Deonna Purrazzo hoping to bring ROH Women’s Pure title to AEW programming
One of Deonna Purrazzo’s goals for the new year is to have her ROH Women’s Pure Championship featured on AEW programming.
While appearing on Gabby AF, Purrazzo was asked about potentially bringing her title to Dynamite to face off against some of the top stars in the AEW women’s division. Purrazzo said getting back on AEW television has long been a goal of hers — and she’s determined to put her Pure title on the map in 2026.
“Oh my gosh, absolutely. I mean, it was a goal before I was the champion, right? To get back on Dynamite,” Purrazzo responded. “And I’ve talked endlessly about, I’ve never wrestled Kris Statlander ever, so that would be a first-time match up. I’ve never wrestled Mercedes [Mone], and I think that we’ve both established our careers on submission finishes. And how great would it be to wrestle Mercedes in a Pure Rules match where we can rely heavily on those submissions?
“And so, absolutely, that’s something that I look forward to doing in 2026 is putting this Women’s Pure Championship on the map and saying there will be space for Deonna Purrazzo and Pure Rules on Dynamite. There will be space for me on Collision in a Pure Rules contest. And I know that I could get there. It’s just going to take some time, but I’m confident in that.”
Purrazzo became the inaugural Women’s Pure Champion by defeating Billie Starkz in a tournament final at ROH Final Battle 2025. For Purrazzo, it was the perfect way to end a year that was “really crappy.” She questioned herself a lot in 2025 and didn’t know if there was a place for her in wrestling anymore. There were times where Purrazzo wasn’t getting reps in the ring. And when she was getting reps, she wasn’t confident in herself. Purrazzo went back to her roots by taking more indie bookings in addition to her AEW/ROH work. This title win made all of the trials and tribulations she went through worth it.
ROH is a brand that Purrazzo has a strong connection with, going back to the days when the promotion was owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. She’s proud to see how far the ROH women’s division has come.
“We couldn’t even imagine a Women’s World Championship 10 years ago,” Purrazzo told Gabby AF. “And now we have a World Championship, a TV Championship, and a Pure Rules Championship. If you asked 20-year-old Deonna, like, her mind is blown, right? Like, no one believed in women in Ring of Honor that much. And to see that Athena has held the championship for over 1,000 days. She’s on Dynamite, on Collision, on pay-per-views now. She’s worked her way up to television with this championship and is putting women on the map. I want to do the same thing.”
The men’s and women’s Pure titles in ROH are both geared toward technical wrestlers, with a unique ruleset that includes each competitor having a limited number of rope breaks. Lee Moriarty is the current men’s champion.
Along with her title win, a highlight for Purrazzo in 2025 was launching her Boots to Boots podcast with husband Steve Maclin.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.