IMPACT Star Recalls Training In Front Of The Rock

Current IMPACT Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo has recalled training at the Performance Center in front of The Rock.

Speaking with Stephanie Chase, Purrazzo told the story of training with Simone Johnson while she was in NXT. One day, The Rock sat in on a training session. No pressure. Here is the quote, courtesy of Fightful:

“When The Rock came, no one knew. Sara Amato came up to me and said, ‘we’re going to partner you with Simone, this is the drill you’re going to do.’ No problem, we had been working together for quite a few training sessions at that point. With all that training, it was like an ‘all in day’ so everyone was at the PC and every class was going at once and The Rock just kind of walked around and was watching. Simone and I, it was our turn, and he’s sitting ringside and it’s just like ‘oh crap.’

“It was also like, I wanted to make her look good in front of her dad. I wanted her to shine and for him to see her kick ass and be a superstar. I was honoured to be able to do that and then I got to meet with him and him critique what we did. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that will probably never ever happen for me again. For that to be on YouTube and out there and people see that moment, it’s really special for me.”

Deonna Purrazzo was released by WWE in 2020 before returning to IMPACT Wrestling. She won the Knockouts Championship from Su Yung at Turning Point.

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• simone johnson
• Deonna Purrazzo
• The Rock
• IMPACT

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