Deonna Purrazzo on Mickie James Royal Rumble Announcement

Impact Wrestling talent Deonna Purrazzo has shared her thoughts on Knockouts Champion Mickie James Royal Rumble announcement. The Royal Rumble takes place on January 29th.

Purrazzo appeared on Instinct Culture with Denise Salcedo to discuss how she learned of James entering the Royal Rumble match. WWE revealed the shocking news of James’s participation during Friday Night Smackdown last week. The announcement also created more intrigue for her Texas Deathmatch with Purrazzo at Hard to Kill on January 8th for the Impact Knockouts Championship.

When speaking on the WWE reveal, Purrazzo shared that it surprised her.

“I was equally as surprised, I think, as the entire wrestling world. I didn’t know that was going to happen, and I actually just got to my hotel room in Dallas, and Steve(Maclin) put on Smackdown, and there was that announcement, and I was like, oh, um interesting, okay,” said Purrazzo. She explained, “…WWE has kind of a closed-door policy with playing with others and to hear that I think was like the first time in history that they mainly acknowledge other companies like that.”

She also discussed the importance of WWE acknowledging Impact Wrestling.

“…I feel like we don’t get all the credit that we’re deserved and people kind of, you know, let things that happened in the past reflect their opinions on what we are doing now, and it was kind of like a really big thing for us,” said Purrazzo. She also noted that WWE sharing the news first concerned her because they were the main event of Hard to Kill, and they didn’t want new fans to think James WWE’s involvement was the reason. However, she believes that the news created more anticipation for their match.

James will make her return to WWE after the company released her last April. The WWE sent her personal belongings that she left in a trash bag to her to make matters worse. James spoke about the incident in an interview with Chris Van Vliet. SEScoop’s Chris Stephens transcribed the interview.

“I took it then as they think I am trash,” she continued. “I was with the company for four years, and they think I am trash. All these thoughts were running through my head. If you are already broken, they can be devastating. I am thinking about all of that and all the people who also got released beside me. I see my name on the bag, and it defines which bag is in which box. I’m thinking about the girls, and they wouldn’t say anything because you don’t want to mess up an opportunity for the future. But this Mickie James don’t give a sh*t. I am super grateful for my career and my ability; I couldn’t do it without WWE.”

It seems both James and WWE have settled their differences. James will make history as the first active Impact Knockout Champion to compete in the Royal Rumble.