Vince McMahon Taught Sonya Deville When To Smile As A Heel

Sonya Deville recently joined the Out of Character Podcast with Ryan Satin to talk about her experience working in Saudi Arabia as the first-ever openly gay female wrestler in WWE history.

Deville revealed her level of excitement working Elimination Chamber and why she's always wanted to be involved in the events.

"Excited, overly excited," Deville said. "I always remember every time they went to Saudi and the girls went to the middle east, I was like ugh, I really want to go. I always understood that it didn't work at the time or I wasn't in a storyline in the ring at the time but I always wanted to have that experience. I firmly believe that every time we go over there, we do a little more and we make a little more change and impact.

"I think that's really special and I always wanted to be a part of that. When I heard what the match was, I was even more stoked. Just having me and Naomi's story flow into this match made complete sense. Going up against Ronda and having Charlotte as my partner was huge so I was overwhelmed and excited."

The 28-year-old talked about having to be a heel during her match at Elimination Chamber but also wanting to display how happy she was to work in Saudi Arabia.

"I wanted to smile so bad," Deville said. "Watching it back I was like oh my god, I look miserable. That fits the character but in my head I was like I wanted to smile so bad, maybe that's why I look extra miserable because I was holding it in. It just felt grand, even the set up looked like a WrestleMania set up and then you're in Saudi Arabia and you hear these fans who don't get to see WWE four times a week like they do in the States.

"It was just so special, so cool and then when I heard the eruption of boos when my music hit, I was stunned. It was super cool."

Continuing to talk about her relationship with Vince McMahon, Sonya Deville spoke about working with the WWE CEO on numerous skits over the past year.

"The last two segments I've done with him, it was like a giggly atmosphere, we were all joking and laughing right before we filmed so I remember being so excited and giddy. But then when you have a scene you have to do with Vince McMahon and you have lines to do with Vince McMahon, it's really easy to go from 0 to 100 in 2 seconds," Deville said. "The environment and atmosphere just before the camera went on, we were all laughing and joking and making fun of each other. It was kind of a second I had to take to turn it off because I didn't want to start laughing in the middle of the scene because we have such a good time when we film."

Sonya Deville revealed what the biggest thing Vince McMahon has taught her about during her time as an authority figure.

"To pinpoint one, he reminds me to smile a lot," Deville said. "I think he loves the demeaning attitude of when someone of my role does something more passive-aggressively and then smiles. I think he thinks that that's so much more powerful than just being like 'you're not allowed in this match and duh duh duh...' That's a piece of advice he gave me when I first started the role that I've taken throughout and it's really helped. If you look back at his stuff, he's just genius at when he's giving his grin and doing his walk. It's just so hateable and he kind of gave that to me."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Out of Character with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.