Sonya Deville addresses her WWE departure: ‘I was shocked’

Sonya Deville was shocked to learn that her WWE contract was not being renewed.

Deville — real name Daria Berenato — was among those who departed WWE in a round of roster cuts earlier this month. She was not technically released by the company but was informed that her contract would not be renewed when it expires in a few weeks.

In a new YouTube video uploaded today, Deville addressed her departure for the first time and spoke about what’s next for her. Deville said she had been in negotiations for a new WWE deal and expected the phone call she got would be about that. Instead, she was told that her contract would not be renewed.

“As a lot of you guys know, 10 days ago now, I got the call. My contract was not being renewed with the WWE,” Deville said. “I was in Washington, D.C. for a cheer tournament with our little one. I was actually running on the treadmill working out with our older one Giovanna, and I got a phone call. We were in the middle of negotiations, and so I thought the phone call was going to be the middle ground that we met on, an agreement, a contract. And it was, ‘We are not renewing your contract.’ So, complete transparency, which this is really the first time I’m saying this, I was shocked.”

Deville said the news was unexpected because she had been with WWE for 10 years and had a great relationship with everyone. When you work somewhere that long, everyone becomes like family. But she feels only gratitude toward WWE for making the 10 best years of her life possible. She loved every minute of her WWE career and still loves everyone there.

Though she was surprised by her departure, Deville believes everything happens for a reason. She fell in love with wrestling while with WWE, but acting was her dream when she was growing up. Deville revealed that she booked her first big film project three days before her WWE contract was not renewed, so she feels like the timing of everything worked out serendipitously and the universe is guiding her into what’s next.

“First it was shock. At first it was like, ‘Whoa.’ But then it was almost like instantaneously, my trust in the universe allowed me to just be at peace with it instantly. Because you can’t fight fate. That chapter was meant to close, and all these new beautiful blessings were meant to come,” she said. “Just the way things happened, like is there anything more serendipitous? It happened for a reason, so how could you be mad at that? How could you be upset or frustrated or even wonder ‘What if?’ Life’s too short. I have so many dreams, so many things I want to do.

“And I still love everybody there. And I have a great — like, my memory from that place is nothing but positive. And I want to keep it that way. But also I respect that the universe is like, ‘Hey, that chapter’s closed.’ Right now, forever, whatever, it doesn’t matter. But onto the next, let’s go. I have two kids and a wife to take care of. We have a family. Like, we’ve gotta keep going. So I think that just allowed me to have like instant peace. It was like, it’s all good.”

Deville was part of Pure Fusion Collective on the WWE Raw roster before her departure. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark are the two remaining members of the faction.