Daria Rae (Sonya Deville) on She “Never Wanted To Step Away” From Wrestling After 2020 Home Invasion Incident & Her Talks with TNA President Carlos Silva After Her WWE Departure

The Metro held a recent interview with TNA authority figure Daria Rae, former Sonya Deville in WWE. One of the topics discussed included Rae’s thoughts about her hiatus from WWE in 2020 and how she never wanted to step away from wrestling following her being the victim of a home invasion and attempted kidnapping incident the summer of 2020.

“I never wanted to step away. That wasn’t my choice. It was probably what was best for me at the time, so I’m glad people had my personal well-being in mind, but I never wanted to step away.

I was chomping at the bit every second I was home, texting the powers that be like, ‘When can I come back? When can I come back?’

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20. But I was hungry, I was in the middle of it. I had loved the angle and the storyline that Mandy and I did, including Dolph [Ziggler] – [AKA Nic Nemeth] – and Otis.

I was kind of just getting my footing, I feel like, as a character on screen. Obviously, we can’t predict the future, and timing wasn’t perfect.

I can’t ever look back and be like, ‘Oh I wish that didn’t happen’. Because everything leads to the next thing, and where you’re supposed to be.

Look at me now – I’m in TNA, it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be right now, I believe that.”

Rae also gave her thoughts about her talks with TNA President Carlos Silva following her departure from WWE in February of 2025 and her reason for not wanting to join TNA Wrestling at the time.

“I had had conversations with Carlos (Silva) from TNA as soon as I left WWE, and that wasn’t the time for me, and I didn’t know if it would ever be to be honest, and then it just felt right. So I shot him a text, and it happened to be the day before they announced the AMC TV deal. So he’s like, ‘Did you know?’ And I was like, ‘No, I had no idea, but that’s great news,’ and so we went back and forth and made it happen, and it ended up being, I think, perfect timing.”

Rae also gave her thoughts about her current on-screen dynamic with TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella in TNA.

“He understands what people want, but also he just genuinely has that likeable factor. I think I genuinely have the unlikable factor. So it worked perfectly, like a match made in heaven.

I was like, ‘Oh, I would love to kind of come in there and dim his light,’ just because he’s so funny. His comedic timing is impeccable. He’s so beloved by the fans, as he should be.”