New Jersey Wrestling Star Makes Epic Return in Atlantic City Show This Weekend

With a variety of casual observers to diehard fans, Professional Wrestling is a Multi-Billion Dollar revenue-generating industry with fans worldwide.

While most people are familiar with the biggest name organization, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the growth of the Sports Entertainment Industry dates back 160 years.

In the aftermath of the Civil War is where we find the origins of today's professional wrestling; Carnivals and Traveling Shows gave Americans who needed an escape from their daily lives the opportunity to see technical wrestlers and strongmen display their skills for audiences.

In the early 1900s, Americans saw the evolution of Professional Wrestling to include the showmanship, storylines, and characters we are familiar with today. In fact, the best professional wrestlers in the mid-1900s made more money than Professional Football Players.

NFL Legends such as Bronko Nagurski would perform as Professional Wrestlers during and after their years as Professional Footballers because it would pay more money and less physical punishment.

New Jersey's Role In Modern Professional Wrestling

Today, organizations such as WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) showcase an incredible blend of athleticism and theatrical drama.

The "Super Bowl of Pro Wrestling" is called WrestleMania, and some of the biggest moments in Professional Wrestling happened in New Jersey.

From "Macho Man" Randy Savage winning his first WWF/WWE World Championship in Atlantic City (1988) to the first WWE PPV Event featuring a Women's Championship match as the Main Event (2019), New Jersey has a rich history with pro Wrestling.

There have been some big names from New Jersey who went on to have successful Professional Wrestling careers, a list of names that includes:

-Bam Bam Bigelow (ECW and WCW Champion)
-King Kong Bundy (Legendary WWF Villain)
-AJ Lee (WWE Divas Champion)
-Dean Malenko (WWF, WCW, and ECW Champion)
-Liv Morgan (WWE Women's Singles and Tag Team Champion)
-Diamond Dallas Page (WWF and WCW Champion, WWE Hall of Famer)

This New Jersey Pro Wrestler Returns To Atlantic City This Saturday

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) returns to Atlantic City on Saturday, May 3rd, for a live show at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall that will be broadcast on TBS and streaming on MAX.

Adrian Phillips Theater will host Saturday's AEW Collision show that will feature some of the biggest names and attractions in Professional Wrestling, including a superstar from New Jersey on Saturday.

"The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo was born in Livingston, New Jersey, and attended Jefferson Township High School. After beginning her training in 2012, her Professional Wrestling journey has taken her from Ring of Honor to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling to WWE NXT to now working with AEW.

Purrazzo made her AEW debut in January 2024 at the show hosted in Newark. After "The Virtuosa" made her debut in her home state, she has been a frequent performer as part of different storylines on AEW shows over the last 16 months.

I spoke with Deonna Purrazzo this week about what she is looking forward to the most when she returns to New Jersey and is a part of AEW Collision in Atlantic City this weekend:

"You know what? At first, I was going to make it wrestling-related, but you know what I'm most excited about? Going home and eating New Jersey food. I'm so excited to see what happens on AEW Collision. I'm so excited for more to be announced. I'm looking forward to the end of the week. But as a New Jerseyan who lives in Orlando, Florida, we don't have good pizza. We don't have good bread. We don't have good bagels. We don't have good cold cuts and things like that. So my first stop is going to be maybe a good slice of pizza."

You can get your tickets to see The Virtuosa" and AEW Collision this Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City here.

As mentioned earlier, there has been some great Professional Wrestling shows and historical moments that have occurred in New Jersey. Here is a list of the biggest shows over the decades in The Garden State: