When the clock ticked down the final seconds left in 2023 on New Year's Eve, so too marked the endings of dozens of contracts across the professional wrestling world, with performers like Deonna Purrazzo officially hitting the open market on the first of January.

Exciting? For professional wrestling fans, you bet, as there's nothing more exciting than turning into RAW and then NXT hoping to see the debut of Andrade, even if it didn't happen, but fortunately for fans of AEW, they weren't left with the same disappointed feeling, as after watching Mariah May make her in-ring debut for Tony Khan's company, who but “The Virtuossa” marched down to the ring to defend the honor of her home state and her new professional wrestling home too.

“Renee, I'm sure you know this, but I'm from New Jersey! And if Toni Storm doesn't want to be here, well then trust me, we all don't want her here either. But Maraiah, I have a message you can pass along to Miss Storm, let her know it doesn't matter where she runs or where she hides, I will find her. Because Mariah, I am All Elite! And we are in the ‘Age of the Virtuosa.'”

Welp, there you go, folks, after suggesting that she would like to work a match with Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY, a sign some took as an interest in another run in either WWE or NXT, Deonna Purrazzo is All Elite, and the babyface challenger is looking to take a shot at another World Championship.

Deonna Purrazzo was excited to test the open market in 2024.

Heading into free agency, Deonna Purrazzo stopped by Gabby AF to talk about her time in Impact, her wrestling longevity, and, most importantly of all, her then-impending free agency.

While Purrazzo didn't want to tip her hand too much during the conversation, she did note that she'd had great conversations with companies across the board and was weighing the pros and cons of where to wrestle next.

“I wish that I knew anything, but I don't [laughs]. The last couple weeks have been really interesting because obviously, we've seen tons of stuff about my contract status come out on social media, and I've not really addressed it too much because I don't really have anything to say yet, and I've been able to have some really great conversations with people all across the board,” Deonna Purrazzo told Fightful.

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Toni Storm with a text bubble reading "Go see a f**king movie!" next to Cody Rhodes with the AEW Dynasty logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

The blacked out silhouette of Deonna Purrazzo next to IYO SKY with a versus symbol between them and the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

William Regal holding a contract with the word NXT on it next to the blacked-out silhouette of Mariah May with the AEW logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

“The only thing I can say is, I feel validated, and I feel like the work that I've been able to put in at IMPACT has really changed the entire trajectory of my career and the perception of me. Going into IMPACT, I had, I think my time in NXT deemed me a little bit difficult, a little bit outspoken, a little bit maybe cocky or overconfident, and I think that I've been able to rehab that image of myself and show able to show people like, no, I'm a team player. Yes, of course, I want to be the champion, and I want to be at the top, but I can also be a champion and handle all the responsibilities that come with that. It's opened a lot of doors for me going into this free agency. I don't have an answer. I don't have any details or anything because I just don't know yet. There's a lot of pros and cons to every place that I could go. Also, I will say, my heart is so full for IMPACT that whether I stay or go or whatever the case is going to be, it's not gonna be an easy decision, no matter what my decision is. To stay is to be with my family. Obviously, my husband's there, and I've had the time of my life and the career moments of my life there, but also I have to weigh is it time to maybe try to do that somewhere else. So it's very difficult.”

In the end, Purrazzo made her decision and made it quickly, as on the very first episode of Dynamite in 2024, the 29-year-old was back in New Jersey, in the Prudential Center, to be specific, in order to announce her presence to Mariah May, to “Timeless” Toni Storm, and to the rest of the AEW roster. While fans may eventually learn how hard other companies pushed to get Purrazzo under contract, for now, “The Virtuossa” is All Elite, and fans only seem incredibly excited to see her new #IsAllElite graphic, as it signals a new era of in-ring excellence in the AEW Woman's Division.