Royal Rumble 2021: Making The Case For Sonya Deville

Daddy’s home – and she should win the Royal Rumble.

It’s the time of the year for everyone to speculate about who should win the Royal Rumble. On the women’s side there are some obvious favorites. Bianca Belair could be hotshot to the top. Charlotte Flair is always a favorite. But what about someone who has never been Women’s Champion and only recently returned: Sonya Deville.

Recently returning from a Loser Leaves WWE absence necessitated by real-life safety concerns, Deville is back and on SmackDown. She appeared backstage walking past other members of the roster.

That's no illusion! @SonyaDevilleWWE is back on #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/26sgEDPL0H

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) January 2, 2021

Deville has never been a Women’s Champion in WWE. Here’s how WWE could book it to change that.

Booking It

Deville has been a heel for pretty much her entire WWE run. During her feud with former best friend Mandy Rose, it was Deville who did the dastardly deed of keeping Rose away from new beau Otis. Remember that storyline? It feels like it was ages ago, but it was actually the best booked storyline heading into Wrestlemania this year. Crazy how time flies.

Coming back would seemingly be a great time to turn Deville face, right? With some time away and the ability to have a fresh character it is the perfect time. For this booking to work though, Deville needs to come back and stay heel. Think Seth Rollins when he returned at Extreme Rules 2016. He returns to a big pop, but remains heel the next night.

Deville should return and rail against the WWE Universe. She should have a singular focus: getting the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Deville can even be motivated still by her broken friendship with Rose. She wants to get a title before Mandy does, proving that she was the backbone of Fire & Desire.

Have her run through some of the established women on the roster, like Natalya, the Riott Squad, or even Tamina. Play up Deville’s MMA attributes as a strong member of the roster. We have a few weeks to get Deville up to being considered a rumble threat. As of writing, Deville is only a +2500 on the latest odds for the Women’s Rumble. If they put the time in over the next few weeks and give her mic time, Deville could easily be the shock winner of the Royal Rumble.