6 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Former World Champion makes in-ring return after 6 years, 11-month Championship reign ends (January 8th, 2021)

An interesting episode of SmackDown
An interesting episode of SmackDown

#2 Sonya Deville's new role on SmackDown

Sonya Deville
Sonya Deville

Since there wasn't too much progression in the women's division on SmackDown, we can lump it into one point. Bianca Belair and Bayley are still lightly feuding, Carmella is still unhappy with Sasha Banks, and Billie Kay is the funniest woman on the roster, but the most interesting bit was about Sonya Deville and her new role.

It appears as though Sonya Deville has taken on the role of Adam Pearce's assistant. It's not clear whether she is a heel or babyface, but nothing in her last two SmackDown appearances suggested that she was a heel.

It'll be an interesting role to be a part of, especially since she could also be involved with the Universal title feud on SmackDown heading into the Royal Rumble 2021 match.

It will be interesting to see how it works out for Sonya Deville on SmackDown. Hopefully, it's a story that leads to a solid in-ring return and a new, fresh direction for her. Sonya Deville was making good progress until the summer of 2019.