Former WWE star’s wife becomes first member of Deonna Purrazzo’s new AEW faction

Deonna Purrazzo was directionless in AEW for a while. But now she has started a new female faction. She recruited former WWE star Johnny TV's wife as the first member of her newly formed stable.

Taya Valkyrie joined AEW in March 2023. She also works for AEW's sister promotion ROH.

'The Virtuosa' Deonna Purrazzo became All Elite in January of this year. Upon her arrival in Tony Khan's promotion, she immediately started a feud with her former friend, Toni Storm.

Later, fans saw her turn heel and start a rivalry with Thunder Rosa. She had been having an underwhelming run for the past couple of months. Recent reports suggested she would soon begin a new heel faction to give some direction to her character.

On the recent edition of AEW Rampage, she introduced Taya Valkyrie as her new associate, making her the first member of her new faction. She also warned the roster of her future plans.

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Why did Deonna Purrazzo choose AEW over WWE?

Last month, Deonna Purrazzo sat down for an interview with Stephanie Chase, revealing why she decided against a return to WWE and instead chose to become a part of Tony Khan's roster.

During the interview, she stated she didn't enjoy her time in WWE and was upset with how she was handled in the promotion. She didn't want to return to the Stamford-based promotion and receive the same fate as before, so she decided that joining AEW would be wise.

She was in WWE for six years (from 2014 to 2020). She began her WWE journey by working as additional talent for the company, participating in various skits alongside Adam Rose as a "Rosebud."

In the initial years during her time in WWE, The Virtuosa did not win a lot of her matches. She was officially signed to the promotion in May 2018 and had an underwhelming run until she was released in April 2020.