Daria Rae Reflects on WWE Feud With Mandy Rose, Says She Didn’t Want To Step Away After Attempted Kidnapping

New TNA authority figure Daria Rae (aka Sonya Deville) recently spoke with Metro UK’s Alistair McGeorge, reflecting on her feud with her former tag team partner, Mandy Rose, heading into a match at WWE SummerSlam 2020. WWE altered the original plans for the match due to a real-life incident with a stalker attempting to break in and kidnap Rae in her home.

Rae was temporarily written off WWE TV after the incident. Speaking to Metro, Rae explained that she never wanted to step away, even if “it was probably what was best” for her at the time. She stated, “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?'”

According to Rae, she was quite “mad” when she was told she couldn’t return to TV yet, although she appreciates people having her best interests at heart. The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion continued, “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.”

Daria Rae would return to WWE TV in January 2021 in an authority figure role on SmackDown. She noted, “Coming back in the authority role was arguably the most fun I had in [WWE]. It was cool. 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.” She also noted on her new role in TNA Wrestling, “Look at me now – I’m in TNA, it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be right now, I believe that.”

As previously reported, Daria Rae recently announced that she signed a short-term, six-month contract with TNA Wrestling.