WWE SmackDown Smacks and Downs: ‘Daddy Deville’ is amazing

Smack: Sonya Deville continues to downright SLAY

If only WWE had let this Deville shine the last few years.

She just continues to outright SHINE since her revelatory promo where she turned heel on Rose. If you weren’t on the “Daddy Deville” train yet, better sprint alongside it and grab on before it speeds out of reach and sight.

Her barbs straddled the line between kayfabe and reality, and this is where pro wrestling generally has the most intriguing and exciting stories that really draws the emotional investment from fans.

She said the only thing Rose is good at is being blonde and pretty, “and when that’s all over, where does that leave you?” Well, apparently barefoot and pregnant in a double-wide trailer with Otis and a number of other children, all while cooking some “high cholesterol meats” on the grill.

Deville topped it by accentuating her own talents: “You’re never going to be a winner like me. You’re never going to have the skill, talent, charisma, and mind that I have.” It’s hard to argue with Deville’s words.

The best part of Deville’s heel turn and masterclass promos the last few weeks is that it’s kept Ziggler quiet. Yes, he did have one good non-yelling promo with Deville during this partnership, but the less we hear Ziggler’s shouting promos, the more sane we’ll all be.

I’ve written before how Deville was the victim of bad timing with the additions of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler to the roster. All three have mixed martial arts backgrounds, but unlike the latter two, Deville didn’t reach the heights of competing in top-level MMA. Her character was believable, but paled in comparison to the two, particularly what we’ve seen of Baszler the last few years.

All she needed (much like those two) was an edge, and she found it during this heel turn. This will make her offense look even more stiff and brutal, especially that beautiful sliding knee. I hope we see more of her grappling/submission acumen as that can really add a sense of danger to a character; think Baszler choking out Rey Mysterio last Sunday.

We’re going to witness more of Deville’s growth next week in the mixed tag match with her and Ziggler vs. Rose and Otis. I’m interested to see what heel tactics she uses in this match, and whether or not she spends the match trying to avoid Rose or going directly at Rose.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed how surprised I’ve been that WWE has been able to tell this story that involves two men without making it about the two men. This feud probably passes the Bechdel test.

Backlash seems the perfect show to have the payoff singles match between Deville and Rose both in time frame and the name of the event. Regardless, I’m invested in this feud and downright loving this new, edgier “Daddy Deville.”

It was a very mixed bag of a show (I didn’t even discuss the atrocity of having Naomi lose clean again to Dana Brooke!). However, there was enough intrigue to keep me entertained. The show also did a fine job in setting up next week’s show where we’ll have four marquee matches in Flair vs. Bayley, Rose/Otis vs. Deville/Ziggler, Styles vs. Nakamura, and Hardy vs. Sheamus.

Until then, stay safe everyone!