Daria Rae has been missing from TNA television for more than a month, but that absence is finally about to end. The former Sonya Deville is set to return on the October 22 episode of TNA iMPACT!, and it sounds like she may have been keeping pretty busy while her character was suspended.
During a PWInsider Q&A, Mike Johnson was asked where Rae had disappeared to after TNA wrote her off television. Johnson pointed out that the company already gave fans the storyline explanation, but confirmed she’s now ready to pop back up.
“The storyline was she was suspended, but she is slated to return on tonight’s episode, which was pre-taped.”
Rae was suspended from her Director of Operations role back in September after things got physical with Indi Hartwell. The two had been butting heads for weeks, with Rae repeatedly blocking Hartwell from getting a shot at the TNA Knockouts World Championship before eventually slapping her.
That gave TNA an easy reason to get Rae off television, but apparently she had plenty going on away from wrestling too. Johnson said he knows Rae had several acting commitments and believes that’s what she was working on during her absence.
“I know she had a lot of acting commitments, so my belief is she was working on those.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean TNA suspended Rae specifically because of those acting commitments, since Johnson made it clear that part is his belief. Either way, the timing worked out pretty nicely, allowing Rae to handle outside projects while her character served the storyline suspension.
Things also didn’t exactly stop moving while she was gone. Santino Marella stepped in and gave Hartwell the Knockouts World Championship opportunity Rae had spent so much time trying to keep away from her.
Now Rae is walking back into a TNA that kept moving without her, which could make things pretty interesting for the Director of Operations. After more than a month away, fans won’t have to wait much longer to find out what she has to say about everything that happened behind her back.
What do you think about Daria Rae returning to TNA after being away from television? Let us know in the comments below.
