5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 26)

1. Sonya Deville Needs Purpose

Bianca Belair Adam Pearce Sonya Deville
WWE.com

Last year, Sonya Deville was hot sh*t.

Yours truly waxed lyrical about her abilities on the mic, her menace and predicted that Sonya could go on to fill the gap left by someone like Becky Lynch. Such 2020 gushing seems like a lifetime ago now; in 2021, Deville is a suited and booted cardboard cutout who lacks any and all bite.

Playing assistant to Adam Pearce makes her look lame, and she neither comes across as heelish or as a babyface authority figure. In short, it's totally pointless. Being honest, this fan would rather Sonya wasn't on screen at all if this is her lot. Her effectiveness has been neutered big time.

WWE must figure out a way to make Deville mean more again. If they fancy having a soft GM on Fridays, then why not give her the gig solo and oust Pearce back to calling for help when someone has been ambushed backstage? They need to do something with Sonya before it's too late.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.