• Sonya Deville Reveals What Vince McMahon Said After Her & Mandy Rose’s WWE Debut
During her appearance on the Rulebreakers with Saraya podcast, former WWE star Sonya Deville looked back at the night she and Mandy Rose debuted on the main roster as part of Absolution, led by Paige – and the surprising backstage reaction from Vince McMahon himself.
Deville recalled that after their first segment together, McMahon pulled the trio aside and felt good about what he saw.
“We walked back through the curtain after our debut, and Vince literally called us over and said, ‘This is going to work,’” Deville said. “I still get chills thinking about it.”
At the time, Deville was brand new to the main roster and admitted she was intimidated to be paired with Paige.
“I’d only been wrestling for two years,” she said. “I was just three weeks into the main roster. Being teamed with Paige – one of the most iconic women ever – was surreal.”
The Absolution faction was short-lived after Paige’s career-ending injury (at the time), but Deville said the experience gave her invaluable confidence and direction early in her WWE journey.
“It was perfect chemistry,” she said. “Paige was the talker, Mandy was the bombshell, and I was the a$$-kicker. We all clicked. That’s why Vince loved it.”
The moment remains one of Deville’s favorite memories from her career, marking the night her WWE journey truly began.
• Ex-WWF Personality Compares Vince McMahon’s Situation To Bill Cosby, Says Money Helps Him Avoid Consequences
On the Writing With Russo podcast, former WWF/WCW/TNA writer Vince Russo compared Vince McMahon’s recent legal troubles to the late-life downfall of Bill Cosby, saying both men are examples of once-powerful figures whose reputations have collapsed under the weight of their own actions.
Russo made the comparison while reacting to TMZ’s report that McMahon’s reckless driving charge will be dismissed if he donates $1,000 to charity and stays out of trouble.
“It’s crazy – Vince just keeps landing on his feet,” Russo said. “He’s got endless funds to pay lawyers, and when you have that kind of money, you can make almost anything go away.”
Russo said he wasn’t surprised McMahon escaped serious punishment and argued that wealth often shields the rich from real accountability.
“People like Vince live nine lives. The rest of us would be buried under that kind of case, but he’ll just write a check and move on.”
He then broadened the conversation to note the similarities between McMahon and Cosby – both older, once-respected entertainment moguls who are now facing public scrutiny late in life.
“When I think of these guys, I think of Vince McMahon and Bill Cosby,” Russo said. “They both lived incredible lives – powerful, successful – and now they’re both going through it. And it’s all stuff they brought on themselves.”
Russo emphasized that while McMahon’s legal problems are far less severe than Cosby’s, the comparison reflects how fame, ego, and money can create bubbles that collapse when reality finally catches up.
“At the end of the day, Vince has been protected his whole life by power and wealth. And even now, it still saves him.”
