During a recent interview with Fox News, Sonya Deville commented on being featured on WWE Total Divas, her debut, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On appearing on Total Divas: “You know, being Sonya Deville on SmackDown is — you know, I’m a badass, I’m a fighter. I’m tough and the fans don’t typically see a vulnerable, lighter side to Sonya. Whereas on Total Divas I’m able to show them a more vulnerable, open side to me. You know, they see my relationship with my girlfriend unfold, and they see my relationship with the other girls on the roster unfold. They see the tension and the animosity with Ronda Rousey that I went through this season. So you definitely get a more in-depth, personalized look at who Sonya is as a human, not just as this badass fighter you see in the ring. So I think it’s cool, because I like the fans to see all the sides to me. When they asked me to do the show, I didn’t even hesitate. I was like ‘Yeah, of course.’ Because I knew that it meant getting to be more intimate with my fans, and develop that relationship further.”
On her WWE debut: “So go back to my debut on Monday Night Raw is probably one of the most prominent moments in my head when I think of debuting in the ring. It is when Mandy and I debuted as Absolution alongside Paige on Monday Night Raw, and we actually got to run in through the crowd. And it was obviously a surprise that we were debuting, so that’s one of my favorite moments of all time. And I think I’ll always remember that feeling of butterflies and just, the excitement and adrenaline we had for that. I remember the PA that loaded us in the crowd going ‘Ready, set, go!’ And at that moment we just sprinted as fast as we could to the ring, and I think we beat up Sasha Banks and Mickie James that day. It was just such a cool moment, we were like, ‘Wow.’ And we’re lucky; some people’s debuts aren’t that you know, crazy or special. And so we were really blessed to be paired with Paige and Absolution, and for that to be our debut was really, really cool.”
On what goals she’d like to accomplish for the LGBTQ community: “Yeah, I mean obviously representing the LGBTQ community is something near and dear to my heart. Because you look at me circa 2015 when I was getting on Tough Enough and Triple H asked me on TV, ‘Are you in a relationship?’ And that’s a simple question for most people to answer but for me, I wasn’t openly gay yet, so I was like, ‘Uh what do I say?’ And at that moment I said ‘Yeah, I have a girlfriend.’ And so from that moment on, it’s been kind of like a learning process for me as a person, just getting comfortable with who I am and being okay with saying those words ‘I’m gay’ out loud and being comfortable with my sexuality. So it’s really to cool to be at the place that I’m at to advocate or be an example for young girls and guys that are in my shoes, that I was in four years ago. So yeah, it’s really special and I think, just me being me and being who I am and being a wrestler, can inspire people at home because now they know it is possible, and they can do it too.”
(h/t – 411 Wrestling)
