The rivalry between Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo remains one of the most intense feuds in Impact/TNA history, with the Knockouts notably colliding in a Texas Death Match at Hard To Kill 2022. In addition to being a Texas Death Match, the collision between James and Purrazo also marked the first time the Knockouts Championship was defended in the main event of a traditional Impact Wrestling pay-per-view. During a recent interview with "Wrestle Mobs," Purrazzo reflected on their milestone.
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"We were the first ever Knockouts World Championship match to main event a pay-per-view. Couple that with the probably first ever women's Texas Death match in a major professional wrestling company, there was so much pressure on us to deliver," Purrazzo said. "And I felt totally out of my element. I wasn't sure, like 'Does this work? Does this work or how do I do this?' But to do that alongside Mickie James, who's iconic, she's done it all everywhere, was kind of a settling feeling. We had really earned that main event spot for the women. We had earned the story to do a Texas Death Match. It was just the perfect storm and culmination that I felt like, again, was that do or die moment."
While the two share a piece of Impact history, only one emerged victorious in this Texas Death Match, and that was James. James' respective reign as Knockouts Champion spanned two more months after Hard To Kill until she eventually lost the title to Tasha Steelz. Despite falling short in her pursuit of the Knockouts Championship, Purrazzo quickly bounced back with a win over Rok-C (now WWE NXT's Roxanne Perez) to claim possession of the ROH Women's Championship, along with the AAA Reina De Reinas Championship.
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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestle Mobs" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
