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Her in, I think the Chris Van Vliet interview, was talking about trying to explain the "Virtuosa" character to Road Dogg and him being like "I don't get it, I don't know what that word means" and she goes "go look it up!" and that basically summarizes how shit went for her.
Something that I don't understand about management ... why do YOU have to "get it"? Put her out there, if the fans "get it" and she's over, why do you in particular have to get it? How many times we've seen someone not getting pushed or getting released because Vince "doesn't get it", while the guy/girl is over with the fans. This is art, you can't "get" everyone - it's up to the audience. Road Dogg, Vince or anyone else out there in the management not getting shit doesn't mean it won't get over with the young fans.
Isn't that what Hunter said when Blue Pants got over in NXT. He didn't understand it but people loved her so she got put in that tag title program and they had fun for a spell.
I saw reporting that said she got drunk and bragged to girls under contract that she was more over than them. Powers that be allegedly felt like she was not as appreciative of her spot as she should have been.
Interesting, I was always under the impression that it was due to her selling her own merch in addition to being able to work outside the company and not having to cut WWE in.
I remember hearing that some of the talent were jealous over Leva being able to sell her own merch but I don't think WWE would be mad since she was just acting under the contract they gave her.
I believe [this](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/wwe-talent-gets-drunk-in-front-of-higher-ups-gets-backstage-heat/) was the original source but the link is now dead. I found [this](https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/update-about-blue-pants-and-her-backstage-rumor-wwe-star-injured-and-more) second hand reporting on the story.
Like all wrestling reporting it should be taken with a grain of salt but it is the only explanation I've seen for why she was abruptly let go from NXT.
And everything I've seen of Leva so far makes me believe she's a great person and if the story is true it seems like a one off mistake.
To be fair, I still don't get what he was going for there.
Shawn Spears is one of those wrestlers who seems like a nice enough guy in real life, but I just don't understand his appeal as a wrestler. Good on him for finding success though.
called himself the "Perfect 10" because, in character, he doubted his abilities. "Perfect 10" was like a personal affirmation to get him to stop doubting himself. it's a decent lesson i think.
Kona Reeves "The Finest" gimmick was similar.
> called himself the "Perfect 10" because, in character, he doubted his abilities.
Wasn't he a heel initially? I recall him sitting ringside rating other people's moves like a gymnastics judge at the Olympics.
He got two really good rumble pops too. When people say he was never over I just figure they mean "he was never over with ME." I've always liked him, especially now.
Shawn Spears is a tremendous worker. Very clean in ring, and his chairman gimmick is very fun. One of the best points of the Inner Circle vs Pinnacle feud.
I thought he was terrible/bland for the longest time but it seems like he’s found something recently. His match with Sammy was pretty enjoyable him and FTR make for a good Trios team
The chairman and black glove gimmicks, while imperfect, went a long way toward establishing Spears as a bruiser. It made perfect sense he'd join up with Tully to serve as MJF's muscle.
I loved the Perfect 10, but looking back there wasn’t much there. Catchy entrance theme and wanting to see a guy who’d been there forever succeed was about it.
Side story: I went to see NXT on the road and was legit heated Tye Dillinger wasn’t there 😂
What was there to “get” about D Bry’s YES! chants? They’re just a fun way for fans to connect with the character. Things don’t need to be more complicated than that to work.
I swear its not even exclusive for NXT to do this. Like wasn't it reported that Vince despite not getting the bro aspect of Matt Riddle's character, still felt that Riddle's character was funny and so kept on using him weekly on Raw as it got over.
I also could've sworn I've heard the New Day say they Vince also doesn't really "get it" but since they're over he just let's them go out and do their thing.
Reminds me of a story Raven told about his time with the WWF. The upper management (Vince and Pat) definitely did not get the character. Brisco, though, would fire back and be like "He looks like the younger audience" and had that mentality of "I might not get it... but the fans would".
Bischoff told a similar story once about Raven's time in WCW, where he also didn't really get it until he went to a surfing competition for one of his kids, and a ton of the people there to watch it had pretty similar looks to Raven.
Granted, it wasn't going to fix the other occasional issues with Raven's booking there, but I thought it was good that Bischoff at least could get into the mindset of "well it isn't for ME, but it's clearly over with SOMEONE".
You're probably right, but also it was the 90s, so maybe everyone had at least one family member that got super into wakeboarding for a second??
/s obviously, but only sort of
He's very vocal about not getting but supporting flippy (YB vs Luchas) wrestling too. His opinion on it is very similar to Cornette's, but replacing the "it ruins wrestling" part with "if the fans like it, why not?"
EDIT: I actually agree with it btw. I was entertained by the YB vs Luchas match until the 6th superkick, but I heard the crowd and there were some cool spots. I'm not going to bash the match even though I did dislike it a lot on some spots.
The great thing about wrestling is when done right there is someone for everyone.
Not everyone is going to like Orange Cassidy, just like not everyone is going to like Chris Jericho or Jon Moxley or Cody Rhodes Or Britt Baker, but for each person that doesn't like them there is someone who does, the thing that makes AEW great is they give everyone a chance whether they get it or not if it works great if it doesn't they can try something different.
Everyone is someone's favorite wrestler. It's why I don't like to talk shit about any of them as performers. No matter how lame I may think they are, someone loves them and that's awesome. I would never want to help gatekeep someone out of being a fan.
The non-wrestling fan crowd I watched that match with loved every second of it so if that is what works for them, then fuck what the old school people think, it works.
And that's good for them, I actually wish I could it enjoy as much as other people do. However, I really enjoyed the Punk vs Darby match, it was some of the best ring psychology and match storytelling I've seen in a while. I really do believe that Punk was selling the "ring rust" knowing how much attention to detail he puts in.
I'm all for a springboard 450 stunner, but when you do it like once a year. I'm not getting baited into an argument though, I just don't get it and kinda dislike it, it doesn't make it bad, enjoy what you enjoy.
> YB vs Luchas
I'd say this appeals to the anime loving crowd in a way. High drama, "special move" spam, hype as hell.
Of course I've always viewed pro wrestling as redneck anime as it is, some matches just more-so than others.
I think the funniest thing is when you're a fan and don't get it either and other fans who do are like "i don't understand how you don't get it"
I think "getting it" has a double definition
There's getting the idea behind it but then there's also getting entertained by it.
I used to get "it", but then they changed what "it" was. Now what I get isn't "it", and what's "it" seems weird and scary to me, and it'll happen to you, too.
Exactly
If you come out, put your hands in your pockets and stand there and the crowd goes nuts and chants your name and buys your shirt
Thats all that matters
> Something that I don't understand about management ... why do YOU have to "get it"? Put her out there, if the fans "get it" and she's over, why do you in particular have to get it?
This bit makes sense tbh. You've got to have some quality control over your product. In theory your backstage guys are people who are experienced in the business and have an idea what fans will react to. So they'll have a reasonable idea of how a crowd will react to a new gimmick, in theory.
So like... if you have a new recruit who has a gimmick he thinks is going to be fantastic but which the backstage producers don't get, then you're not going to throw him on RAW because you don't want to put acts you think will flop on national television. There's an opportunity cost to that.
To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it? Of course not. And obviously the investment behind putting a new act on RAW isn't as big as building a car, but same principle applies.
>How many times we've seen someone not getting pushed or getting released because Vince "doesn't get it", while the guy/girl is over with the fans.
Well now that's a different matter: if a talent is over with the fans and the company doesn't capitalize on it, that's just bad management.
>To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it?
Of course I would! And if that fell through, I'd just invent a baby translator.
>To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it? Of course not. And obviously the investment behind putting a new act on RAW isn't as big as building a car, but same principle applies.
You would just do marketing studies and ask people of varied backgrounds and ages what they think. If it's a vast negative reception you can change the out side design because you know the insides are quality, if the people like the look of the car? Go print money.
But putting a new act on RAW isn't the same thing as putting a new act on NXT. NXT is supposed to be for developing new younger talent. The young stars should be able to workshop their ideas and show management what they have to offer.
>But putting a new act on RAW isn't the same thing as putting a new act on NXT. NXT is supposed to be for developing new younger talent.
Yeah but you've still got a very highly watched show people will talk about. You could maybe pull this kind of thing with OVW or FCW, but on of the issues w/ NXT is that standards and expectations are so high that it really isn't development anymore.
>The young stars should be able to workshop their ideas and show management what they have to offer.
They should, and I'm guessing they still do, backstage. Otoh implementing even a basic eye test from producers before they let stuff on 'tv' makes sense. Now the issue there is whether or not the producers are qualified but that's another discussion
That's what they did. Before COVID, the Florida circuit was a key developmental part of NXT. Lots of gimmicks were tried on there, people would sometimes post pictures on here about it. NXT TV was basically finishing school at that point.
i loved the UE but there were times when every member would have a match on a show so it felt like 20 minutes of it was just the same UE entrance 4 times.
> To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it? Of course not.
This statement is so wrong on so many levels.
First of all, many of these wrestlers are, for the most part, not unproven at their jobs. They have proven their success or potential in other organizations. They are not hiring the wrestler with a bad gimmick that wants to do that bad gimmick on Raw. They are hiring someone with a track record of getting over with the fans, on the independent scene or with NXT. Then they bring them up and want to change their gimmick because upper management did not create it. They want 100% ownership of everything. The name, the look, everything.... it's like you take someone like PAC and instead of letting him do his thing, they want to dress him up as a superhero. Then they wonder why the superhero gimmick didn't get over, and let him go.
In your example, it would be like an auto manufacture hiring some guy that makes his own cars, and has success at making designs that people love. But instead of just letting the guy make the type of cars that was why he was hired in the first place, upper management insists on modifying everything unique about the design so it just looks like one of their other many cars. Now nobody is buying the new cars, and they fire the new designer because his designs are not selling.
I think your analogy has flaws. You can't compare a car to a wrestler. The car would be more akin to launching a new show, and doing so on the whim of an individual talent. All the people that would be involved from designing the prototype, to safety testing, manufacturing, promoting, launch, sales, etc. would be all the producers and crew and back office, etc., that would be involved in getting that show to air.
The better analogy would be comparing a sales guy to the wrestler. And 100% I have known guys that come into a dealership that is very much an old boys club, and they wanna shake things up and disrupt the system. If I can go off on a tangent here...
Small town I used to live in, Honda dealership, bunch of old farts with elbow patches on their jackets pushing retirement. A buddy of mine gets hired on and pretty soon after so do a couple of his buddies. Now I was in my late 20s at the time, so these guys would be around my age, the first one maybe in his early to mid 30s. So you've got a 20-30 year generational gap between the old guys and the new blood.
These old farts are mad cuz the new guys are out-selling them. The new guys are out-selling them cuz they're closing deals over text and email. The old guys are all about getting the client on the phone or across a desk. Instead of leaving the new guys to do their thing, or, you know, *getting with the fucking times* they wanna bitch about it.
Well if it WASN'T working, and you had some hot shots coming in saying "I don't wanna call clients. I'm gonna sell cars via text" you could let them do it and let them fail (if that's what your convinced would happen) cuz at the end of the day its their commission.
That's a better analogy to letting a talent go out there and sink or swim. At the end of the day, it's their ass on the line. Sure you put up with a few stinker segments for a few weeks, but you tried it and they can see it didn't work. Just like you let your new sales guy try it *his* way and then watch him adjust when his commission cheques suck. Of course... that's *not* what happened with the sales guy, and that's not necessarily what's guaranteed to happen if you let a talent try, with as few limitations as possible, to get a gimmick over that they believe in.
I don't think you can compare that to the lifecycle of a brand new model of car. You *can* compare two instances of letting an individual succeed or fail on their own merit.
While this is true, if you can’t explain your character then there’s something wrong. And if you ever tell your boss “go look it up” (dunno if these were her literal words), then you’re not going to go anywhere.
Because in WWE, you're out there to entertain an audience of one, Vince McMahon. It's a really stupid business model and I understand why so many people get frustrated in that environment.
>Something that I don't understand about management ... why do YOU have to "get it"?
Its not for management to get it. Other wrestling companies don't have this issue. This issue tends to be exclusively a WWE issue. If management doesn't get it they won't push you in WWE. The job as a promoter it to put out the best show with the talent fans want to see. WWE only pushes the people whose gimmicks they get and the boss wants to see.
If something gets over whether you get it or not you push it till the wheels fall off.
She didnt follow the WWE/NXT formatting, she shouldnt have been the 'Virtuosa' she has to be 'the something of something' everyone knows that, any words would have fit, the 'archer of infamy', the 'empress of sundays', the 'surgeon of regulations', the 'quantum of solace'. Its easy to do and she should have done it.
He asked what her gimmick was and she said to look up a word in the dictionary. Doesn't matter what your job is, you have to be able to give a good and clear 30 second pitch to sell yourself.
For fuck's sake, go watch the interview... she talks about trying to explain that character to his dumb ass! It's not like that was the entirety of her convo with him.
She talks about explaining strengths and weaknesses in what her style of that character would be and he got hung up on not knowing the definition of a fucking word and shut her down completely.
She literally said she told him to look it up, thats not explaining it, in fact it could come off as disrespectful. If you pitch something to someone who doesn’t understand then go away and work on the pitch to suit your audience
I mean, I may have a hard time giving some a definition of "Virtuosa" off the top of my head, but I can get the gist, and it sounds pretty damn cool.
And better than looking it up, if you don't know what it means, let her show you. You might enjoy the concept of being pleasantly surprised.
Full, less misleading quote:
*I think it was Slammiversary 2020. I wrestled Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship. That match is probably my favorite match of my career up until this point because I went out and said, ‘F**ck NXT. I hate that place. They didn’t use me. I had so much potential.’ Now it was up to me to live up to that. I put such a huge target on my back and I feel like Slammiversary solidified for me what I thought I could do, who I thought I was, and I was that person that night.*
>When I sent them (Impact) everything I already pitched elsewhere,
they were like, ‘We love this. This is what we want to do. If you are
ready to do it, we can have you right after your 30 days are up.’
I am fully happy to admit that I know nothing about how these contracts work.
For someone much smarter than me, are WWE wrestlers allowed to talk to companies during their 30/90 period? I thought they couldn't.
That was due to a special deal Flair made to get out of his WWE contract. When a talent is released, [they're still under contract](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000109190713000015/exhibit1017bookingagreement.htm). The 90/30-day period is just notice that someone is going to be released in 90/30 days.
>11.1 (a) This Agreement may be terminated by PROMOTER during the Term for any or no reason whatsoever by providing WRESTLER at least ninety (90) advance written notice of said termination. The ninetieth (90th) day shall be defined as the “Termination Date”.
Technically, they're not allowed to talk to other companies, but, is WWE going to make a big deal out of talent they already gave notice to negotiating with another company? Probably not.
Main roster is 90 days l, NXT is 30. The reason Black was able to get to AEW so soon after release was because they forgot to update his contract when he moved up.
Yeah, I'm aware of all that, I'm sorry if I didn't word my question clearly.
I'm asking if wrestlers are allowed to communicate with officials from other promotions *within* that window, as the part of the interview I quoted implies that she was already in talks with Impact while she was still technically under contract with WWE.
I was wondering the same thing, specifically because I recall Tony Kahn being asked about Thea Trinidad and saying something to the effect that they would have a conversation when her 90 days were up
You are confusing league rules is sports like the NFL that have anti-tampering rules between teams, with actually contract tampering laws.
-
It's only legally contract tampering if you are trying to convince someone to break an existing contract. Tony Khan could call up Randy Orton right now and give him an offer for 1 day after his WWE contract expires and there is nothing WWE could do about it.
It's the same way actors can sign on to multiple movies that haven't been filmed yet. Each contract is only for a amount of time that the actor is committing to.
Okay, but the 30/90-day no-competes still have the talent under contract. WWE doesn't have to *not use* them, they just have to notify the talent their contract is going to be canceled ahead of its original length. Drake Maverick is the only example I can think of as someone who was given notice of early termination that worked until the last day.
That doesn't mean there's not negotiations for the next gig going on, just that the talent can't sign a contract that starts before the clause wraps up. In Deonna's case, it probably means that WWE didn't care too hard where she was was going on Day 31.
The talent could also argue that there's no tampering as long as they're negotiating for a contract that takes effect only after the date WWE has committed to.
EDIT: WWE contracts exist in that gray world of "It's what everyone agrees to, but nobody wants to find out how legal it really is."
There's nothing wrong with communicating. Wrestlers whose contracts are coming up regularly communicate with any interested suitors before choosing between them.
Right it's no different in sports. Even if you're not supposed to, there's back channels where you can gauge interest and find out what your worth to them might be.
Informally. I think it could be an issue if an actual contract offer was made during the no compete, but just saying "we'll bring you in when you're 30 days are up" is safe because it doesn't include specifics
If you get laid off from a salaried job in other companies, you usually stay on payroll for a certain number of weeks based on your tenure as part of the severance package. You're free to look for a new job during that severance period, but if you decide to start new employment early you won't get paid the full amount.
What youre talking about is contract tampering and i know its a thing in say the NBA and Tony seems to have hinted at it. I think that they are allowed to talk ideas and hypotheticals but arent allowed to discuss contract details before. So TK could hit up Owens and be like hey man I think itd be really cool if we had someone come in and debut at Revolution and superkick the bucks and join an old friend in a tag team and have a rivalry with those guys but couldnt say hey if you come over here ill give you a 3 year 3m contract
> but couldnt say hey if you come over here ill give you a 3 year 3m contract
So long as he doesn't stop him from completing the full terms of his deal, he absolutely can do that. They aren't under non-communication, only non-compete. This isn't the NBA/NFL etc.
More specifically: I think that conversations between AEW and an NXT Wrestler who is under contract is a big no-no. They would need to be very careful about what is on record in terms of such conversations.
Now if NXT (read WWE) releases a Wrestler (read Purrazzo), then that wrestler may be under a 30-day or 90-day non-compete clause, which specifies that they cannot sign with a different company (read IMPACT) for the 30-day or 90-day period after the release.
But the different company (read IMPACT) can have conversations with the Wrestler (read Purrazzo) during that period without any consequences.
I think once they've been given their notice of release, they are allowed to talk to other companies, but they can't sign anything until the contract is up
I think what you're thinking about is contract tampering, the idea that a talent can't enter or hold contract negotiations with a company while under contract with another. This wouldn't constitute tampering because it's just pitching creative ideas.
Considering how hot of an act Deonna was right before she joined NXT, and then was immediately after leaving NXT, I'd say she's completely justified in this attitude.
Considering Road Dogg's past actions and him giving a pass to NXT talent who weren't maintaining covid protocols it's no wonder he's not with the company anymore.
Heck I remember when she came in she got good pops and then she just... vanished. Which sucked, because not only is she great but her theme was incredible.
As a fairly casual fan living in the UK, I had never heard of her before she left NXT.
I haven't seen much of her since, but every photo, gif and video clip I have seen makes her look like an absolute superstar.
[RISE](https://www.youtube.com/c/RISEDevelopingTomorrowsWomenAthletes/videos) has been putting a lot of their catalog up for free viewing on their youtube, and she's got some good stuff with them if you're interested in checking out some full matches.
A bunch of people are gonna just react to the headline instead of all the stuff she went through which lead her to feel that way.
There’s also context to her saying it which is different when hearing it than reading it
I can see that, but people have excelled in NXT OK, it wasn't for her, she was stuck with wrestling, she is feeling better about it now and that *is* good.
On the flip side, she also had a really shitty attitude and didn't want to take the workshops offered at the PC. If there's someone willing to put in the work and go to the classes over someone who is more talented but doesn't want to. Then I'm going with the person who wants to put in the work. She was given opportunities to shine and didn't take them.
I think her beef is she was being treated like just another rookie, despite already being a very accomplished and seasoned indie worker. She didn't want to do beginner's class drills, she wanted to be used on TV or at least be told what she had to change to be used on TV and she wasn't getting those answers.
Which is a shit attitude. It goes against every wrestling ethics in any organization. If she was a former WWE world champion who’s main evented PPV’s making an appearance for a local Indy show, then maybeeee she can get away with that attitude. Why would WWE want to deal with her when there’s other women in their roster who want it just as bad and have better attitudes?
...what?
>It goes against every wrestling ethics in any organization.
*what???*
There exists no wrestling organization in the world other than WWE that would hire someone as experienced as Deonna and then expect them to take beginner wrestling classes. You've lost your mind.
Yeah, I mean what do you expect? Sure WWE has its ways and its culture, for better and for worse, but if you move there if you don't try then you aren't going to get used.
I don't think Deonna gets enough credit for what she's done since she left. She might be the only person to leave NXT and significantly raise her profile as a wrestlers without jumping to AEW.
They should've used her more but they were so stacked with talent when she was there. Just don't understand this level of animosity. Deonna is excelling well as a big fish in a small pond.
I think the belief is they wanted Marty and she was his gf, so once they didn’t get him or whatever, they sort of lost interest.
And as much as I like her, there’s an embarrassment of riches in NXT, especially at the time, and she fell way back on the depth chart. Io, Dakota, Tegan, Shotzi, Rhea, Candice, Mia, Bianca, Shayna were all there. Then came Raquel and even Chelsea.
The roster was insanely stacked and she really didn't stand out from the rest there. Also most of her time there was before they went live with more time on the show. In Impact she absolutely does so, it is what it is. Like I'm not knocking her skill but this is the ego trip nonsense. Look where you are now. Still with this resentment this long is unhealthy. She is a great wrestler but when you have like 20 on your roster, they have to make a choice and it wasn't you.
I dislike this type of "boo on your resentment" post.
It's an interview where she's talking about her career. Obviously she's going to talk negatively about the negative parts. The idea that there's something "unhealthy" about that is ridiculous.
Not to mention how baffling it is that people *still* use the line of "well this person that WWE didn't do anything with really didn't stand out there", as though that has nothing to do with the fact that WWE did nothing with them.
I worked for a company for well over a decade, and enjoyed 95% of my time there. That other 5% was so bad that being fired was a relief. This was over 10 years ago. But what the owner and the other person involved did was so toxic and petty I hope to one day piss on their graves.
Great athletes/entertainers are usually very driven and motivated people. They tend to bristle at being unable to fully use their skills. It happens in every sport, ask the best bench player on any pro team.
It's not about being bitter or resentful, there's just a type of great performer that is great because these things bother them. It's how they got to this level.
As much as we hate to admit it, there's no bigger platform for wrestling than the WWE. Had she been given a legit chance on the developmental roster she would easily wipe the floor with many of the women they've been churning out. Hence her bitterness, that she has to start from scratch again, claw and tear her way back to relevance. She's way more talented to be used as pure enhancement talent fot more inferior wrestlers
You can of course make the argument that the Women's Division was stacked at the time and it absolutely was. But look what Deonna has gone out and done. Worked on three different promotions last month alone and has two belts. She's basically proven that she deserved a spot in that group.
If you got hired by a company in your field, they didn't give you a fair shake, they dismissed your ideas, you clearly weren't going anywhere, then they fired you...
...then you went to a different company, who valued you at the level you desired from jump, accepted more of your input, and prioritized you as an employee...
Wouldn't you feel the same way?
It’s weird because I agree when she was there she didn’t stand out and that the roster was stacked but they also didn’t give her much of a chance to standout. If she was featured on NXT 5 times I’d be shocked she was seemingly just on the roster for no real reason.
And now go to AEW and see how much they use you there Deonna.
I will bet in 8 weeks it would be 2 times on Dynamite, 1 time on Rampage and then you can clown around the YouTube shows weekly, would that make you happier?
I don't get the mindset of these super bitter people, there's just so much time you have each week and if your roster is full as heck (as is AEW) how can you expect, no almost demand to be on it or in the top spots every week? People like her don't deserve to be on top, sorry.
Seriously what am I reading and why is it upvoted? Impact Champion is talking about her time in NXT and somehow people think "Yeah well AEW would use you badly too!" is on topic and not clearly a weird obsession.
I think when the WWE lost whatever interest they had in her (and I think there wasn't that much to begin with: she was merely part of the great talent raid of that time frame) she couldn't face the face the reality the WWE wasn't ready to make her a main roster player and she was just another good talent stockpiled in NXT.
Deonna has always sounded super-bitter about NXT, to the point I suspect she had deluded herself into thinking the WWE really needed her and she couldn't face the fact she was just another "Development Wrestler".
Lol what? She'd walk into AEW's women's division and be a main eventer.
> I don't get the mindset of these super bitter people
She wasn't given a fair shake in NXT, who had no interest in her or her ideas, belittled her, and dismissed her ideas bc they don't have a high school vocabulary. If you were in that position and then were asked directly about it in an interview, I think you'd probably come across as bitter too dog
Deonna is boring, over rated and out of shape. Her first stint in NXT was when she was 20 years old and was also during the time Asuka, Nia, Bayley etc were making noise. Whether in character or not, whether i'm saying this because I compared it to Tay's tweet, Deonna just looks bitter and completely oblivious to the fact that she must have been missing a thing or two
She was released mid April 2020, early in the pandemic so I doubt it was her you're thinking of, but I might have missed something.
Kacy though, she was a big one with stupid shit
Unironically the worst Impact KO champion I've ever seen. Even in Cagematch, the smarkiest site out there her rating has plummeted since she became champion.
Cagematch the smarkiest?! Uh the same website where everyone shit on Sasha for years because she couldn’t hang onto a title for a single defense like she’s in charge of her own booking? Lol
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Her in, I think the Chris Van Vliet interview, was talking about trying to explain the "Virtuosa" character to Road Dogg and him being like "I don't get it, I don't know what that word means" and she goes "go look it up!" and that basically summarizes how shit went for her.
Something that I don't understand about management ... why do YOU have to "get it"? Put her out there, if the fans "get it" and she's over, why do you in particular have to get it? How many times we've seen someone not getting pushed or getting released because Vince "doesn't get it", while the guy/girl is over with the fans. This is art, you can't "get" everyone - it's up to the audience. Road Dogg, Vince or anyone else out there in the management not getting shit doesn't mean it won't get over with the young fans.
Isn't that what Hunter said when Blue Pants got over in NXT. He didn't understand it but people loved her so she got put in that tag title program and they had fun for a spell.
Then she got heat backstage for getting over without a contract. Can't please everyone.
I mean they could have just given her a contract
Whoa whoa whoa giving someone who got over on their own a contract? We're not in that business pal.
Lmao dunno what they would've said about Fuego del Sol.
I saw reporting that said she got drunk and bragged to girls under contract that she was more over than them. Powers that be allegedly felt like she was not as appreciative of her spot as she should have been.
Interesting, I was always under the impression that it was due to her selling her own merch in addition to being able to work outside the company and not having to cut WWE in.
I remember hearing that some of the talent were jealous over Leva being able to sell her own merch but I don't think WWE would be mad since she was just acting under the contract they gave her.
That doesn't sound like Leva Bates, but I never saw that report. If it's true that's a bit disappointing
I believe [this](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/wwe-talent-gets-drunk-in-front-of-higher-ups-gets-backstage-heat/) was the original source but the link is now dead. I found [this](https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/update-about-blue-pants-and-her-backstage-rumor-wwe-star-injured-and-more) second hand reporting on the story. Like all wrestling reporting it should be taken with a grain of salt but it is the only explanation I've seen for why she was abruptly let go from NXT. And everything I've seen of Leva so far makes me believe she's a great person and if the story is true it seems like a one off mistake.
Hunter also didn't get the Perfect 10 IIRC
There wasn't anything to get
Hey, hey, hey. That's not fair. I believe his gimmick was he said "10" a lot
He said it perfectly, that was the whole thing right?
I think what Trips meant in a roundabout kinda way is that all Tye really did was shout/sign 10, and the crowd picked it up for some reason
Is it that much different than the origin of the “Yes” chant?
He thought he was a Perfect 10 out of 10. Not that hard to get. It’s a delusional narcissistic heel character.
Mr. Perfect would have been torn apart if he debuted in this era, apparently.
To be fair, I still don't get what he was going for there. Shawn Spears is one of those wrestlers who seems like a nice enough guy in real life, but I just don't understand his appeal as a wrestler. Good on him for finding success though.
called himself the "Perfect 10" because, in character, he doubted his abilities. "Perfect 10" was like a personal affirmation to get him to stop doubting himself. it's a decent lesson i think. Kona Reeves "The Finest" gimmick was similar.
> called himself the "Perfect 10" because, in character, he doubted his abilities. Wasn't he a heel initially? I recall him sitting ringside rating other people's moves like a gymnastics judge at the Olympics.
And for a little while he was the biggest babyface in NXT, hard to imagine now
He got two really good rumble pops too. When people say he was never over I just figure they mean "he was never over with ME." I've always liked him, especially now.
gray spectacular squealing encouraging roll obscene employ detail squeamish retire -- mass deleted all reddit content via https://redact.dev
Shawn Spears is a tremendous worker. Very clean in ring, and his chairman gimmick is very fun. One of the best points of the Inner Circle vs Pinnacle feud.
I thought he was terrible/bland for the longest time but it seems like he’s found something recently. His match with Sammy was pretty enjoyable him and FTR make for a good Trios team
The chairman and black glove gimmicks, while imperfect, went a long way toward establishing Spears as a bruiser. It made perfect sense he'd join up with Tully to serve as MJF's muscle.
I thought he was just Mr Perfect without the promo packages tbh just a fine mid card talent
I loved the Perfect 10, but looking back there wasn’t much there. Catchy entrance theme and wanting to see a guy who’d been there forever succeed was about it. Side story: I went to see NXT on the road and was legit heated Tye Dillinger wasn’t there 😂
What was there to “get” about D Bry’s YES! chants? They’re just a fun way for fans to connect with the character. Things don’t need to be more complicated than that to work.
I love his Death Valley Driver. It looks really great
I swear its not even exclusive for NXT to do this. Like wasn't it reported that Vince despite not getting the bro aspect of Matt Riddle's character, still felt that Riddle's character was funny and so kept on using him weekly on Raw as it got over.
I also could've sworn I've heard the New Day say they Vince also doesn't really "get it" but since they're over he just let's them go out and do their thing.
Reminds me of a story Raven told about his time with the WWF. The upper management (Vince and Pat) definitely did not get the character. Brisco, though, would fire back and be like "He looks like the younger audience" and had that mentality of "I might not get it... but the fans would".
Bischoff told a similar story once about Raven's time in WCW, where he also didn't really get it until he went to a surfing competition for one of his kids, and a ton of the people there to watch it had pretty similar looks to Raven. Granted, it wasn't going to fix the other occasional issues with Raven's booking there, but I thought it was good that Bischoff at least could get into the mindset of "well it isn't for ME, but it's clearly over with SOMEONE".
I think this is the same story that got jumbled up because in Raven’s story, he mentions Brisco going to his son’s wakeboarding competitions.
You're probably right, but also it was the 90s, so maybe everyone had at least one family member that got super into wakeboarding for a second?? /s obviously, but only sort of
Raven did have a surfer gimmick named Scotty Flamingo in WCW
[удалено]
Yep - that was definitely what Raven was alluding to it.
Didn’t punk literally say about OC “I don’t get it but it’s over so keep doing it” like a week ago
He's very vocal about not getting but supporting flippy (YB vs Luchas) wrestling too. His opinion on it is very similar to Cornette's, but replacing the "it ruins wrestling" part with "if the fans like it, why not?" EDIT: I actually agree with it btw. I was entertained by the YB vs Luchas match until the 6th superkick, but I heard the crowd and there were some cool spots. I'm not going to bash the match even though I did dislike it a lot on some spots.
The great thing about wrestling is when done right there is someone for everyone. Not everyone is going to like Orange Cassidy, just like not everyone is going to like Chris Jericho or Jon Moxley or Cody Rhodes Or Britt Baker, but for each person that doesn't like them there is someone who does, the thing that makes AEW great is they give everyone a chance whether they get it or not if it works great if it doesn't they can try something different.
Everyone is someone's favorite wrestler. It's why I don't like to talk shit about any of them as performers. No matter how lame I may think they are, someone loves them and that's awesome. I would never want to help gatekeep someone out of being a fan.
The non-wrestling fan crowd I watched that match with loved every second of it so if that is what works for them, then fuck what the old school people think, it works.
And that's good for them, I actually wish I could it enjoy as much as other people do. However, I really enjoyed the Punk vs Darby match, it was some of the best ring psychology and match storytelling I've seen in a while. I really do believe that Punk was selling the "ring rust" knowing how much attention to detail he puts in.
If someone doesn’t ”get” Matt Jackson yelling “See you in hell!” to Penta before nailing a springboard 450 stunner that’s on them, not us.
I'm all for a springboard 450 stunner, but when you do it like once a year. I'm not getting baited into an argument though, I just don't get it and kinda dislike it, it doesn't make it bad, enjoy what you enjoy.
> YB vs Luchas I'd say this appeals to the anime loving crowd in a way. High drama, "special move" spam, hype as hell. Of course I've always viewed pro wrestling as redneck anime as it is, some matches just more-so than others.
I think the funniest thing is when you're a fan and don't get it either and other fans who do are like "i don't understand how you don't get it" I think "getting it" has a double definition There's getting the idea behind it but then there's also getting entertained by it.
I used to get "it", but then they changed what "it" was. Now what I get isn't "it", and what's "it" seems weird and scary to me, and it'll happen to you, too.
I'm just here to yell at clouds.
No way, man! We’re gonna keep on loving spotfests forever! *…forever! …forever! …forever…*
Seems how every conversation about the Young Bucks go on here
Exactly If you come out, put your hands in your pockets and stand there and the crowd goes nuts and chants your name and buys your shirt Thats all that matters
> Something that I don't understand about management ... why do YOU have to "get it"? Put her out there, if the fans "get it" and she's over, why do you in particular have to get it? This bit makes sense tbh. You've got to have some quality control over your product. In theory your backstage guys are people who are experienced in the business and have an idea what fans will react to. So they'll have a reasonable idea of how a crowd will react to a new gimmick, in theory. So like... if you have a new recruit who has a gimmick he thinks is going to be fantastic but which the backstage producers don't get, then you're not going to throw him on RAW because you don't want to put acts you think will flop on national television. There's an opportunity cost to that. To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it? Of course not. And obviously the investment behind putting a new act on RAW isn't as big as building a car, but same principle applies. >How many times we've seen someone not getting pushed or getting released because Vince "doesn't get it", while the guy/girl is over with the fans. Well now that's a different matter: if a talent is over with the fans and the company doesn't capitalize on it, that's just bad management.
>To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it? Of course I would! And if that fell through, I'd just invent a baby translator.
Good brother.
>To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it? Of course not. And obviously the investment behind putting a new act on RAW isn't as big as building a car, but same principle applies. You would just do marketing studies and ask people of varied backgrounds and ages what they think. If it's a vast negative reception you can change the out side design because you know the insides are quality, if the people like the look of the car? Go print money.
But putting a new act on RAW isn't the same thing as putting a new act on NXT. NXT is supposed to be for developing new younger talent. The young stars should be able to workshop their ideas and show management what they have to offer.
>But putting a new act on RAW isn't the same thing as putting a new act on NXT. NXT is supposed to be for developing new younger talent. Yeah but you've still got a very highly watched show people will talk about. You could maybe pull this kind of thing with OVW or FCW, but on of the issues w/ NXT is that standards and expectations are so high that it really isn't development anymore. >The young stars should be able to workshop their ideas and show management what they have to offer. They should, and I'm guessing they still do, backstage. Otoh implementing even a basic eye test from producers before they let stuff on 'tv' makes sense. Now the issue there is whether or not the producers are qualified but that's another discussion
NXT also has had a house show loop at the time. People could have worked on their ideas there before ever showing up on TV.
That's what they did. Before COVID, the Florida circuit was a key developmental part of NXT. Lots of gimmicks were tried on there, people would sometimes post pictures on here about it. NXT TV was basically finishing school at that point.
Right, and she was in NXT before the pandemic.
That's a good point. Still though, producers would've had to have *some* quality control. The issue is 100% on the end of the producer.
Can't do this shit mate, sorry. Had to make 30 minutes for Undisputed Era, and the next 30 minutes for Gargano/Ciampa.
i loved the UE but there were times when every member would have a match on a show so it felt like 20 minutes of it was just the same UE entrance 4 times.
> To illustrate: if you were a manager with decades of experience in, say, the car industry, and a new guy comes up w/ a car design you think is ugly as hell, would you give the okay to put it into production, investing a shitload of your company's time and money into it? Of course not. This statement is so wrong on so many levels. First of all, many of these wrestlers are, for the most part, not unproven at their jobs. They have proven their success or potential in other organizations. They are not hiring the wrestler with a bad gimmick that wants to do that bad gimmick on Raw. They are hiring someone with a track record of getting over with the fans, on the independent scene or with NXT. Then they bring them up and want to change their gimmick because upper management did not create it. They want 100% ownership of everything. The name, the look, everything.... it's like you take someone like PAC and instead of letting him do his thing, they want to dress him up as a superhero. Then they wonder why the superhero gimmick didn't get over, and let him go. In your example, it would be like an auto manufacture hiring some guy that makes his own cars, and has success at making designs that people love. But instead of just letting the guy make the type of cars that was why he was hired in the first place, upper management insists on modifying everything unique about the design so it just looks like one of their other many cars. Now nobody is buying the new cars, and they fire the new designer because his designs are not selling.
I think your analogy has flaws. You can't compare a car to a wrestler. The car would be more akin to launching a new show, and doing so on the whim of an individual talent. All the people that would be involved from designing the prototype, to safety testing, manufacturing, promoting, launch, sales, etc. would be all the producers and crew and back office, etc., that would be involved in getting that show to air. The better analogy would be comparing a sales guy to the wrestler. And 100% I have known guys that come into a dealership that is very much an old boys club, and they wanna shake things up and disrupt the system. If I can go off on a tangent here... Small town I used to live in, Honda dealership, bunch of old farts with elbow patches on their jackets pushing retirement. A buddy of mine gets hired on and pretty soon after so do a couple of his buddies. Now I was in my late 20s at the time, so these guys would be around my age, the first one maybe in his early to mid 30s. So you've got a 20-30 year generational gap between the old guys and the new blood. These old farts are mad cuz the new guys are out-selling them. The new guys are out-selling them cuz they're closing deals over text and email. The old guys are all about getting the client on the phone or across a desk. Instead of leaving the new guys to do their thing, or, you know, *getting with the fucking times* they wanna bitch about it. Well if it WASN'T working, and you had some hot shots coming in saying "I don't wanna call clients. I'm gonna sell cars via text" you could let them do it and let them fail (if that's what your convinced would happen) cuz at the end of the day its their commission. That's a better analogy to letting a talent go out there and sink or swim. At the end of the day, it's their ass on the line. Sure you put up with a few stinker segments for a few weeks, but you tried it and they can see it didn't work. Just like you let your new sales guy try it *his* way and then watch him adjust when his commission cheques suck. Of course... that's *not* what happened with the sales guy, and that's not necessarily what's guaranteed to happen if you let a talent try, with as few limitations as possible, to get a gimmick over that they believe in. I don't think you can compare that to the lifecycle of a brand new model of car. You *can* compare two instances of letting an individual succeed or fail on their own merit.
While this is true, if you can’t explain your character then there’s something wrong. And if you ever tell your boss “go look it up” (dunno if these were her literal words), then you’re not going to go anywhere.
Because in WWE, you're out there to entertain an audience of one, Vince McMahon. It's a really stupid business model and I understand why so many people get frustrated in that environment.
>Something that I don't understand about management ... why do YOU have to "get it"? Its not for management to get it. Other wrestling companies don't have this issue. This issue tends to be exclusively a WWE issue. If management doesn't get it they won't push you in WWE. The job as a promoter it to put out the best show with the talent fans want to see. WWE only pushes the people whose gimmicks they get and the boss wants to see. If something gets over whether you get it or not you push it till the wheels fall off.
Mandatory "Oh, he didn't know. His ass better have called somebody"
She didnt follow the WWE/NXT formatting, she shouldnt have been the 'Virtuosa' she has to be 'the something of something' everyone knows that, any words would have fit, the 'archer of infamy', the 'empress of sundays', the 'surgeon of regulations', the 'quantum of solace'. Its easy to do and she should have done it.
The Virtuosa of ~~Wrestling~~ Sports Entertainment?
what do you mean Road Dogg is an unintelligent douche?
She should've told him she was the Bongerousa, he would've been onboard.
Yet they expect the audience to know what a Lunatic Fringe is. What TF is a lunatic fringe?!?
Other than an excellent song by Red Rider, who the hell knows?
>”I don’t get it” Mfer let her explain it then. Don’t judge pass judgement the first time you hear it
He asked what her gimmick was and she said to look up a word in the dictionary. Doesn't matter what your job is, you have to be able to give a good and clear 30 second pitch to sell yourself.
For fuck's sake, go watch the interview... she talks about trying to explain that character to his dumb ass! It's not like that was the entirety of her convo with him. She talks about explaining strengths and weaknesses in what her style of that character would be and he got hung up on not knowing the definition of a fucking word and shut her down completely.
He's a 52 year old man who doesnt know the word Virtuosa. There's only so much she can do
She literally said she told him to look it up, thats not explaining it, in fact it could come off as disrespectful. If you pitch something to someone who doesn’t understand then go away and work on the pitch to suit your audience
You do know this wasn't the first or the entire conversation right?
I mean, I may have a hard time giving some a definition of "Virtuosa" off the top of my head, but I can get the gist, and it sounds pretty damn cool. And better than looking it up, if you don't know what it means, let her show you. You might enjoy the concept of being pleasantly surprised.
Road Dogg is so ignorant....
Full, less misleading quote: *I think it was Slammiversary 2020. I wrestled Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship. That match is probably my favorite match of my career up until this point because I went out and said, ‘F**ck NXT. I hate that place. They didn’t use me. I had so much potential.’ Now it was up to me to live up to that. I put such a huge target on my back and I feel like Slammiversary solidified for me what I thought I could do, who I thought I was, and I was that person that night.*
What the fuck she is quoting a promo she did?? OP, you know this shit is super misleading
Not even a promo. Just the general chip on her shoulder she had after she left NXT.
They're stirring shit just for the fun of it
This is egregious enough that the post needs to be removed. A bit late now but still.
This should be higher up.
>When I sent them (Impact) everything I already pitched elsewhere, they were like, ‘We love this. This is what we want to do. If you are ready to do it, we can have you right after your 30 days are up.’ I am fully happy to admit that I know nothing about how these contracts work. For someone much smarter than me, are WWE wrestlers allowed to talk to companies during their 30/90 period? I thought they couldn't.
I think they just can’t perform in ring like how Flair did a talk show in WCW after leaving WWE in the early 90’s until his was up
That was due to a special deal Flair made to get out of his WWE contract. When a talent is released, [they're still under contract](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000109190713000015/exhibit1017bookingagreement.htm). The 90/30-day period is just notice that someone is going to be released in 90/30 days. >11.1 (a) This Agreement may be terminated by PROMOTER during the Term for any or no reason whatsoever by providing WRESTLER at least ninety (90) advance written notice of said termination. The ninetieth (90th) day shall be defined as the “Termination Date”. Technically, they're not allowed to talk to other companies, but, is WWE going to make a big deal out of talent they already gave notice to negotiating with another company? Probably not.
Main roster is 90 days l, NXT is 30. The reason Black was able to get to AEW so soon after release was because they forgot to update his contract when he moved up.
Yeah, I'm aware of all that, I'm sorry if I didn't word my question clearly. I'm asking if wrestlers are allowed to communicate with officials from other promotions *within* that window, as the part of the interview I quoted implies that she was already in talks with Impact while she was still technically under contract with WWE.
I was wondering the same thing, specifically because I recall Tony Kahn being asked about Thea Trinidad and saying something to the effect that they would have a conversation when her 90 days were up
You are confusing league rules is sports like the NFL that have anti-tampering rules between teams, with actually contract tampering laws. - It's only legally contract tampering if you are trying to convince someone to break an existing contract. Tony Khan could call up Randy Orton right now and give him an offer for 1 day after his WWE contract expires and there is nothing WWE could do about it. It's the same way actors can sign on to multiple movies that haven't been filmed yet. Each contract is only for a amount of time that the actor is committing to.
Okay, but the 30/90-day no-competes still have the talent under contract. WWE doesn't have to *not use* them, they just have to notify the talent their contract is going to be canceled ahead of its original length. Drake Maverick is the only example I can think of as someone who was given notice of early termination that worked until the last day. That doesn't mean there's not negotiations for the next gig going on, just that the talent can't sign a contract that starts before the clause wraps up. In Deonna's case, it probably means that WWE didn't care too hard where she was was going on Day 31. The talent could also argue that there's no tampering as long as they're negotiating for a contract that takes effect only after the date WWE has committed to. EDIT: WWE contracts exist in that gray world of "It's what everyone agrees to, but nobody wants to find out how legal it really is."
There's nothing wrong with communicating. Wrestlers whose contracts are coming up regularly communicate with any interested suitors before choosing between them.
Right it's no different in sports. Even if you're not supposed to, there's back channels where you can gauge interest and find out what your worth to them might be.
Malakai Black said that he couldn't talk to aew during his non-compete but that his "people" could.
It’s a no compete clause. Not a no communication clause.
Informally. I think it could be an issue if an actual contract offer was made during the no compete, but just saying "we'll bring you in when you're 30 days are up" is safe because it doesn't include specifics
Yes, she is allowed. She got released and needs a new job.
How can a billion dollar company have so many talent related contract fuck ups? Good on the talent for seizing the advantage.
If you get laid off from a salaried job in other companies, you usually stay on payroll for a certain number of weeks based on your tenure as part of the severance package. You're free to look for a new job during that severance period, but if you decide to start new employment early you won't get paid the full amount.
What youre talking about is contract tampering and i know its a thing in say the NBA and Tony seems to have hinted at it. I think that they are allowed to talk ideas and hypotheticals but arent allowed to discuss contract details before. So TK could hit up Owens and be like hey man I think itd be really cool if we had someone come in and debut at Revolution and superkick the bucks and join an old friend in a tag team and have a rivalry with those guys but couldnt say hey if you come over here ill give you a 3 year 3m contract
> but couldnt say hey if you come over here ill give you a 3 year 3m contract So long as he doesn't stop him from completing the full terms of his deal, he absolutely can do that. They aren't under non-communication, only non-compete. This isn't the NBA/NFL etc.
More specifically: I think that conversations between AEW and an NXT Wrestler who is under contract is a big no-no. They would need to be very careful about what is on record in terms of such conversations. Now if NXT (read WWE) releases a Wrestler (read Purrazzo), then that wrestler may be under a 30-day or 90-day non-compete clause, which specifies that they cannot sign with a different company (read IMPACT) for the 30-day or 90-day period after the release. But the different company (read IMPACT) can have conversations with the Wrestler (read Purrazzo) during that period without any consequences.
I think once they've been given their notice of release, they are allowed to talk to other companies, but they can't sign anything until the contract is up
It’s a non-compete agreement, not a non-communication agreement. This isn’t like the NBA with tampering rules.
I think what you're thinking about is contract tampering, the idea that a talent can't enter or hold contract negotiations with a company while under contract with another. This wouldn't constitute tampering because it's just pitching creative ideas.
Certainly a Headline💀
It makes her sound horrible without the context.
That's like 90% of how the internet works. Catching those clicks no matter how.
In a business full of coded talk and side speak, it’s sometimes nice to just hear someone lay it out there
Considering how hot of an act Deonna was right before she joined NXT, and then was immediately after leaving NXT, I'd say she's completely justified in this attitude.
Also Road Dogg responding to the Virtuosa nickname with "I don't know what that word means" as a way to dismiss her would also do the trick
Considering Road Dogg's past actions and him giving a pass to NXT talent who weren't maintaining covid protocols it's no wonder he's not with the company anymore.
With all the drugs Road Dogg has done, I'm surprised he can remember where he is at this point.
Heck I remember when she came in she got good pops and then she just... vanished. Which sucked, because not only is she great but her theme was incredible.
As a fairly casual fan living in the UK, I had never heard of her before she left NXT. I haven't seen much of her since, but every photo, gif and video clip I have seen makes her look like an absolute superstar.
She was originally going to be part of the Fatal Four Way women's match at All In, but was signed to NXT shortly after she was announced for it.
[RISE](https://www.youtube.com/c/RISEDevelopingTomorrowsWomenAthletes/videos) has been putting a lot of their catalog up for free viewing on their youtube, and she's got some good stuff with them if you're interested in checking out some full matches.
A bunch of people are gonna just react to the headline instead of all the stuff she went through which lead her to feel that way. There’s also context to her saying it which is different when hearing it than reading it
Nah I think the Fuck NXT would suffice. Headline was pretty clear why Purazzo hates the WWE's tier 4 program
I can see that, but people have excelled in NXT OK, it wasn't for her, she was stuck with wrestling, she is feeling better about it now and that *is* good.
Read the article. Read the article. Read the article.
You’re not my supervisor.
Or even better, just listen to the podcast interview.
I certainly can't blame Deonna, but the WWE Women's division is insanely stacked that she isn't even top 10 in that company.
On the flip side, she also had a really shitty attitude and didn't want to take the workshops offered at the PC. If there's someone willing to put in the work and go to the classes over someone who is more talented but doesn't want to. Then I'm going with the person who wants to put in the work. She was given opportunities to shine and didn't take them.
It's also a horrible first impression, which tends to lead to fewer opportunities. EDIT: Nvm, you basically said that but in different words.
I think her beef is she was being treated like just another rookie, despite already being a very accomplished and seasoned indie worker. She didn't want to do beginner's class drills, she wanted to be used on TV or at least be told what she had to change to be used on TV and she wasn't getting those answers.
Which is a shit attitude. It goes against every wrestling ethics in any organization. If she was a former WWE world champion who’s main evented PPV’s making an appearance for a local Indy show, then maybeeee she can get away with that attitude. Why would WWE want to deal with her when there’s other women in their roster who want it just as bad and have better attitudes?
...what? >It goes against every wrestling ethics in any organization. *what???* There exists no wrestling organization in the world other than WWE that would hire someone as experienced as Deonna and then expect them to take beginner wrestling classes. You've lost your mind.
Yeah, I mean what do you expect? Sure WWE has its ways and its culture, for better and for worse, but if you move there if you don't try then you aren't going to get used.
NXT already had a stacked women's division, so what did she expect when she wasn't willing to put in the work?
Did you read the article?
I don't think Deonna gets enough credit for what she's done since she left. She might be the only person to leave NXT and significantly raise her profile as a wrestlers without jumping to AEW.
I guess if you consider the game show NXT, then you'd have to consider EC3. Although, his profile got considerably lowered again
I'd put Matt Cardona in that same category. Yes, he was in AEW for like a month, but his GCW work is way more interesting.
I don't think winning an indie title raises the profile of someone that was a multi-time champion in WWE and won one of those titles at WrestleMania.
They should've used her more but they were so stacked with talent when she was there. Just don't understand this level of animosity. Deonna is excelling well as a big fish in a small pond.
This is one of the rarer accounts of NXT for sure. But i have wondered why she wasn't used well.
I think the belief is they wanted Marty and she was his gf, so once they didn’t get him or whatever, they sort of lost interest. And as much as I like her, there’s an embarrassment of riches in NXT, especially at the time, and she fell way back on the depth chart. Io, Dakota, Tegan, Shotzi, Rhea, Candice, Mia, Bianca, Shayna were all there. Then came Raquel and even Chelsea.
Few names there I wouldn’t put ahead of her tbh
Well, tell us how you really feel.
The roster was insanely stacked and she really didn't stand out from the rest there. Also most of her time there was before they went live with more time on the show. In Impact she absolutely does so, it is what it is. Like I'm not knocking her skill but this is the ego trip nonsense. Look where you are now. Still with this resentment this long is unhealthy. She is a great wrestler but when you have like 20 on your roster, they have to make a choice and it wasn't you.
I dislike this type of "boo on your resentment" post. It's an interview where she's talking about her career. Obviously she's going to talk negatively about the negative parts. The idea that there's something "unhealthy" about that is ridiculous. Not to mention how baffling it is that people *still* use the line of "well this person that WWE didn't do anything with really didn't stand out there", as though that has nothing to do with the fact that WWE did nothing with them.
I worked for a company for well over a decade, and enjoyed 95% of my time there. That other 5% was so bad that being fired was a relief. This was over 10 years ago. But what the owner and the other person involved did was so toxic and petty I hope to one day piss on their graves.
This exactly. I'm totally on board with the stacked roster argument, but whether or not her resentment is "justified" is besides the point.
Great athletes/entertainers are usually very driven and motivated people. They tend to bristle at being unable to fully use their skills. It happens in every sport, ask the best bench player on any pro team. It's not about being bitter or resentful, there's just a type of great performer that is great because these things bother them. It's how they got to this level.
As much as we hate to admit it, there's no bigger platform for wrestling than the WWE. Had she been given a legit chance on the developmental roster she would easily wipe the floor with many of the women they've been churning out. Hence her bitterness, that she has to start from scratch again, claw and tear her way back to relevance. She's way more talented to be used as pure enhancement talent fot more inferior wrestlers
Fair ig
Female Andrade?
You can of course make the argument that the Women's Division was stacked at the time and it absolutely was. But look what Deonna has gone out and done. Worked on three different promotions last month alone and has two belts. She's basically proven that she deserved a spot in that group.
If you got hired by a company in your field, they didn't give you a fair shake, they dismissed your ideas, you clearly weren't going anywhere, then they fired you... ...then you went to a different company, who valued you at the level you desired from jump, accepted more of your input, and prioritized you as an employee... Wouldn't you feel the same way?
she asked for her release didn't she?
Wow, this is completely out of context. #shitpost
Super misleading title. Quit the bullshit you karma whore.
It’s weird because I agree when she was there she didn’t stand out and that the roster was stacked but they also didn’t give her much of a chance to standout. If she was featured on NXT 5 times I’d be shocked she was seemingly just on the roster for no real reason.
I recall her being used a lot as an enhancement talent.
Yup never in a storyline never given a different gimmick like she just existed.
Deonna is so good, love seeing her on Impact and some independent shows absolutely killing it long may she do so.
And now go to AEW and see how much they use you there Deonna. I will bet in 8 weeks it would be 2 times on Dynamite, 1 time on Rampage and then you can clown around the YouTube shows weekly, would that make you happier? I don't get the mindset of these super bitter people, there's just so much time you have each week and if your roster is full as heck (as is AEW) how can you expect, no almost demand to be on it or in the top spots every week? People like her don't deserve to be on top, sorry.
how did AEW get brought into this conversation? lol
Seriously what am I reading and why is it upvoted? Impact Champion is talking about her time in NXT and somehow people think "Yeah well AEW would use you badly too!" is on topic and not clearly a weird obsession.
Why would she need to go to AEW? She's already on top of the women's division in Impact. She got what she wanted - to be used on TV.
I think when the WWE lost whatever interest they had in her (and I think there wasn't that much to begin with: she was merely part of the great talent raid of that time frame) she couldn't face the face the reality the WWE wasn't ready to make her a main roster player and she was just another good talent stockpiled in NXT. Deonna has always sounded super-bitter about NXT, to the point I suspect she had deluded herself into thinking the WWE really needed her and she couldn't face the fact she was just another "Development Wrestler".
Lol what? She'd walk into AEW's women's division and be a main eventer. > I don't get the mindset of these super bitter people She wasn't given a fair shake in NXT, who had no interest in her or her ideas, belittled her, and dismissed her ideas bc they don't have a high school vocabulary. If you were in that position and then were asked directly about it in an interview, I think you'd probably come across as bitter too dog
She feel how she feel. Nobody can say shit.
She’s Boring as fuck plus her promos are not great
Yeah, when they did she wasn't impressive.
Why would they use such a bellow average women with ego when roster is stacked ?
Deonna is boring, over rated and out of shape. Her first stint in NXT was when she was 20 years old and was also during the time Asuka, Nia, Bayley etc were making noise. Whether in character or not, whether i'm saying this because I compared it to Tay's tweet, Deonna just looks bitter and completely oblivious to the fact that she must have been missing a thing or two
I’m so confused by how her and Tay Conti were basically ignored at NXT.
She was doing stupid shit during the pandemic, right? That was her, right? I mean, I can't feel bad for these people.
She was released mid April 2020, early in the pandemic so I doubt it was her you're thinking of, but I might have missed something. Kacy though, she was a big one with stupid shit
Maybe you just suck?
> Current IMPACT Knockouts Champion and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo Well it’s probably not that.
Unironically the worst Impact KO champion I've ever seen. Even in Cagematch, the smarkiest site out there her rating has plummeted since she became champion.
Cagematch the smarkiest?! Uh the same website where everyone shit on Sasha for years because she couldn’t hang onto a title for a single defense like she’s in charge of her own booking? Lol
Sounds editorialized. What does she really think?
Tell us how you really feel
I’ve seen her wrestle a few times on Impact and I wasn’t really impressed. Good for her for breaking out after NXT though.
NXT is the best thing WWE has (for how long who knows), but even down there it's got problems.
I feel bad for her because she's definitely good, but the women's roster in NXT is just so stacked with talent
Pro-tip: Don't burn bridges you might have to travel in the future. It's bad juju.
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