Recently released star reveals she was in contract negotiations with WWE prior to her departure

Former WWE champion talks about her parting ways with the Stamford-based promotion and how she feels about the company.

Recently released star reveals she was in contract negotiations with WWE prior to her departure

Sonya Deville talks about her WWE departure (via WWE)

Speaking on Daria & Toni Unwrapped, a podcast that she co-hosts with her wife, Sonya Deville talked about her departure from WWE. She revealed that she was actually in between negotiations with the company for her contract. However, one day, she got a phone call informing her that they made the decision not to re-sign her. This was quite shocking to her.

Regardless, she acknowledged that this was just a business decision and had no ill will against the company or anyone there. Although Deville was technically not released from WWE, she parted ways with the company roughly at the same time as the latest round of talent cuts. Her situation is very similar to what happened with Baron Corbin last year. He was also let go after the Stamford-based promotion did not renew his contract.

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Deville had been with the company for over a decade, first joining them in Tough Enough 2015. She was soon called up to the main roster in 2017. Unfortunately, she was unable to climb her way up to the main-event picture. Although she had won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Chelsea Green in 2023, she was forced to give up her title due to an ACL injury.

After returning from her injury, Deville formed the Pure Fusion Collective alongside Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark. They were being pushed as a highly dominant force. However, they failed to get over with the fans and eventually found themselves floating around on the mid-card. 

Sonya Deville says that everyone in WWE was family to her

During the same podcast, Sonya Deville opened up about her relationship with those in the company. She reflected on the past 10 years and emphasized the strong bonds that she had formed with her colleagues. She had only positive memories from her time in the Stamford-based promotion and loved everyone there.

Sonya Deville
Sonya Deville (via WWE)

Deville said that when people work at a place for over 10 years, they get very close to their co-workers. After spending a decade in WWE, everyone, from backstage personnel to on-screen talent, felt like family to her.

The] fact that I had been there for 10 years, the fact that I had a great relationship with almost everybody, from backstage to talent to across the board, and everyone was like family.

Sonya Deville on Daria & Toni Unwrapped

Fans cannot wait to see what Deville’s future holds for her and whether she continues her professional wrestling career by jumping to another promotion. It is worth noting that, unlike the other recently released wrestlers, the former Raw superstar is not bound to a 90-day no-compete clause as her contract simply ran its course.

Related: WWE nixed plans for 28-year-old star to join Chelsea Green’s group on SmackDown prior to release: Report