honor women's champion... I'm really excited to be in that tournament."

• Deonna reflects on her decade-long relationship with ROH and her role in advancing the women's division:

  "[21:50] ...I've been branded with this... I was given the credit of rebirthing women into Ring of Honor."

• She emphasizes her commitment to her roots and the significance of her participation:

  "[22:00] ...if it wasn't for me, if I'm being honest, that division wouldn't exist."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Self-Belief and Purpose:

  "[00:00] ...I believe in myself. I believe in, like, my humanity, and I'm here for a purpose..."

• Poker Strategy and Success:

  "[00:31] I think I did not expect to make it as far as I did whatsoever."

• Traumatic Experience with Edibles:

  "[10:16] ...that was the last time I ever did an edible... holy crap, what is my mind capable of?"

• Impact of Women's Wrestling Storylines:

  "[16:37] ...our biggest storyline is Toni Storm and Mariah May... it's almost becoming inevitable for us."

• Commitment to ROH:

  "[21:50] ...I'm really excited to be in that tournament... that division wouldn't exist."

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Conclusion

Deonna Purrazzo's appearance on Digital Social Hour offers a multifaceted glimpse into her life beyond the wrestling ring. From personal struggles and triumphs to her dedication to advancing women’s wrestling, Deonna embodies resilience and passion. Her insights into storytelling, authenticity, and representation highlight the evolving landscape of professional wrestling and her pivotal role within it. This episode not only entertains but also inspires, showcasing Deonna’s unwavering commitment to her craft and her audiences.

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Connect with Deonna Purrazzo:

• Twitter/X: @DianaPurrazzo
• Instagram: @DianaPurrazzo
• TikTok: @DianaPurrazzo
• Latest Ventures: Competing in Ring of Honor's inaugural women's championship tournament.

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Stay tuned to Digital Social Hour for more unfiltered and insightful conversations with influential figures across various industries.

Transcript

[Diana Purrazzo]

Like, I believe in myself. I believe in, like, my humanity, and I'm here for a purpose, and God put me here for a purpose. But, like, can I. Am I capable of doing that to myself? And I just didn't know how to handle that. That was the last time I ever did an edible. It's the last time I ever smoked weed because I was so, like, holy crap, what is my mind capable of?

[Unknown Speaker]

All right, guys, Diana here. Celebrity poker tournament. Her first time ever playing. Yeah, let's go.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Oh, my gosh.

[Unknown Speaker]

Are you hooked now?

[Diana Purrazzo]

I think I did not expect to make it as far as I did whatsoever. I went into this with the strategy. The strategy of, like, I just want to be not the least competent person, if that makes sense. I want to, like, I don't want to be the first person out of the tournament. And I beat, like, 23 people. Well done. So I'm on a high right now of, like, I made it halfway through.

[Unknown Speaker]

You might have to hit the tables after this.

[Diana Purrazzo]

I think so. I think so.

[Unknown Speaker]

Did you get anyone out? Did you knock anyone?

[Diana Purrazzo]

I think I. I knocked Hendry Cujo out.

[Unknown Speaker]

Oh, you knocked Henry out?

[Diana Purrazzo]

I think I did. I don't want to, like. Like, I wouldn't go 100% all in on that, but there was, like, a hand there that we bet against each other, and I won, so I think it knocked him out.

[Unknown Speaker]

I saw him bluff, like, seven hands straight, so.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Well, that's the thing. Like, I feel like being from New Jersey, being a pro wrestler, like, all of my expressions are just written on. And coming into this, all of my friends were like, you do not have a poker face, Deanna. And so it was my strategy to be like, do not make expression. Get as much Botox as you can, girl. And come into this as expressionless as you could possibly be and make it as far as you can, and we'll see what happens.

[Unknown Speaker]

What a strategy.

[Diana Purrazzo]

And I made it halfway through getting.

[Unknown Speaker]

Botox for a celebrity pop tournament. Well done. Did you bring out the sunglasses, too?

[Diana Purrazzo]

I didn't. And I brought sunglasses, and I just left them in my hotel room. Like, I brought nice, cute, like. Like, stylish, sleek Gucci sunglasses that I was like, okay, I'm going to be in a poker tournament. I don't want people to see my eyes. And I forgot about them. But I feel like, screw it.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's not as bad as what happened to me, at least.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Well, what happened to you?

[Unknown Speaker]

So I played in the second one.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

Sunglasses.

But they were reflective, so I was like, why is everyone at my table laughing?

[Diana Purrazzo]

You pulled a Kim K. Is that what she did? Well, so I've heard. I don't know too much about this tournament, but I heard in the lead up of like my preparation. My husband prepared me, my, my father in law prepared me. I downloaded an app to like be playing consistently. Yes. Because I was like, I can't be. I'm the first woman from pro wrestling to be in this tournament and I cannot let us all down. Like, I'm the representative of all of us. And if they're going to invite more pro wrestlers, I need to make an impression. Right. And so I feel like I did, but I can't wear reflective sunglasses where people could see what my hand is. And so I, I heard that that's what Kim K did.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Diana Purrazzo]

And maybe that's what you did.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's what I did. Everyone was laughing at my table and I was like, what's going on here?

Am I.

[Diana Purrazzo]

They could see your cards.

[Unknown Speaker]

I thought I just sucked at poker, which I do, but I just suck at poker.

[Diana Purrazzo]

But you also gave them an advantage.

[Unknown Speaker]

Huge advantage. But I actually didn't get last.

[Diana Purrazzo]

So that, honestly, I feel like that's all that matters. Right. If you're not first out.

[Unknown Speaker]

If I got out first, I would have left.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

I wouldn't have stayed.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Same same. I was like, if we, if I embarrass our family that much, we gotta get the hell out. But I think I beat 23 other people, so well done. I'm not the worst.

[Unknown Speaker]

You missing the, the food in Jersey? I miss it almost every day.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Every day. I live in Orlando now and my husband is also from New Jersey. And I feel like that's the one thing that we consistently talk about is like, what would it be like to go home and just have a piece of pizza right now or a bagel right now or a piece of bread right now? Like, they don't do semolina bread in Orlando, Florida. And if you do, it's from like a very special deli that's open like four hours a day. And so we had Easter dinner not too long ago. And I said to my father in law who's a loves to cook, I said, we are going to make homemade monogot for dinner. I want to make the shell. So it's a stuffed shell. And so basically when you make it homemade, you make almost like a, it's like a crepe but just a little bit thinner. And so you make the dough and you make it on a griddle. And then you take the roux off the cheese and you roll it with the mozzare. You make it homemade and then you bake it in the oven. I said I want to make the whole thing homemade. My husband and I were like, we're going to go to the deli, we're going to get the rugat, we're going to get the mozzarella, we're going to get the semolina bread. We're going to make this like literally as authentic as we can make it. And then we, it wasn't open by the time we were going. So we're like, I guess publix it is, it is so hard to find authentic Italian food in Orlando, Florida. And so when I go home to Jersey, that's the first thing I do is like I land and I'm like where can we get like a Taylor ham, egg and cheese? Where could we get real authentic cheese and deli meats and Taylor ham and you know, just things like that that I'm like, we're in Jersey.

[Unknown Speaker]

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[Diana Purrazzo]

We need to eat authentically.

[Unknown Speaker]

Italian is so good in Germany.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

Oh, man. So is Indian.

[Diana Purrazzo]

So I'm not like a big spice person. So I'm not. I'm not big into Indian, but I've heard it's phenomenal in Jersey.

[Unknown Speaker]

Good.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

So good. Vegas is decent, but it doesn't have good Italian.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker]

We got like every restaurant you can think of, though.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah, well, I've heard like, like, there's a few good places. There's like, gosh. And I don't remember the name off the top of my head. That's like an old carbone. And then there's one other place that's like an old. Old, like, gosh. I just don't remember the name. It was on. It was on John Taffer's show. And it was almost like it was like haunted. I don't remember the name of it, but it was like an old Italian, like 20s mafia Eric type thing.

[Unknown Speaker]

Oh, I think I know what you're talking.

[Diana Purrazzo]

You know what I'm talking about. And yeah, every time I come. Yeah, I don't remember, but I'm like, we have to go because that's probably the best Italian you could ever get in Vegas.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. Good old haunted restaurant.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yes.

[Unknown Speaker]

My house is haunted in Jersey.

[Diana Purrazzo]

What?

[Unknown Speaker]

Jersey has a lot of haunted houses.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Oh, wow.

[Unknown Speaker]

If you look on Zillow on my fiance's house, you can zoom in on the windows and see ghosts in it.

[Diana Purrazzo]

You know what? That, like, as much as it surprised me surprises me. It doesn't because we went and saw Criss angel yesterday. And like, not that I'm like a like super God fearing woman, but like, I do have a Jesus tattoo, like a Bible verse tattoo. And like, I do believe in and God and Jesus and all that. I'm kind of like, ooh. Like, does that make me like, should I not believe in that stuff? Is that, like, inviting evil into my life? Like, I don't necessarily know how to feel about it, but I do want to believe it.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. Who really knows?

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

I have a wild Criss angel story, though.

[Diana Purrazzo]

We saw Criss Angels last night. Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

All right, so this is nuts. First time ever in Vegas. Yeah, they just. Growing up in Jersey, weed wasn't legal. So I go to the dispensary, get some edibles, and my friend and I were like, yo, it'd be a great idea to see a magic show high.

[Diana Purrazzo]

It's not. No.

[Unknown Speaker]

So. So the first night, I eat 10mgs and I feel fine. We go to, like, the buffet.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Oh, my God. 10. Okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. Second night is criss angel show. I'm like, let me double that. Like, I'll be fine. I had a great night the night before. Eat 20 mgs. Oh, my God. We pulled in the Criss angel magic show. I'm not even kidding. There's dark, crows flying around. I felt like I was in hell.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

I didn't even make it to my seat. Yeah, I ended up leaving.

[Diana Purrazzo]

I don't blame you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Crawled to my hotel room, threw up everywhere. Called my mom and said I was dying. It was the worst night of my life, honestly.

[Diana Purrazzo]

So I don't smoke weed. I don't do edibles anymore because about two and a half, maybe almost three years ago, I took 10 milligrams of an edible, and I was laying on the couch, and all of a sudden, like, I got head to toe, like. Like, tingly. Almost like, my God, I'm paralyzed feeling. And my husband's best friend was sitting on our couch with us, and I was like, I don't feel good. Like, did I. Did I crack my neck? Am I paralyzed? Like, what's happening? And my husband came in, and he's just sitting off camera. So I'm looking at him right now, and he was like, babe, you're just too high. And I was like, something is wrong. And I was like, you know what? Let me try to throw up. That'll help me feel better. And he's like, babe, it doesn't work like that. Like, this is weed.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Diana Purrazzo]

And. And so the rest of the night, I was like, I'm dead. And also, like, you know, my husband's paramilitary. We are proud gun owners. We are like. Like, I literally thought, like, well, if I died, how did I die? I Must have commit suicide. And I was like, I went in our safe and I took the gun and I committed suicide. And then it spiraled me out of control of like, well, I've never felt that way before and I've never had these thoughts before. And like, am I capable of that? It was this really dramatic, traumatizing thing for me. And I put myself in, like, crazy intensive therapy afterwards because I was so. Like, I've never had those thoughts before. And I've always been such a self confident. Like, I believe in myself. I believe in, like, my humanity. And I'm here for a purpose, and God put me here for a purpose. But, like, can I. Am I capable of. Of doing that to myself? And I just didn't know how to handle that. That was the last time I ever did an edible. It's the last time I ever smoked weed. Because I was, holy crap, what is my mind capable of? And maybe I've always been a little anxious and a little paranoid and dealt with mental health issues, but it's never been to that extreme. And so fast forward to literally last night. We're going to Criss Angel. My husband is like, I have edibles. I'm gonna take a 50 milligram edible. And I was like, I don't know if that's a good idea, going to an illusionist show. And he's like, no, I'm gonna be fine. And we're literally halfway through the show, and all of a sudden he just is like. And head drops into his lap and his eyes are closing and I could see his chest, like, trying to take a deep breath. And I was like, are you okay? And he's like, I feel like I'm in another dimension. Are you real? And I was like, I'm totally real. Like, I felt so bad because, like, been there, done that, been so terrified of that that it changed my whole perspective. Like, I don't smoke weed anymore. I don't do any type of drug anymore. You're gonna be okay. I'm here for you. I'm here for. I'm real, I promise you. But, like, what a scary experience he must have had last night, going to a Criss angel show.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's dark in there and there's like.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Crows, and it was insane doves flying. And he's like, you know, he's such. I think from what I understood of the show, a God fearing man. But you wouldn't get that vibe based off the show he presents, right? And so I definitely have this moment 100% sober. Of like, I'm like, I have a Bible tattoo. I'm like, I do believe in God. I'm kind of a God fearing woman at this point in my life. Like, should I be here? Is this evil?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. Chris Angel. I was so, like, young. I was 21. I'm like, yeah, let's go to a magic show. I thought it'd be like a bunny out of a hat type show.

[Diana Purrazzo]

It's so much deeper.

[Unknown Speaker]

Hey, it's borderline evil in there.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yes. And that's what I kept thinking. Like, my husband's freaking out, he's dripping sweat. At one point I asked like, are you going to throw up? Should we leave? And he was like, babe, I'm good. And I was like, okay, cool. Like. But yes. I kept having this, like, should I be here?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, it feels dark in there.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

100% their own. I guess. He has an audience for it.

[Diana Purrazzo]

He has such an audience for it. He's. He's so popular. I think he said last night he's done like 7,000 shows here in Vegas.

[Unknown Speaker]

For like 25 years.

[Diana Purrazzo]

It was phenomenal. Like, just, just forget all of that stuff. He put on an incredible show and I left. Like, holy crap. How does he do all of that? And it's so much similar to pro wrestling in terms of, like, you were suspending belief and you are trying to get an audience to believe that you. You know, if I'm going to break the fourth wall, right, like, we're not really hurting each other, but we want you to believe that we are. And, you know, maybe he's not actually levitating someone, but we don't know the reason that it looks like he is. So there's so many similarities that, you know, my sober brain was like, like, how is he doing that and what is he doing and what's the tricks behind it? And like, I'm gonna do so much research to find out because I want to know.

[Unknown Speaker]

I love it. That's how my brain thinks too.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

When I see someone talented, I'm like, that is interesting.

[Diana Purrazzo]

I feel like talented people, like, vibe off other talented people. And it's like we can only grow from experiencing and understanding other people's experiences and, and professions and, like, how can we not use each other, but like, like use our own experiences to elevate each other, you know, that's like, what the point that we're at in this world is, like, how can we continue to elevate our audience and elevate our mindset and things like that.

[Unknown Speaker]

Absolutely. I just Went to my first wrestling event ever two weeks ago.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Oh my gosh.

[Unknown Speaker]

Which WrestleMania was it?

[Diana Purrazzo]

Amazing.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. I've never watched wrestling before that. So I came in as like a blank slate.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

And I have a lot of respect for wrestlers.

[Diana Purrazzo]

I would love to know, like, what your favorite and who your favorite people.

[Unknown Speaker]

Were trying to remember. The Logan Paul fight was interesting because he gets a lot of hate.

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He was getting booed the whole time, so I thought that was interesting. There was like a Rhea Ripley. I thought she was really impressive.

[Diana Purrazzo]

She's amazing.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. That fight, I don't know the Asian girl's name. IO IO yeah, she won it, but it was like three girls. That was a good one.

[Diana Purrazzo]

From just what I've seen. Like, you know, because my social media following and what I follow on social media is just so wrestling based. IO, Rhea and Bianca, who are three women that I trained with at the WWE Performance center when I was signed there and they were kind of on their come up at that time and they were incredible from day one. To see them what some people say stole the show was the best match at WrestleMania is like women did that. Women were the best match. And so to hear you say that is so fulfilling to me as a woman dressler of like, oh, we did that. And I feel like we as women only get the credit when you're the main event, when you're the champion, when you're. You know what I mean, you fulfill all these like niche roles, but for them to just be. Yes, they were a championship fight, but like they were like maybe second or third on the card of WrestleMania. They were super early to have stolen the show over a Jey USO and Gunther over a John Cena and Cody Rhodes is like a nice kind of moment for women's wrestling of like, no, we did that. And that's not just in wwe. That's across all of women's wrestling right now. So it's so. It's such an exciting time for us as women to be able to be in those positions.

[Unknown Speaker]

I wonder what's. What's causing that boom right now for women to just be dominating like that.

[Diana Purrazzo]

I think for us, it's kind of like women's wrestling fans, yes, they care about what we're doing in the ring, but they also were so invested in us outside of the ring. And I think talking about AEW or I wrestle right now in terms of, like, our biggest storyline is. Was Toni Storm and Mariah May. And it was a real arguable thing of like, should they have main evented our recent pay per view revolution? But they were the semi main event and people were really upset that they didn't earn that main event spot, but they like 100% earned it, you know, and. And I think Ria and Bianca and EO definitely had earned that main event spot. I think that people are behind us in terms of, like, you are real athletes. You're being presented with these incredible storylines that are easy to follow and understand of, like, why we like you, why we don't like you, and why we want one person to win versus not. And I think that that's so rare in women's wrestling. So it, it makes it super black and white. We don't like you. We do like you. We want you to win. We don't want you to win. And you know, just speaking in terms of like, aw, where I'm at, it took Tony and Mariah, like almost a year and a half to tell that story, which is almost unheard of, especially in aw. Women don't get that time. Women don't get that type of storytelling that it's like, there's nothing, there's never going to be anything bigger than that.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Diana Purrazzo]

And it would be so hard to replicate a type of story that they be told they've warranted the main event. I've been lucky to do that. At tna, I wrestled Mickey James, who's, you know, a legend in our industry. I wrestled her in the first ever TNA Knockouts world title main event back in 2022, the main event of Hard to Kill. And we did a Texas Death Match. And the implications that came with that in terms of, like, we are setting a standard for women's wrestling, setting a standard for women to come after us to tell that type of story, to tell that type of intensity and meet that level of us. It's hard to do in women's wrestling and it's rarely done. So I think that that's why people are behind us. They're like, wrestling companies are finally seeing the worth of women and the marketability and the merchandise sales and things like that behind us. That it's almost becoming inevitable for us.

[Unknown Speaker]

I love it. That's super cool. How much are you involved in the storytelling process? Like the athlete, do they have kind of their own input into that?

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah, it kind of depends on where you are. Like, for me, I don't get too much input in that. But there are women above me at that do get more input. And so it kind of just depends where you come from, what your status is and things like that. Like right now, Mercedes Monet, who was Sasha Banks in wwe, kind of gets that, like, open forum to be like, I'd like to work with this person and these are my ideas. And then, you know, the writers kind of not necessarily conform, but they do listen to what she has to say. I don't necessarily have that type of pull, per se, but I definitely think that women are. Are growing in that position in our industry. And, you know, it just takes role models to be like, I'm gonna break that mold, I'm going to push that boundary. I'm gonna get myself in that position to then let other people follow in their footsteps.

[Unknown Speaker]

I love it. I gotta ask you this, since you're here. The goat of female wrestling.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

Who do you think it is?

[Diana Purrazzo]

Is that me?

[Unknown Speaker]

Other than you?

[Diana Purrazzo]

I guess. No. Oh, gosh.

[Unknown Speaker]

I know you're friends with him, so it's a little difficult.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah. You know what? I think my brain always goes to, like, a Gail Kim, who started in wwe, didn't really do too much, got released, went to TNA and really made her name and then left Tina, went back to wwe, wasn't happy. And there's this, like, iconic moment of Gale's where she's in a battle royal with like, let's just say it's 12 or 15 other women and she rolls out of the ring before she's supposed to and just leaves the match. And it kind of was like an unheard of moment of, like, wrestlers in general just don't do that. And here's a woman who believes so much in herself and the things she's accomplished before she got to wwe, she's doing that. And she kind of wrote this, like, unspoken rite of passage for all of us that when I got to work with her at Teen A, it was so like, I think she saw a lot of me in herself and I saw a lot of my journey in herself. That I think that's the goat. I think she has transcended wrestling in terms of the opportunity she's got outside of it. I think that she said, I don't give a fuck what you think of me or what you think my potential is or what my boundaries are. I'm going to exceed them. And I just believe in strong women, believing in themselves and advocating for themselves. And I'm such an outspoken New Jersey girl that's like, hey, you can't tell me nothing. I believe in myself and I'm gonna tell you how I feel about every situation I'm in. And I just think she kind of wrote that passage for us. So while I think I'm a goat in a lot of ways, I think that she is the OG for me. She's the one that I'm like, if I could have a career identical to hers, I would be successful. At the end of the day, I love that.

[Unknown Speaker]

Where can people find you? What are you up to next?

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah, so everyone can find me on social media at Diana Purrazzo, Twitter, X whatever you call it, Instagram. I'm on TikTok and what's up for me, I'm. I just entered the Ring of Honor, which is an extension company of, of aew, but a company that I've been a part of in so many different ways for the last 10 years. And so back in 2015, July will be 10 since I entered Ring of Honor and I was lucky enough to have the first at the time Women of Honors match. And I've kind of been branded with this. Like I was given the credit of rebirthing women into Ring of Honor. And so we've just announced an inaugural tournament for a pure Ring of Honor women's champion. And so pure rules are kind of weird where like rope breaks matter and submissions matter and things like that, which is totally the type of wrestler I am. I'm a submission based wrestler. And so I'm really excited to be in that tournament because I feel like 10 years later I'm going home. I'm going back to where it all began. I'm going back to my roots. And if it wasn't for me, if I'm being honest, that division wouldn't exist. I was a part of that first match 10 years ago. And so for women to have stayed in the company for 10 years long through all these different iterations of the company where it was part of Sinclair Broadcasting and now it's a part of aew. And there was a time in between that where I was the Ring of Honor Women's World Champion and there wasn't even a Ring of Honor company that existed, is really, really special for me to bring that into this new day and age. So I will be a part of that tournament starting soon. And I very much look forward to competing for that pure women's championship.

[Unknown Speaker]

Stay tuned guys. We'll link that below. Thanks for coming on.

[Diana Purrazzo]

Yeah, thank you so much for having.

[Unknown Speaker]

Me on, fellow New Jersey. And thanks for watching, guys.

See you next time.