Sonya Deville has publicly addressed her WWE departure.
On February 7th it was reported that multiple names had left WWE. Although most were noted as releases, Deville’s exit was different as the former Women’s Tag Team Champion was instead informed that her contract would not be renewed when it expired. Because of this, Deville will become a free agent when the contract is up and will not be subject to the 90-day non-compete clause that the released talents are currently waiting out.
Taking to her YouTube channel to talk about the release and how she found out about her time with the company coming to an end, Deville noted that she originally thought that the phone call was not to finalise a new contract and not to inform her that her time with WWE was coming to an end:
“As a lot of you guys know, 10 days ago now, I got the call. My contract was not being renewed with the WWE,” Deville said. “I was in Washington, D.C. for a cheer tournament with our little one. I was actually running on the treadmill working out with our older one Giovanna, and I got a phone call. We were in the middle of negotiations, and so I thought the phone call was going to be the middle ground that we met on, an agreement, a contract. And it was, ‘We are not renewing your contract.’ So, complete transparency, which this is really the first time I’m saying this, I was shocked.”
Continuing, Deville admitted that while it was a shock at first, she added that it was just the way of the business and holds no ill will towards the company:
“First it was shock. At first it was like, ‘Whoa.’ But then it was almost like instantaneously, my trust in the universe allowed me to just be at peace with it instantly. Because you can’t fight fate. That chapter was meant to close, and all these new beautiful blessings were meant to come,” she said. “Just the way things happened, like is there anything more serendipitous? It happened for a reason, so how could you be mad at that? How could you be upset or frustrated or even wonder ‘What if?’ Life’s too short. I have so many dreams, so many things I want to do.
“And I still love everybody there. And I have a great — like, my memory from that place is nothing but positive. And I want to keep it that way. But also I respect that the universe is like, ‘Hey, that chapter’s closed.’ Right now, forever, whatever, it doesn’t matter. But onto the next, let’s go. I have two kids and a wife to take care of. We have a family. Like, we’ve gotta keep going. So I think that just allowed me to have like instant peace. It was like, it’s all good.”
Deville also expressed gratitude towards WWE for everything they had done for her in the past 10 years, noting that everyone there was like family.
Sonya Deville In WWE
First becoming known to WWE fans via Tough Enough, Deville signed a contract with the company in October 2015. Following a brief run in NXT, Deville made her main roster debut alongside Mandy Rose and a returning Paige as part of the Absolution trio. Deville also teamed with and feuded with Mandy Rose and was briefly an onscreen authority figure.
Deville captured one championship in the company as she won the Women’s Tag Team Championships with Chelsea Green. However, shortly after capturing her first title, Deville suffered a torn ACL and was forced to vacate the title, jokingly stating that the championships were cursed.
Returning one year later, Deville aligned with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark to form Pure Fusion Collective. Deville remained with the faction until she was informed that her time in WWE was over.
H/t to F4WOnline.
Featured image: WWE
