Deonna Purrazzo has been to the top of the Knockouts mountain before with Impact Wrestling. However, her recent title win against Jordynne Grace in the main event of Rebellion felt different.

“I didn’t realize this while it was happening and wished I had. The other two times I won the Knockouts championship were not in front of any people. I was a pandemic champion,” she said. “I think it made it that much more special whether I realized it or not.”

The milestone win was an emotional one for the 28-year-old, who came into Impact with a chip on her shoulder and something to prove. Within the last few years, “The Virtuosa” emerged as one of the biggest success stories within women’s wrestling in recent memory. Fans familiar with Purrazzo’s journey have been cheering her on despite being the “villainous evil queen” for so long.

“They’ve been on this journey with me in Impact for the last three and a half years,” she said. “Ten years since I’ve been wrestling with the ups and downs. [The fans] have been through all the craziness. I think they respect and love me for the struggle…

“Now we’re moving forward and we are making some good choices. Am I as bad as I was? We don’t know. We’re playing with this moral compass [onscreen] that I have. They cheer, and it feels really great because it’s so satisfying to play the bad guy and get a reaction. It’s easier to make people not like you than it is to get them to like you. Now I know all the hard work is worth it because there is respect there and now it’s 10 times easier to do my job.”

Making Rebellion even more special was the fact Purrazzo’s husband Steve Maclin also won the vacated world championship the same night. The power couple rule the Impact kingdom, each making the most of their opportunities and reinventing themselves in the company.

“To watch him embrace this unknown, I think he was so open and willing to take any advice from anyone who came from the indies and were released before,” she said. “He really did bet on himself…The Steve Maclin we see on screen is very much Steve in real life. The stuff he talks about is what he is passionate about. He is one of the hardest working people I know. To see it pay off. The fact he got to win the championship and experience that on the same night as I did. It’s something we’ll never forget.”

Another milestone Purrazzo is proud of is being on the cover and featured along with other Knockouts in the newest issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. The women in Impact have blaze a trail all their own and often don’t get their proverbial flowers over the years. For Purrazzo, seeing the physical magazine is satisfying and gratifying.

“We had a 7 a.m. call time for makeup which sucks but once we got together and everyone was in their gear, it was really exciting to get together with those girls,” she reflected. “You can feel this would be special. Impact Wrestling as a whole doesn’t get the credit it deserves for the product it puts out. For the incredible strides for women's wrestling that Impact had done for decades …We’re here to stay. We’ve been here for a long time and not going anywhere. But we are also here to kick down doors and make progress for women’s wrestling."

Even though she is happy at the steps forward and all the women have accomplished, the star is not content. Purrazzo would love to see more tag teams in the division. The top Knockout would also like to see other colleagues take center stage.

“What's interesting about the Knockouts main eventing for the Knockouts championship on pay-per-views is there are only three women to do it. Myself, Mickie James and Jordynne Grace. There have been three main events and three women…I think that it is time to see other women step up and see if they can earn that main event slot,” she said. “As much as I want to be in the main event all the time, I don't want the division to be just me. I want to see women like Jody Threat, Masha Slamovich, KiLynn King. We just continue to grow as a division and diversify. I think that the more women we have in these positions the better.”

Purrazzo has made no bones about wanting to test her superb technical prowess against the likes of Mercedes Moné. She also wouldn’t mind another crack at the new IWGP women’s champion Mayu Iwatani.

“I would love to get back in the ring with Mayu,” Purrazzo said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Stardom, which I think was 2018. I think that all of those women have grown. Some of the women were young girls and just starting in wrestling and now are grown up and having these huge transformations. It’s encouraging to see. Stardom is thriving. I’ve never had a singles match with Kairi. I think that would be cool.”

With chatter of a number of free agency across the pro wrestling business, Purrazzo remains committed to Impact. She is looking forward to building up this current reign starting with Taylor Wilde in a first-time matchup.

“Right now. I’m focused on defending my Knockouts world championship. I think right now I’m all in at Impact. I’m here. Nobody has to worry about that. I’m the Knockouts world champion. We’re in Chicago this weekend. We are in London, Ontario in May, Columbus in June. I’m there for all of it. There is no debate.”