"A moment on Smackdown that I really liked was the Sonya Deville segment" - Former WWE manager praises Sonya Deville's in-ring appearance (Exclusive)
Dutch Mantell was impressed by how the company booked Sonya Deville's first match back from her in-ring hiatus. The former WWE manager appeared on the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk with Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III to review the Supersized SmackDown episode.
Former SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi found herself in deep waters this week as she faced Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler in a two-on-one handicap match.
Here's what Dutch Mantell had to say about the booking:
"Well most territories operated like that back in the old days. When they got hot, it was all. And when it was not hot, it really sucked. But this was the thing, when it was hot, the talent got all the credit. But then when it sucked, the booker got all the blame. It's a thankless job really. You know, a moment on Smackdown that I really liked was the Sonya Deville segment. I thought that was very good. She is a good heel," Mantell said.
Check out the entire episode of Smack Talk in the video below:
Despite a valiant effort by Naomi, the numbers game caught up to her and she got caught in the Kirifuda Clutch by Baszler. Sonya Deville then took the opportunity to pin Naomi and win the match.
Sonya Deville had her first match this week since August 2020
DESPICABLE.
#SmackDown
@NaomiWWE
@QoSBaszler https://t.co/vILp0xk5yx
Sonya Deville last competed in a match in August last year against Mandy Rose. Since then, Deville had been away from WWE for a while before making a return earlier this year as an authority figure alongside Adam Pierce.
The rivalry between Sonya Deville and Naomi has been simmering over the last few weeks ever since the latter returned to the blue brand but was not given a fair opportunity to get into the ring. Supersized SmackDown helped in furthering the story and bringing the feud to a boil.
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