Deonna Purrazzo’s reign as the first ROH Women’s Pure Champion represents far more than the addition of another championship to her resume. For Purrazzo, the title is tied directly to her long history with Ring of Honor, the development of Women of Honor, and the early opportunity that helped shape her identity as a professional wrestler.
Purrazzo defeated Billie Starkz at ROH Final Battle 2025 to become the inaugural champion. Since that victory, she has carried the championship into defenses against competitors including Diamante, Steph De Lander, and Emi Sakura. The reign has placed Purrazzo at the center of a new chapter for the ROH women’s division, but she views that role through the lens of everything that came before it.
Speaking about the significance of the accomplishment, Purrazzo emphasized that Ring of Honor has remained a defining part of her career for more than a decade. Her perspective is not limited to the historic nature of being first. It is also about the chance to represent a company and a division that provided room for her to find herself as a performer.
“Ring of Honor as a whole means so much to me. This company took a girl who didn’t know who she was yet in the wrestling world and gave her a platform to grow and evolve in front of the fans eyes for the last 11 years. Having been a part of the rebirth of Women of Honor in 2015, winning the Women’s World Championship in 2022 & defending it in the main event of AEW Dynamite, and now, being the first ever Women’s Pure Champion … my 21 year old self could’ve never imagined what saying ‘yes’ to a non televised pre-show match in Baltimore, MD would go on to build. I am so proud to continue to represent this division, among what I believe is one of the strongest women’s rosters in the world.”
For more background on this topic, read Zayda Steel Reflects on Surreal First ROH PPV Main Event Experience.
A Championship With Personal History Behind It
Purrazzo’s comments outline a clear progression. In 2015, she was involved in the rebirth of Women of Honor. Seven years later, she won the ROH Women’s World Championship. That reign also included a Women’s World Championship defense in the main event of AEW Dynamite, a major setting for the title and the division. Now, following Final Battle 2025, she holds a distinct place in company history as the first wrestler to win the ROH Women’s Pure Championship.
Those milestones are connected by more than chronology. Purrazzo described Ring of Honor as the place that gave her a platform to grow before she had fully established who she was in wrestling. That makes the Women’s Pure Championship especially meaningful: it is a recognition earned after years of evolution, rather than simply a new prize introduced at the next stage of her career.
The reference to a non-televised pre-show match in Baltimore also illustrates the scale of that journey. Early opportunities are often where wrestlers establish trust, gain experience, and begin building a connection with an audience. Purrazzo’s reflection makes clear that she sees that initial decision to say yes as a foundational moment. Her current position as champion is the result of a path that began with an opportunity that, at the time, could not have promised the milestones that followed.
That perspective gives additional weight to the phrase “first ever.” An inaugural champion does not just hold a title; that wrestler becomes part of the championship’s first definition. The reign establishes an early standard for the division, the opponents associated with it, and the importance placed on its defenses. Purrazzo’s status as the first ROH Women’s Pure Champion therefore joins her prior Women of Honor involvement and her ROH Women’s World Championship reign as separate markers in the broader history of the women’s side of Ring of Honor.
Defenses Continue To Define The Reign
Winning a new championship creates a moment. Defending it is what gives the reign its substance. Purrazzo has already put the ROH Women’s Pure Championship on the line against a varied group of opponents, with Diamante, Steph De Lander, and Emi Sakura among the wrestlers named as challengers during her run.
Each successful defense reinforces the champion’s responsibility to represent the title beyond its inaugural crowning. That responsibility is particularly notable when the title is still establishing its own legacy. Purrazzo is not following an existing list of former champions or measuring herself against a long lineage within this specific championship. She is helping create that lineage from the beginning.
Her remarks also frame the title defenses as part of a larger commitment to the ROH women’s roster. Purrazzo said she is proud to represent the division and called it one of the strongest women’s rosters in the world. That belief is central to how she describes the importance of the championship. The belt is not presented as an individual achievement detached from the surrounding locker room. Instead, it is a role within a division she has watched develop and one she has been part of at multiple points in its history.
For a champion with Purrazzo’s technical reputation, the Women’s Pure Championship is also a fitting platform for competition that puts an emphasis on in-ring execution. Her comments in another interview, where she called Lee Moriarty the greatest technical wrestler in the world right now, further underline the value she places on that style of wrestling. While Moriarty’s standing is a separate subject, the remark provides useful context for the standards Purrazzo associates with technical performance.
From Women Of Honor To A New ROH Era
Purrazzo’s career in Ring of Honor spans several important moments for its women’s division. She was present for the rebirth of Women of Honor in 2015. She later captured the ROH Women’s World Championship in 2022. Her defense of that title in an AEW Dynamite main event created another major landmark. The Women’s Pure Championship now adds a new distinction to that record.
It is the combination of those achievements, rather than any one result in isolation, that explains the emotional importance Purrazzo attached to Final Battle 2025. A wrestler can measure a title victory by the opponent defeated, the event where it occurred, or the championship itself. Purrazzo’s explanation adds another measure: the years of work and development that made the moment possible.
Billie Starkz will always be linked to the title’s inaugural match because Purrazzo defeated her to claim the championship. Yet Purrazzo’s reflection broadens the story beyond that single contest. She sees the win as the latest point in an 11-year relationship with Ring of Honor, one that began before she had solidified her place in the industry and continued through the changing landscape of the company’s women’s wrestling.
That history also means Purrazzo can speak about representation from experience. She is not merely arriving to lead a division she has not encountered before. She has been part of Women of Honor, held the Women’s World Championship, defended that championship in a prominent main-event setting, and now serves as the first Women’s Pure Champion. Her pride in representing the roster comes from a career that has repeatedly intersected with its growth.
The Value Of Being First
In professional wrestling, inaugural champions are often remembered for setting the tone. Their reigns become a reference point for the wrestlers who challenge for the title afterward. Purrazzo understands the historical value of her place in the ROH record books, but her comments show that the recognition resonates on a more personal level as well.
Her 21-year-old self, as she put it, could not have anticipated where that Baltimore pre-show match would lead. The journey from that early appearance to a historic championship reign is the heart of Purrazzo’s reflection. It is a reminder that careers are often built through opportunities that may seem modest at the outset, then gain greater meaning as years of work accumulate.
As the ROH Women’s Pure Championship reign continues, Purrazzo has already established the central idea behind her tenure: the title is both a new responsibility and a culmination of a long relationship with Ring of Honor. Her victory over Starkz at Final Battle 2025 placed her in history. Her defenses, and the personal meaning she attaches to the role, are shaping what that history will become.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.