Former WWE Superstar Sonya Deville (Daria Berenato) discussed her attempt to return to an on-screen authority role during her recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” Deville shared that she pitched the idea while recovering from an ACL injury sustained in 2023.
According to Deville, Triple H turned down her proposal to resume a General Manager position. During the interview, she explained the reasoning behind the rejection and her interest in revisiting the character.
I pitched it. I did pitch it. Hunter was like, ‘No.’ He kind of said it’s not a role for active wrestlers. Let it be a role for people who are not actively on the card. I kind of wanted to go back there.
Deville elaborated on why she found the authority figure role appealing, noting the natural heat that comes with the position.
It’s easy heat. You’re in a position of power, you’re not supposed to be in a position of power because you’re a wrestler, but you are and you can use it to abuse the roster. I loved it. I wanted to go back and do it. I think it was a hit when I was in it. I wanted to see that again.
In a separate appearance on “Busted Open Radio,” Deville also discussed her WWE faction, the Pure Fusion Collective. She described the group dynamic with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, despite not being close with either performer before forming the stable.
So it’s funny cause before PFC, I wasn’t close with either of them particularly. Not for any reason, we just didn’t talk much and Zoey was newer to the locker room and I had been away with my ACL. So I didn’t see her much but we became so close and it was a really cool dynamic.
Deville further explained the different roles each member played within the faction, highlighting their unique strengths.
Shayna’s like the cool vet … MMA for so long and then WWE obviously, and she was cool, calm, collected, everything’s fine. Zoey’s like the feisty, hungry, wants to do everything now, now, now and then I was the middle ground that would be the mediator amongst this all a lot of the time … we did everything, every week together, so I miss them, but I think they’re both going to soar. I think they both have so much to offer.