Daria Rae On Why She Decided To Return To Wrestling, Talks Keeping Debut Secret

Daria Rae is back in professional wrestling with TNA, and the former Sonya Deville recently revealed what brought her back to the business. As previously reported, Rae made her debut at TNA Impact’s premiere on AMC as a new heel authority figure. The return marked Rae’s first appearance since she was released by WWE last February.

Rae recently spoke with Denise Salcedo for a new interview and spoke about making her return to the business. You can see the highlights below:

On Keeping Her Debut Secret:

“I will say I worked very hard to keep that [her TNA debut] under wraps. I mean, I took ridiculous precautions. I looked like the cat burglar going through the airport. It was ridiculous. And I told nobody except my wife, of course.”

On Deciding To Return To Wrestling:

“When we spoke, I had just left, I think. And I definitely needed a break. I had been there [in WWE] for 10 years. Professional wrestling and sports entertainment was all I knew. I was there from 21 to 31 years old. And so, I took a much needed break. And then as we rounded the end of the year, I just had an epiphany. I looked at my wife and I was like, ‘Babe, I think I want to go back to wrestling in some capacity.’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, I think you should.’ So that was kind of it.”

On Reaching Out to the Company:

“I had been talking to TNA kind of from the moment I left. Because TNA is owned by the same company that Invicta FC the MMA company is owned by [in] Anthem Sports. So I had met Carlos [Silva] at an Invicta event. We had talked back then, and I just wasn’t ready then. And then I was. So I reached out and I was like, ‘Let’s do this.’

“And it happened to be the day before they were going to announce the AMC TV deal. And he’s like, ‘Did you know?’ I was like, ‘No, I had no clue. How would I know?’ And so it was kind of this — that was the full circle moment that I needed. It was the reassurance that this is the right time, right place. And then when I walked out on stage for that first time in 10 months, almost 11 months, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is where I’m supposed to be.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.