On the upcoming edition of Smackdown, neither Sonya nor Charlotte were booked to compete. Charlotte, despite having returned to action in the Royal Rumble match, was still being used sparingly as she brought her elbow back to one hundred per-cent. Sonya had no such fitness worries, and found it kind of odd that she was wrestling less now that she was Smackdown Women's Champion than she had before winning the title.
At least she was going to appear on the show, she reasoned as she walked back from the makeup area, having been made to look as beautiful and aggressive as possible, as befitted her character. Visiting the makeup girls ahead of her, Charlotte had also been made up in a similar manner, ready for their appearance together on the show. They would both be joining the commentary team for the battle royal to decide Sonya's challenger at Fastlane.
When she walked back into the locker room, Sonya felt weak at the knees the moment she saw Charlotte. Her hair had been braided with incredible detail, and her makeup was stunning. For some reason, the black lipstick that had been applied as a finishing touch looked extremely alluring.
Charlotte was just pulling on a black leather jacket when she saw Sonya enter the room. She spread her arms and smiled. "How do I look?"
Mindful of the fact that so far as anyone else in the room knew, their relationship was only in kayfabe, Sonya chose her response carefully. "Great," was all she said, accompanying it with a smile.
"Thanks," Charlotte said happily. "You do, too. Your best look is with your hair down, and they make you look really fierce."
"Agreed," Mandy Rose said from nearby. "Both of you are doing amazing jobs with these new characters."
"Aww, thank you," Sonya said to one of her best friends. Even with that status, Mandy had been given no clue about the relationship with Charlotte. Sonya was the kind of person who really did keep things private when she wanted them to be private. As far as Mandy knew, Sonya was only traveling with Charlotte these days because they were an on-screen team, and it was common practice for teammates to travel together.
To move the conversation away from dangerous territory, Charlotte brought up the tournament that was to be announced on that night's show, the winner of which would be crowned the first Women's European Champion. Charlotte was in the tournament, with her first match set for the following week.
"Who do you think is going to win?" Mandy asked Sonya and Charlotte, meaning the tournament.
"Well, if it's not me," Charlotte said, "I'd like it to be someone who's never held a title before, such as yourself or Asuka. Or even someone like Zelina, maybe."
"More likely it will be either you or Becky," Mandy said. Although she had tried to hide it, there was a hint of bitterness in her tone.
"I don't know about that," Sonya said. "I got a title run, so there's no reason you shouldn't."
"I guess we'll see," Mandy replied.
Sonya hoped she had been imagining the jealousy she felt like she had picked up on. Of all the people in the locker room, she would have expected Mandy to be the happiest for her that she was Smackdown Women's Champion. She wondered if she ought to have a sit down with her friend at some point and make sure everything was okay between them.
"Want to go grab a coffee?" Charlotte asked Sonya, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Sure," Sonya smiled. "I'll catch you later," she said to Mandy, then followed Charlotte towards the door.
Smackdown Live – February 5th 2019
The battle royal to determine the number one contender for the Smackdown Women's Championship was the main event of the night.
After Greg Hamilton announced the contest, Sonya Deville's music was first to play.
"Well, here comes our Women's Champion," Tom Phillips said on commentary. "Needless to say, Sonya Deville is not taking part in the battle royal. I guess she's coming out to scout her next opponent first hand."
Sonya walked onto the stage, greeted with a chorus of boos. She was wearing her 'Unleash the Deville inside' shirt and a pair of jeans. As usual when she wasn't competing, there was a pair of aviator sunglasses perched on her forehead. The Smackdown Women's Championship was worn proudly around her waist.
When Sonya reached the bottom of the ramp and started to walk around the ring, it became apparent that she was on her way to the commentary table.
"Looks like we're going to be graced with the champ's presence," Graves said, sounding like he was sucking up before Sonya even got within earshot. As she approached the table, he stood up and encouraged his colleagues to do the same. "Get up, you two. Where are your manners? Hello, Sonya," he said as she reached his side of the table.
"Hello, Corey," Sonya said after putting on a spare headset.
Phillips and Saxton also greeted her, before Phillips said, "It seems you're out here to scout your next opponent?"
"Is there a question in that?" Sonya said objectionably as she sat down. "Of course that's why I'm here. I'm not here for the company, trust me."
"Thanks a lot," Saxton mumbled.
Sonya's music faded out. Surprisingly, it was replaced by Charlotte's.
"That's right, guys, the Queen is joining us too!" Sonya announced proudly as the crowd booed for a second time.
"We really are lucky tonight," Graves said.
"Look at her. Look how beautiful she is," Sonya said as Charlotte posed regally on the stage, arms outstretched in her familiar pose. "A Queen in every sense of the word."
Charlotte walked to the commentary table. When she got there, Sonya was ready and waiting to give her a peck on the lips before the regular commentators got the chance to greet her.
"Charlotte, welcome," Graves said. "What a pleasant surprise to have you join us."
"I'm sure it is a pleasure for you," Charlotte replied as she put on a headset and sat down next to Sonya. "We're out here to see who Sonya is going to face at Fastlane."
"No disrespect, Charlotte," Phillips said. "But…"
Charlotte cut him off. "When you start a sentence by saying no disrespect, you're about to disrespect me."
"I don't mean to, but I have to ask why you felt the need to come out? You're not in the battle royal, so I don't know why it concerns you."
"It concerns me because it concerns Sonya," Charlotte snapped. "I'm sure you have no idea what true love is, Phillips, so I'm not surprised you don't get it."
While that exchange had been taking place, Carmella had been making her entrance.
Over the next few minutes, the rest of the Smackdown women's roster came out to the ring. Every single one of them had been given the chance to earn themselves a shot at Deville.
BREAK
Fifteen minutes later, Naomi was sent flying over the top rope and into elimination by Becky Lynch. Two women now remained in the battle royal: Lynch and Carmella.
A 'Becky' chant filled the arena as the final two competitors locked eyes from across the ring.
"Sonya, you'll be facing either Becky Lynch or Carmella," Saxton said. "Do you have a preference?"
Sonya was shown with an indifferent look on her face. "Carmella, I guess. I mean, I've already tapped out Becky. What would be the point of doing that again?"
Charlotte laughed. "So much for Becky being The Man."
Becky and Carmella went at it for a couple of minutes, until Becky hit a Bexploder suplex.
Figuring that would be enough for an elimination, Becky hauled Carmella to her feet and whipped her towards the ropes.
Carmella didn't go over the top rope. Instead, she grabbed hold of it by looping both arms over it, standing with her back to the ropes.
Wanting to finish the match off, Becky ran forwards. Her intention had been to clothesline Carmella out of the ring, but Carmella lowered her head and used Becky's momentum to lift her over the top rope.
Somehow, Becky was able to land on the ring apron, avoiding elimination. She spun around to attack Carmella.
It was a move that Carmella had expected. As Becky turned around, Mella was already in the process of delivering a superkick. It connected flush with Becky's jaw, knocking her off the apron to the floor.
There was a noticeable groan from the crowd. Carmella was the winner. Although she was usually popular with the fans, they couldn't choose her over Becky.
"Carmella wins!" Phillips called. "It's going to be Carmella versus Sonya Deville at Fastlane!"
"Hold my glasses, Queen," Sonya said as she took her headset off.
Leaving her glasses and title belt with Charlotte, Sonya got up and walked away from the commentary table.
"Wait a minute, where is she going?" Phillips demanded.
"To show Carmella what happens when the Deville inside is unleashed," Charlotte said.
In the ring, Carmella was dancing in celebration of her important and hard-won victory. Unfortunately for her, it gave Sonya the chance to slide under the ropes behind her, unnoticed. Even the fans trying to shout warnings didn't get through to Mella, who never knew a vicious kick was coming to the back of her head until she took it, collapsing to the mat like a bag of wet sand.
Arms outstretched, Sonya roared like a wild beast, the veins standing out in her neck.
"Here we go! This is what happens to anyone who gets in there with Sonya," Charlotte said.
Sonya straddled Carmella and began savagely punching her in the face, yelling with the force she put behind each blow.
"Come on, this is ridiculous," Phillips objected. "Sonya Deville attacked Carmella from behind. What is this supposed to prove?"
"I think I just told you," Charlotte said pointedly.
With Carmella totally beaten down, Sonya got up and gave another scream of rage. She wasn't done yet. Picking up her soon-to-be challenger, Sonya threw her through the ropes on the commentary table side of the ring like a piece of irrelevant garbage.
"Clear the damn table!" Sonya shouted to Charlotte.
Charlotte was only too happy to help out. She removed the decorative cover from the table and tossed it aside, before doing the same with the monitors.
Table now cleared, Sonya picked up Carmella and got her in a powerbomb position in front of the table.
Wasting no time on words or ceremony, Sonya lifted Carmella up into the air and drove her through the table with real authority.
Looking down at the remnants of Carmella, lying on top of the destroyed table, Sonya yelled again, this time pleased with her actions.
Sonya walked over to a headset that had been left lying on the floor when the table imploded. She picked it up and spoke into the microphone. "That's just a taste of what's coming at Fastlane."
As Sonya threw the headset aside, her music began to play and Charlotte handed her the Smackdown Women's Championship. The episode ended with Sonya standing over Carmella, holding the title belt high in the air while Charlotte raised her other hand.
Carmella was the winner of the battle royal, but she certainly didn't look like a winner as Smackdown went off air.
A/N: Thank you to those who left a review on the previous chapter. Forza Azzurra correctly predicted Carmella as the battle royal winner.
Next time, WWE will be filming another segment for the romance side of the Charlotte/Sonya angle. The question is, what would you like to see them doing?