WWE: Fans welcome back Sonya Deville with open arms

Months after failing to win a Loser Leaves WWE Match at SummerSlam, Sonya Deville returned on SmackDown and fans are welcoming her back with open arms.

It’s a new year, and 2021 has already delivered the shocking return of Sonya Deville on SmackDown. We haven’t seen Deville since WWE SummerSlam 2020, and on that night she took on friend turned rival Mandy Rose in a Loser Leaves WWE Match.

The clash between Deville and Rose at SummerSlam had been months in the making coming off their implosion as friends around WrestleMania 36. The two delivered weeks of jabs both phsyical and verbal to build their rivalry. Originally, it was scheduled to be a Hair vs. Hair Match, but unexpected circumstances changed things.

Just days before the scheduled match could take place, someone attempted to kidnap Deville from her own home while she was with Rose. Fortunately the two were physically okay and police handled the situation, but it was reported that Deville’s lawyer advised her not to shave her head due to the impending legal proceedings. [H/T Jeremy Lambert, Fightful]

Despite the emotional stress of the situation, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose kept their scheduled match for WWE SummerSlam 2020 and delivered what was arguably the best match of either woman’s career. They embraced a No Disqualification stipulation, on top of replacing Hair vs. Hair with Loser Leaves WWE, and gave us a violent clash worthy of the SummerSlam stage.

It also served as a logical way to write Sonya Deville off television for a period of time as she dealt with the legal situation over the incident at her home, and understandably took time to herself to mentally and emotionally recover. With no warning, she returned tonight on SmackDown in a brief backstage segment where commentary mentioned she had been “reinstated.”

Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Deville wasn’t actually expected back this soon. It remains to be seen how WWE will choose to explain her being reinstated, but the reality is that it doesn’t really matter.

Sonya Deville was always going to be back in WWE when she was ready, as is only right, and thankfully that time is now. Just with her brief appearance, fans are welcoming Deville back with open arms and excited to see her on SmackDown.

https://twitter.com/TWrestlingGirls/status/1345193503144497152

Some fans are already turning speculation towards the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble, which looms just over four weeks away with WrestleMania 37 just over the horizon. Sonya Deville would be a fantastic pick to win the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble, and it would instantly make her a top contender on either brand’s women’s division.

There’s already plenty of predictions about how the 2021 Royal Rumble might come together, but those didn’t include Sonya Deville. Win or lose, she’s absolutely got to be part of the conversation now regarding the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble.

Fortunately, her longtime rival Mandy Rose is on WWE Raw now, which will keep them separated for the time being. That rivalry can be reignited at any time in the future, but for now it looks like Deville gets a true fresh start on SmackDown that fans are eager to watch.