Ever game, WWE’s Sonya Deville isn’t against ranking herself superior in the world of wrestling over Becky Lynch. Deville spoke with Joseph Staszewski of The New York Post and the former Tough Enough contestant turned SmackDown star gave the details as to how her “Daddy” nickname came to be.
“It came from a year ago when I was responding to a compliment that Becky Lynch gave me on ‘The Bump.’ She said I was the next rising star. I felt like she was calling herself The Man, but I felt like I could be superior to her in a type of way. And what’s bigger than The Man is being The Man’s Daddy. I was just trying to level up at that time and it kind of just transpired into having a life of its own.”
Sonya believes that removing any sort of gender connection adds intrigue to the audience.
“I think in the day and age of the women’s evolution (in WWE) and redefining what being a female in sports entertainment means, I think it’s kind of cool to take gender roles out of it, showing people that Daddy can mean anything. It’s not attached to a certain gender, but it obviously comes with a dominant title because when we think of dad we think of this dominant, large-and-in-charge person in our lives, and I kind of feel like I’m that dominant large-and-in-charge person in the division now.”
She also talks about having that raw emotion when cutting heel promos against her “former friend” Mandy during SmackDown.
“There’s obviously a lot of realness to it, a lot of facts in it. And I feel like with any great message if it comes from the heart and it comes from something that you truly believe in then it’s gonna be genuine. Obviously, who we are (in WWE) is part of who we actually are and I think that’s what makes Sonya relatable, too.”
Deville has previously expressed interest in having her sexuality play out in a wrestling storyline and Staszewski asks if she forsees a sincere one happening in WWE down the line. She thinks it will be sooner rather than later.
“I think anything’s possible. Especially this year, I don’t rule it out at all. Like I’ve said in the past, inclusion is important in every aspect of life, including sports entertainment, and I think that the company would agree on that. I think it’s definitely a possibility this year.”
