‘SmackDown’ superstar Sonya Deville reflects on her WWE career
‘SmackDown’ superstar Sonya Deville discusses her WWE journey and the moment that changed the trajectory of her career forever.
LOS ANGELES – What began for Sonya Deville as a simple tryout for the WWE’s competition reality series “Tough Enough” quickly morphed into an all-out quest for opportunity and acceptance.
Hailing from southern New Jersey, the “Total Divas” and “SmackDown” superstar, who is the first openly gay female wrestler, has endured a long road to greatness and spoke with Fox News about the tribulations she’s faced.
For Deville, her mantra is simple: "Always be at your best because you never know who you’ve impressed."
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The 26-year-old, whose real name is Daria Berenato, experienced a serendipitous moment indicative of her mantra that she said changed her life and the trajectory of her career forever following her elimination from season six of “Tough Enough,” where Deville was the third WWE hopeful to be ousted from the competition.
When asked how the elimination motivated her journey to make it in the entertainment industry, Deville said the fallout meant everything to her and instantly sparked a fire inside of her that continues to burn today.
Mandy Rose, left, and Sonya Deville enter the ring at WWE "SmackDown." (Courtesy WWE)
“It's funny because I didn't grow up watching wrestling. So I wasn't like a diehard fan, but I was dejected because I'd fallen in love with WWE, the sports entertainment world, she recalled.
“I loved the idea that athleticism and combat sports are kind of paired with entertainment, you know, and character-driven storylines and stuff,” she continued. “So it was kind of the two dreams I always had. I wanted to be an MMA fighter; I was. And I wanted to be an actor. So that's why I was out in L.A., you know, five, six years ago pursuing both those things. And then I found WWE, which was literally the combination of those two worlds. So it was kind of like I found where I fit in in the world.”
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Deville said she was skeptical of producers who told her that she would likely be signed to the WWE at some point after her elimination, adding that she was naïve at the time to the idea that the organization actually loved what they saw from her during her time on “Tough Enough.”
“I was this Jersey girl that had never been just given, you know, an opportunity. And so I was like, ‘Yeah, I don't believe them,’” Deville explained. “So I went back to L.A. and I went back to bartending, which is what I was doing prior. And I started training at Brian Kendrick's school and I was hounding the hiring department of WWE, like, 'You guys have to fly me back out. You have to give me another trial. Like, how do I get back there?'”
Deville’s shot would come while she was working as a bartender in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles and training full-time as an MMA fighter. Deville said she was offered an opportunity to audition as a host for a podcast specializing in the UFC and jumped at the opportunity because turning down work isn’t in her makeup.
“That's like one of my biggest messages to people. So, I came out to L.A. – I was 18 years old, I had a couple hundred dollars in my bank account and I was just ... like we all do – we risk it all because we want to follow a dream,” Deville said. “And the biggest thing I tell people is don't say no to anything, even if it sounds like... you know, you do stuff for free all the time in L.A., right? And you're like, 'What's the point of this?' You can meet somebody anywhere and it takes one person to make a good impression on, to get an opportunity.”
"You can meet somebody anywhere and it takes one person to make a good impression on, to get an opportunity.”
“My journey speaks to that because I was bartending in Los Feliz, and one of my regulars was like, 'Aren't you... don't you do, like MMA – that UFC stuff?’” Deville continued. “And I was like, 'Yeah, I fight MMA or whatever.'"
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The man would tell Deville that AfterBuzz TV, a media entity owned by Maria Menounos and her husband, Keven Undergaro, needed a new host for their UFC podcast and though she had no idea who they were or what she was getting herself into, she still immediately said yes.
“I had never hosted a show in my life. I was like, 'Yeah, sure, I could do it,'” she recalled. “So they took me over to AfterBuzz studios, auditioned me and I started hosting there.”
Deville noted that it was Menounos and Undergaro's helping hand that ultimately started the snowball effect that would become her career in the WWE.
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“They were the ones that took me under their wing and said, 'You need to get into the WWE.' They took a chance on me when I hardly knew them,” revealed Deville. “They saw me host one of their shows and they were like, 'This girl's got it,' for whatever reason they believed in me and I wasn't the best at hosting. It was just something in me that they believed in me. So, they helped me get to the WWE.”
Deville described being flown to Orlando, Fla., for a trial and being signed to a contract some two months later.
“They’re like, 'OK, you have two weeks to move out to Orlando, here's your per diem,'" Deville recounted.
"You know, and just to be paid to work out and wrestle, like that's a dream to me,” she added of knowing her life would never be the same. “So I knew my life was going to change then. And then, when I debuted on 'Monday Night, RAW' and, you know, walked out in front of a crowd larger than 10,000 people, I was like, 'Wow. Like, this is it. This is cool.'”
Deville’s debut on “Monday Night RAW” is one of her most prominent memories of being in the ring. Fans will remember Deville and Mandy Rose, whose real name is Amanda Saccomanno, debuting with Absolution, alongside Paige, whose real name is Saraya-Jade Bevis.
“We actually got to run in through the crowd and it was obviously a surprise that we were debuting,” said Deville. “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 before that.”
Deville recalled one of the production assistants loading her and Rose into the crowd before screaming, "Ready, set, go!"
Sonya Deville delivers a devastating punch in the ring at "Smackdown." (Courtesy WWE)
“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,” Deville said. “And it was just such a cool moment. We were like, ‘Wow.’”
“And we're lucky,” she admitted. “Some people's debuts aren't that crazy or special, so we were really blessed to be paired with Paige and Absolution. And for that to be our debut was really, really cool.”
"Being Sonya Deville on 'SmackDown' is, 'I'm a bada--. I'm a fighter.'"
Deville has since become a household name in the WWE and described the difference she sees in her "SmackDown" character versus her "Total Divas" reality star persona.
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"Being Sonya Deville on 'SmackDown' is, 'I'm a badass. I'm a fighter.' You know, I'm tough and the fans don't typically see a vulnerable, lighter side to Sonya," she said. "Whereas on 'Total Divas,' I'm able to show them that more vulnerable, open side to me. They see my relationship with my girlfriend unfold and they see my relationship with all the other girls on the roster unfold. They see the tension and the animosity with Ronda Rousey that I went through this season."
WWE Superstar, Daria Berenato, also known as Sonya Deville. (Vince Truspin)
She continued: "So you definitely get a more in-depth, personalized look at who Sonya is as a human, not just as this badass fighter that you see in the ring. I think it's cool because I like the fans to get to see all the sides of me, you know, and 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."
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Deville went on to explain that she is simply happy to be doing something she loves so dearly. When asked if she feels underappreciated, Deville iterated that she feels appreciated on multiple levels by fans and those in the WWE.
“I feel respected. I feel like the fans want to see more for me, you know,” she said. “And I think that's cool that they want to see more and I think it's cool that they haven't gotten to see more yet because it just makes them appreciate it when it does come.”
Deville sees the world through a different lens and because of her experience in getting to where she is today, she understands the larger picture at play not only for her but the other superstars in which she performs alongside every week.
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“I think that everyone has a time in life, in general and especially in the WWE,” she explained. “There is a time and a place for everyone's climb and rise to the top. And I think that you haven't seen Sonya's peak yet, obviously.
“And I'm blessed. I'm one of the youngest females in the locker room – I'm 26. So I have longevity with the company and I'm blessed to be here and to be here for a long time. So I'm excited for the future.”
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