Friday’s SmackDown had a lot of good come out of it for the first time in what feels like months. New tag team champions, the remembrance of Braun Strowman‘s past to further a feud, and the subject matter of this article. Sonya Deville is finally digging her way out of the shadow that the WWE and Mandy Rose has set over her. Deville has all the potential and talent in the world to be a women’s champion, but most of her main roster career has been a 50-50 win percentage and being the manager to Rose. Rose is the one that has received a women’s championship match, showing that Fire And Desire was more one-sided than anything else. The last time they fought for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships was at Clash of Champions in September.
On Friday, she showed the world she can carry herself better alone. Making it the perfect time to turn her back on Mandy and established herself.
Going Down Swinging: Deville Lets Mandy Know Her Worth
Since the moment Deville walked into professional wrestling, she has been with Mandy Rose. In 2015, Deville and Rose were on the refreshed and most recent edition of the show, “Tough Enough“, where Deville still received a contract despite an early exit as did Rose, who finished in second. They went directly to NXT and teamed there as well, but prior to them being called to the main roster, Deville was the one on her own on NXT beating people left and right and rising through the ranks. Almost immediately after debuting as Sonya Deville and making her mark in NXT she was called to the main roster alongside Mandy and Paige to form Absolution.
A moment that Deville was proud of. “Not only were we going to be a part of Monday Night RAW but together as a tag team with my best friend,” Deville said in an interview with us in 2019. “It was a dream and it all came to fruition.”
It was that brief moment in time that Deville had her chance to show the world her MMA chops and be on her own before getting put back with Mandy. And it’s been that way ever since. Until Friday, when she told Mandy it was her time now. She was sick of being in that shadow and called Rose “selfish.” And she had a point. Deville has been blurred out in the entrances, not even having her entrance music but rather, Mandy’s. When Mandy looked away and Deville stepped into Rose with a forearm, that was her way of letting the world know she was ready to be on her own.
Making It On Her Own: The Rebirth Of “The Jersey Devil”
A lot of Sonya Deville’s story has been to show the world who she is more than anything. Be that woman that others look up to when they need something to push them. “Put your hair up and square up,” instead of sitting there talking about it. Deville can return to that form now on her own. No more Mandy Rose to worry about, but instead bringing out “The Jersey Devil” for the first time since that brief stint in NXT. Considering Tamina is competing for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, the division could use someone stepping up. Deville is legit, making her believability factor matter more than anything. That and the fact that her story of being the first openly lesbian woman in the WWE can only further her spot and story in the fan’s eyes.
“The Jersey Devil” takes no prisoners and leaves no doubt. This seems like perfect time to do that for Deville, while setting her sights on her best friend in Mandy Rose. Use her to make an example and put the rest of the SmackDown women’s division on notice. It’s about time.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. WWE fan? Turn to the WWE Network for all of your wrestling needs and catch SmackDown every Friday night at 8PM ET on FOX.
