WWE: Sonya Deville on Her Stalker’s Prison Sentence, Cody Rhodes on WWE’s New World Title, More News

WWE

May 5, 2023

Sonya Deville Issues Statement on Her Stalker’s Lengthy Prison Sentence

As noted before, Sonya Deville was the victim of an attempted kidnapping incident at her home in Lutz, Florida in August of 2020. The suspect, Phillip A. Thomas, was sentenced this past April to 15 years in prison and an additional 15 years of probation following his guilty plea over the charges against him.

Deville recently issued an official statement on Instagram about getting some closure over the incident and her stalker and attempted kidnapper being sentenced to a lengthy time in prison.

“Thank you to everyone who has reached out today. After almost 3 years we finally got some closure last week. I am happy and healthy and have amazing people by my side. To say it’s over feels odd but I am beyond grateful for the support and help I received over the past 3 years from HCSO, Tampa PD, to everyone in the courts, attorneys, friends, security and so so many more. I have a lot to say pertaining to this situation which I feel can help a lot of people in similar situations now that the legalities are over. BUT for now thank you”

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Cody Rhodes Comments on His Goal to Still Dethrone Roman Reigns & WWE’s Debut of New World Title

Comic Book Nation held a recent interview with Cody Rhodes. One of the topics discussed included Rhodes’ thoughts on WWE’s recent debut of a new World Heavyweight Championship and still having the goal of defeating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

“Triple H, being the coach here and calling the shots, and making it clear that the World Heavyweight Championship, from a fan of physical belts and all the nods and things that were done; the lions, pieces of old titles put on this hunting piece of metal that Triple H unveiled, as a fan of classic titles, it’s definitely something that piqued my interest. That’s the title that represents Raw. That’s the title that main events Raw. That’s the title that is the franchise title for the USA Network. I can’t say that I don’t want it. I can’t say that’s not something that, if you look and revise your goals and say, ‘this is the route we have to go,’ especially with me being drafted to Raw, that might be more of a case of a different story. The goal is still the same for me, but by no means am I, or should anyone, be looking down on the new World Championship. It’s one of those things where in time, people will hopefully come to love and revere. It’s being positioned as the lead title for the brand itself and it will take a lead individual to handle it. Raw has a stacked roster. I definitely want to throw myself in the mix. I try not to get into the discussion because of how WrestleMania 39 ends, a lot of people wonder how I would look at this. I try not to get into a discussion on it because, in my mind, the goal hasn’t changed, but other things are going to come up. You’re going to confront new adversity and for me, that’s Brock Lesnar more than anything. I can’t even think about that beautiful belt until I’m able to do something that very few people are able to do; get in the ring with The Beast and not just survive, but win.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

WWE News & Notes

Deadline.com reported that Ronda Rousey will be one of the competitors for an upcoming reality competition television series called Stars on Mars on FOX.

In a recent update on their official website, WWE is currently advertising that Roman Reigns will be making an appearance at this year’s Money in the Bank event, which takes place on July 1st in London, England. Reigns is also currently advertised to be making an appearance at this month’s Night of Champions 2023 event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In an interesting note, WWE’s recent update to their ad for this year’s Money in the Bank event no longer features Drew McIntyre nor Charlotte Flair on the official poster for the event. Both Flair and McIntyre have been out of action for WWE since this past April due to unknown health issues. McIntyre’s contract with WWE is currently set to expire by early 2023 and he had recently removed all references to the company on his Twitter account.

Pat McAfee announced on Twitter that his wife Samantha gave birth to their first child on Thursday.

Former WWE wrestler Thrasher, real name Glenn Ruth, announced on Facebook that The Headbangers, Mosh & Thrasher, recently signed a Legends contract with WWE.

Former WWE photographer Tom Buchanan recently posted online a company memo from Linda McMahon in the mid-1990s detailing a “profit improvement plan” listing all the ways that WWE could save money and improve their profits. This plan was enacted during a period of time in WWE’s history where they were suffering from serious financial issues. This period took place early into the Monday Night War era when their main rival WCW was on a hot streak for business.

As noted before, WWE has been in talks with gambling regulators from several states to have legalized gambling approved in their states for WWE matches, which has led to three states stating they will not give their approval and two other states already having laws that prevent gambling for non-sports events. In a recent interview with Sportico, New Hampshire Lottery commission executive director Charlie McIntyre stated that he is doubtful that legalized betting would be approved for future WWE events in his state. McIntrye stated “I have a fear of accepting wagers on any event that is perceived to have an outcome that is not based upon performance, but is based upon scripted or engineered efforts. It is very unlikely that New Hampshire would consider the WWE suitable content for sports betting.“

In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn stated that they were not told beforehand by WWE officials that they were being called up from NXT and drafted to the SmackDown brand. Fyre stated “I’ve been saying it for days, I still don’t feel like it’s quite settled in yet. We had no idea. No idea we were going to be drafted. It means so much. We both worked really hard for this and for a long time. Getting things like this, you know you’re being appreciated.” Dawn responded stating “The timing with teaming a month ago, that was our second TV match, we’ve only been together a short time.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)