# Sonya Deville
**Sonya Deville** is the ring name of Daria Rae Berenato (born 1993), an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist from Shamong Township, New Jersey, best known for a near-decade run in WWE and for being the company's first openly gay female wrestler.[1](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/wrestlers/sonya-deville) • [2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) • [3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2020/07/06/wwes-sonya-deville-on-wrestling-with-no-crowd-during-covid-19-lgbtq-representation/) Before wrestling, she competed in MMA under her real name and the nickname "The Jersey Devil."
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, Shamong Township, New Jersey[1](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/wrestlers/sonya-deville) |
| Ring names | Sonya Deville, Daria Berenato, Daria Rae[1](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/wrestlers/sonya-deville) |
| MMA background | Three professional MMA fights and three national grappling tournament wins between ages 17 and 23; trained at American Top Team[4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/sonya-deville-interview) |
| WWE entry | 2015 Tough Enough finalist (eleventh eliminated); signed with WWE in October 2015[5](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Sonya_Deville) |
| Championship | WWE Women's Tag Team Champion with Chelsea Green, her first title in WWE[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) |
| WWE departure | Released in February 2025 while in the middle of contract negotiations[6](https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1546034-sonya-deville-details-the-differences-between-working-for-triple-h-and-vince-mcmahon) |
| Current role | Director of Operations for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, appearing as Daria Rae[1](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/wrestlers/sonya-deville) |
## MMA career
Berenato decided she wanted to fight at age 14, when the UFC had no women's division, and her mother drove her an hour away to a gym called Liberty Boxing, where she began training judo and boxing; five months later she won an in-house grappling tournament against male training partners.[4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/sonya-deville-interview) The day after graduating high school she drove to [South Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-florida) to train with [American Top Team](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-top-team), one of the best-known fight teams in the country, and supported her fighting by bartending.[4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/sonya-deville-interview)
Between the ages of 17 and 23 she fought three MMA fights, won three national grappling tournaments, produced an independent film, earned a real estate license, worked for Paramount Studios, and managed a craft beer bar in Los Angeles.[4](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/sonya-deville-interview) In her first career fight she defeated Allenita Perez in round three by guillotine choke submission.[7](https://lastwordonsports.com/prowrestling/2020/06/15/before-famous-sonya-deville/) Her last cage competition came in 2015, the year she moved to wrestling.[8](https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/exclusive-sonya-deville-open-competing-mma-again/)
## WWE career
**Tough Enough and NXT.** In June 2015 Berenato was announced as one of thirteen finalists for the sixth season of the WWE reality competition Tough Enough, where she was the eleventh contestant eliminated.[5](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Sonya_Deville) She signed a WWE contract in October 2015 and was assigned to the Performance Center and NXT, making her in-ring debut at a December 30 live event in a loss to [Nia Jax](https://www.edgepedia.org/nia-jax).[5](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Sonya_Deville)
**Main roster and Absolution.** Deville debuted on Raw as part of the [Absolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/absolution) trio alongside Paige and [Mandy Rose](https://www.edgepedia.org/mandy-rose), then moved to SmackDown LIVE with Rose in the 2018 Superstar Shake-up.[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) Rose and Deville became one of the blue brand's top tandems and came close to becoming the first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions in the [Elimination Chamber](https://www.edgepedia.org/elimination-chamber), competing for 33 minutes as the last team eliminated.[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville)
**Authority figure.** The friendship between Deville and Rose collapsed in a 2020 storyline that climaxed in a "Loser Leaves WWE" match at [SummerSlam](https://www.edgepedia.org/summerslam) 2020, which Deville lost; she was absent until January 2021.[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) • [9](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/2047718/wwe-sonya-deville-ronda-rousey-things-changed/) She returned as a WWE official working alongside [Adam Pearce](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-pearce), using the position to manipulate matches and Superstars, and was eventually relieved of her duties on screen by Pearce.[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) She has said she did not originally consider the authority role when she pitched wearing suits on television.[10](https://wrestletalk.com/news/sonya-deville-explains-became-authority-figure/)
**Tag team champion and final run.** In early 2023 Deville aligned with [Chelsea Green](https://www.edgepedia.org/chelsea-green), and the pair defeated [Liv Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/liv-morgan) and Raquel Rodriguez to win the [WWE Women's Tag Team Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/wwe-womens-tag-team-championship), Deville's first gold in the company.[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) She later aligned herself with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark in the Pure Fusion Collective, a faction built around the members' real MMA backgrounds.[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) • [11](https://wrestletalk.com/news/wwe-sonya-deville-reason-character-change/) WWE released her in February 2025; she has said she was in the middle of contract negotiations at the time.[6](https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1546034-sonya-deville-details-the-differences-between-working-for-triple-h-and-vince-mcmahon)
## Character and identity
Deville's persona drew directly on her fighting background, with striking and submission holds as her in-ring foundation.[2](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville) She has described herself as the first female MMA fighter to come to WWE, a label that initially defined her role as the muscle of Absolution and Fire & Desire with little microphone time.[12](https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/4/1/23003686/sonya-deville-more-mma-fighters-crossover-wwe-future-its-kind-of-natural-transition-wrestlemania-38) She has said that [Ronda Rousey](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronda-rousey)'s 2018 WWE debut forced a change, because she feared being passed over as the roster's fighter, and she began leaning into her femininity and developing a fuller character during the Mandy Rose storyline during the pandemic.[9](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/2047718/wwe-sonya-deville-ronda-rousey-things-changed/)
Deville is openly gay and has been a prominent representative of the LGBTQ community in WWE, speaking publicly about coming out to [Triple H](https://www.edgepedia.org/triple-h) and about wanting queer storylines in mainstream wrestling.[3](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2020/07/06/wwes-sonya-deville-on-wrestling-with-no-crowd-during-covid-19-lgbtq-representation/) • [13](https://www.allure.com/story/sonya-deville-interview-wwe-wrestler-gay)
## After WWE
After her release, Berenato adopted the name Daria Rae and joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as its Director of Operations, an on-screen authority role.[1](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/wrestlers/sonya-deville) In May 2025 she made her debut as an MMA commentator.[14](https://lastwordonsports.com/prowrestling/2025/05/16/daria-berenato-sonya-deville-makes-mma-commentary-debut-press-pass-report/) She has also argued that the crossover from MMA to professional wrestling will keep growing, calling it "kind of a natural transition" because fighters already combine in-ring legitimacy with the persona work needed to sell tickets.[12](https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/4/1/23003686/sonya-deville-more-mma-fighters-crossover-wwe-future-its-kind-of-natural-transition-wrestlemania-38)
## References
1. [Sonya Deville / Daria Rae: Profile, Career Stats, Titles & Gimmicks, Pro Wrestlers Database](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/wrestlers/sonya-deville)
2. [Sonya Deville, WWE.com superstar profile](https://www.wwe.com/superstars/sonya-deville)
3. [WWE's Sonya Deville On Wrestling With No Crowd During Covid-19, LGBTQ Representation, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2020/07/06/wwes-sonya-deville-on-wrestling-with-no-crowd-during-covid-19-lgbtq-representation/)
4. ["Fighting is my specialty": Why getting paid to hurt people makes Sonya Deville happy, WWE.com (June 1, 2017)](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/sonya-deville-interview)
5. [Sonya Deville, Pro Wrestling Fandom](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Sonya_Deville)
6. [Sonya Deville Details The Differences Between Working For Triple H and Vince McMahon, Wrestlezone (March 5, 2025)](https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1546034-sonya-deville-details-the-differences-between-working-for-triple-h-and-vince-mcmahon)
7. [Before They Were Famous: Sonya Deville, Last Word On Pro Wrestling](https://lastwordonsports.com/prowrestling/2020/06/15/before-famous-sonya-deville/)
8. [Exclusive: Sonya Deville open to competing in MMA again, Fightful](https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/exclusive-sonya-deville-open-competing-mma-again/)
9. [Sonya Deville Explains Why Things Changed For Her In WWE When Ronda Rousey Debuted, Wrestling Inc.](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/2047718/wwe-sonya-deville-ronda-rousey-things-changed/)
10. [Sonya Deville Explains How She Became An Authority Figure, WrestleTalk](https://wrestletalk.com/news/sonya-deville-explains-became-authority-figure/)
11. [Former WWE Star Reveals Reason For Character Change, WrestleTalk](https://wrestletalk.com/news/wwe-sonya-deville-reason-character-change/)
12. [Sonya Deville believes even more MMA fighters will crossover to WWE in the future, MMA Fighting (April 1, 2022)](https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/4/1/23003686/sonya-deville-more-mma-fighters-crossover-wwe-future-its-kind-of-natural-transition-wrestlemania-38)
13. [Sonya Deville Is on a Mission to Bring Queer Storylines to Mainstream Wrestling, Allure](https://www.allure.com/story/sonya-deville-interview-wwe-wrestler-gay)
14. [Daria Berenato (Sonya Deville) Makes MMA Commentary Debut, Last Word On Pro Wrestling (May 16, 2025)](https://lastwordonsports.com/prowrestling/2025/05/16/daria-berenato-sonya-deville-makes-mma-commentary-debut-press-pass-report/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Professional wrestlers and stables › American wrestlers › Modern era wrestlers › WWE main roster wrestlers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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