Latest news with #DariaBerenato
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
13 photos from the ESPYs that every lesbian and sapphic needs to see today
; Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images (L-R) Erin Regan and Kelly Regan; Ilona Maher; Azzi Fudd at the 2025 ESPY Awards Last night, athletes from across the country gathered for ESPN's annual ESPY Awards, and the women's sports stars slayed the house down. Women's sports have been getting more attention than ever this year. Ilona Maher has made everyone in the U.S. care about rugby, queer couples like Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers have eagle-eyed fans following women's basketball, and women's soccer and the WNBA are getting so popular that both leagues have added new teams. While plenty of straight male athletes took center stage at the ESPYs last night, it was the LGBTQ+ women and the athletes queer women are obsessed with that really stole the Berenato attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Daria Berenato, who made history in 2015 when she became the first openly queer woman to wrestle in the WWE, stunned at the ESPYs by looking cooler than everyone else in the room with a piercing-inspired look. Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images Ilona Maher at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Ilona Meher scored the award for Best Breakthrough Athlete. 'My message stays the same: strong is beautiful, strong is powerful. Sexy is whatever you want it to be, and I hope more girls can feel how I feel,' she said during her Fudd attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Azzi Fudd looked stunning rocking a pastel purple dress on the red carpet. Fingers crossed next year, she and girlfriend Paige Bueckers show up in coordinating fits! Azzi Fudd's girlfriend Paige Bueckers might not have been able to attend the award show because she had a WNBA game to play in, but she still managed to play hype woman for her boo. It's the collab we didn't know we always wanted!(L-R) Erin Regan and David Walters accept the Pat Tillman Award for Service during the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Soccer alum Erin Regan was being honored for an incredible reason. When she left the Washington Freedom, she became a firefighter and was given the Pat Tillman Award for Service at last night's award show, alongside David Walters. Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images Diana Taurasi at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Diana Taurasi was a legend on the court, but she's managed to win on the red carpet too where she sported a killer suit and sunglasses combo. Oh Diana, the woman you are!(L-R) Alex Morgan and Diana Taurasi accept the Icon Award during the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. What an icon! WNBA legend Diana Taurasi, who spent 20 years in the league with the Phoenix Mercury, was given the Icon Award alongside retired soccer star Alex Morgan. Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images Erin Regan at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Erin Regan was a huge soccer star, and now she saves lives for a living. She's the whole package! Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images Ilona Maher at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Everyone is arguing over which Hollywood starlet should play Wonder Woman next, but we'd like to nominate Ilona Maher to be the famous Amazonian. Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImage Alyssa Thompson attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Queer soccer star Alyssa Thompson walked the ESPYs red carpet in a minidress short enough to make any sapphic weak in the knees. Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images Ilana Kloss (left) with Billie Jean King at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Gay sports royalty were also in attendeance. Tennis legends Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss married each other back in 2018 and attended the award show arm in arm.(L-R) Erin Regan and Kelly Regan attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Erin Regan and her wife Kelly Regan looked amazing together on the red carpet. This article originally appeared on Pride: 13 photos from the ESPYs that every lesbian and sapphic needs to see today RELATED 5 lesbian power couples who play on rival sports teams Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, and more urge NCAA to stand up for trans inclusion 25 lesbian sports power couples who are winning at life and love Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
13 photos from the ESPYs that every lesbian and sapphic needs to see today
; Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images (L-R) Erin Regan and Kelly Regan; Ilona Maher; Azzi Fudd at the 2025 ESPY Awards Last night, athletes from across the country gathered for ESPN's annual ESPY Awards, and the women's sports stars slayed the house down. Women's sports have been getting more attention than ever this year. Ilona Maher has made everyone in the U.S. care about rugby, queer couples like Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers have eagle-eyed fans following women's basketball, and women's soccer and the WNBA are getting so popular that both leagues have added new teams. While plenty of straight male athletes took center stage at the ESPYs last night, it was the LGBTQ+ women and the athletes queer women are obsessed with that really stole the Berenato attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Daria Berenato, who made history in 2015 when she became the first openly queer woman to wrestle in the WWE, stunned at the ESPYs by looking cooler than everyone else in the room with a piercing-inspired look. Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images Ilona Maher at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Ilona Meher scored the award for Best Breakthrough Athlete. 'My message stays the same: strong is beautiful, strong is powerful. Sexy is whatever you want it to be, and I hope more girls can feel how I feel,' she said during her Fudd attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Azzi Fudd looked stunning rocking a pastel purple dress on the red carpet. Fingers crossed next year, she and girlfriend Paige Bueckers show up in coordinating fits! — (@) Azzi Fudd's girlfriend Paige Bueckers might not have been able to attend the award show because she had a WNBA game to play in, but she still managed to play hype woman for her boo. — (@) It's the collab we didn't know we always wanted!(L-R) Erin Regan and David Walters accept the Pat Tillman Award for Service during the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Soccer alum Erin Regan was being honored for an incredible reason. When she left the Washington Freedom, she became a firefighter and was given the Pat Tillman Award for Service at last night's award show, alongside David Walters. Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images Diana Taurasi at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Diana Taurasi was a legend on the court, but she's managed to win on the red carpet too where she sported a killer suit and sunglasses combo. Oh Diana, the woman you are!(L-R) Alex Morgan and Diana Taurasi accept the Icon Award during the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. What an icon! WNBA legend Diana Taurasi, who spent 20 years in the league with the Phoenix Mercury, was given the Icon Award alongside retired soccer star Alex Morgan. Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images Erin Regan at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Erin Regan was a huge soccer star, and now she saves lives for a living. She's the whole package! Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images Ilona Maher at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Everyone is arguing over which Hollywood starlet should play Wonder Woman next, but we'd like to nominate Ilona Maher to be the famous Amazonian. Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImage Alyssa Thompson attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Queer soccer star Alyssa Thompson walked the ESPYs red carpet in a minidress short enough to make any sapphic weak in the knees. Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images Ilana Kloss (left) with Billie Jean King at the 2025 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Gay sports royalty were also in attendeance. Tennis legends Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss married each other back in 2018 and attended the award show arm in arm.(L-R) Erin Regan and Kelly Regan attends the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. Erin Regan and her wife Kelly Regan looked amazing together on the red carpet. This article originally appeared on Pride: 13 photos from the ESPYs that every lesbian and sapphic needs to see today RELATED 5 lesbian power couples who play on rival sports teams Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, and more urge NCAA to stand up for trans inclusion 25 lesbian sports power couples who are winning at life and love
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sonya Deville considering MMA return after 'shock' WWE departure
Few professional wrestlers ever truly leave the game behind. That's often the case with MMA too. Daria Berenato — aka WWE's Sonya Deville — can prove the old cliches right on both fronts. Berenato, 31, parted ways with the WWE in February after a decade-long run with the company. Before jumping into the deep end of the pro-wrestling pool, Berenato aspired to become an MMA champion in the women's flyweight division, even competing three times as an amateur from 2014-15. Now that she's back on the open market as a free agent, Berenato revealed Monday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that a fighting future may still exist for the former WWE superstar. "I don't know what I want to do yet, and that's the truth," Berenato said. "I have had conversations with people, but nothing decided yet. "I love wrestling but I love fighting MMA just the same. They're in the same boat right now." As her Deville character in WWE, Berenato burst onto the pro-wrestling scene in 2015 with her MMA background utilized prominently within her promotional and in-ring work. Over time, she evolved to become a more notable figure in a managerial role alongside Adam Pearce on "WWE SmackDown," which helped to maximize her opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding in-ring accomplishments, Berenato held the WWE Women's Tag Team title once with current WWE Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green. She holds a 2-1 record over her three-fight amateur MMA career, and had her last fight in 2015 mere months before WWE offered her a deal. "The only reason I stopped fighting MMA was because I got the opportunity for WWE," Berenato said. "I was broke and bartending in L.A. and WWE offered me a salary to work out and train, so I was like, 'Oh my God, yeah. I would be stupid to say no.' "It led me down this path that the last decade was, and fell in love with it, but yeah, my first love was fighting and acting. I was in L.A., so that door's not closed yet either." Pro-wrestling free agency wasn't expected to be a part of Berenato's 2025 plans. After such a noteworthy career that began with WWE as early as it did, she thought the company would be her home for life. Ultimately, though, it was nothing personal, Berenato said. "I was completely under the impression that it was going well and we would sign [a new contract]," Berenato said. "Then I was on a trip with my daughter for a cheerleading competition, and I got a phone call from the powers that be and they were like, 'Hey, we're going to go our separate ways.' "I was kind of surprised, I'm not going to lie. I was like, 'Is there a reason?' And they were like, 'No, creatively it just hasn't worked out and we're going to go our separate ways.'" Berenato's final WWE program saw her align with a fellow ex-fighter Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark as the Pure Fusion Collective stable. Unfortunately, a torn ACL suffered in August 2023 hindered the tail-end of Berenato's days as a WWE in-ring performer. While she figures out which professional path to take next, Berenato is set to star in an upcoming film — the details of which she can't divulge — and launched a new podcast, "Unwrapped," with her wife Toni Cassano. But when it comes to opportunities in the combat sports world, options are on the table. "Initially, it was shock," Berenato said of her WWE departure. "Like, what the hell? I did not expect that. "I had feelings over the last year — I tore my ACL and I came back from the injury and I felt rusty. So I wanted to get back to where I was prior to the injury, but that was just a matter of time, in my mind. It wasn't like a 'if,' it was like a 'when.' So I was just trying to get my footing again and dive into this new character and storyline that they had for me. "I had been there for 10 years, I had great relationships with everybody," she continued. "I really saw us renewing the contract, and then after the shock wore off, I was kind of just like, 'OK, this is the end of a chapter. It's the end of an era.' It was a decade long. I'm so grateful for it. I had so many good times, good memories there. I learned so much. So now it kind of felt like it was meant to be [to leave] and it's time for the next chapter of my life."
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sonya Deville considering MMA return after WWE departure, discusses 'shock' phone call that delivered the news
Few professional wrestlers ever truly leave the game behind. That's often the case with MMA too. Daria Berenato — aka WWE's Sonya Deville — can prove the old cliches right on both fronts. Berenato, 31, parted ways with the WWE in February after a decade-long run with the company. Before jumping into the deep end of the pro-wrestling pool, Berenato aspired to become an MMA champion in the women's flyweight division, even competing three times as an amateur from 2014-15. Now that she's back on the open market as a free agent, Berenato revealed Monday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that a fighting future may still exist for the former WWE superstar. "I don't know what I want to do yet, and that's the truth," Berenato said. "I have had conversations with people, but nothing decided yet. "I love wrestling but I love fighting MMA just the same. They're in the same boat right now." As her Deville character in WWE, Berenato burst onto the pro-wrestling scene in 2015 with her MMA background utilized prominently within her promotional and in-ring work. Over time, she evolved to become a more notable figure in a managerial role alongside Adam Pearce on "WWE SmackDown," which helped to maximize her opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding in-ring accomplishments, Berenato held the WWE Women's Tag Team titles once with current WWE Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green. She holds a 2-1 record over her three-fight amateur MMA career, and had her last fight in 2015 mere months before the WWE offered her a deal. "The only reason I stopped fighting MMA was because I got the opportunity for WWE," Berenato said. "I was broke and bartending in L.A. and WWE offered me a salary to work out and train, so I was like, 'Oh my God, yeah. I would be stupid to say no.' "It led me down this path that the last decade was, and fell in love with it, but yeah, my first love was fighting and acting. I was in L.A., so that door's not closed yet either." Pro-wrestling free agency wasn't expected to be a part of Berenato's 2025 plans. After such a noteworthy career that began with WWE as early as it did, she thought the company would be her home for life. Ultimately, though, it was nothing personal, Berenato said. "I was completely under the impression that it was going well and we would sign [a new contract]," Berenato said. "Then I was on a trip with my daughter for a cheerleading competition, and I got a phone call from the powers that be and they were like, 'Hey, we're going to go our separate ways.' "I was kind of surprised, I'm not going to lie. I was like, 'Is there a reason?' And they were like, 'No, creatively it just hasn't worked out and we're going to go our separate ways.'" Berenato's final WWE program saw her align with a fellow ex-fighter Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark as the Pure Fusion Collective stable. Unfortunately, a torn ACL suffered in August 2023 hindered the tail-end of Berenato's days as a WWE in-ring performer. While she figures out which professional path to take next, Berenato is set to star in an upcoming film — the details of which she can't divulge — and launched a new podcast, "Unwrapped," with her wife Toni Cassano. But when it comes to opportunities in the combat sports world, options are on the table. "Initially, it was shock," Berenato said of her WWE departure. "Like, what the hell? I did not expect that. "I had feelings over the last year — I tore my ACL and I came back from the injury and I felt rusty. So I wanted to get back to where I was prior to the injury, but that was just a matter of time, in my mind. It wasn't like a 'if,' it was like a 'when.' So I was just trying to get my footing again and dive into this new character and storyline that they had for me. "I had been there for 10 years, I had great relationships with everybody," she continued. "I really saw us renewing the contract, and then after the shock wore off, I was kind of just like, 'OK, this is the end of a chapter. It's the end of an era.' It was a decade long. I'm so grateful for it. I had so many good times, good memories there. I learned so much. So now it kind of felt like it was meant to be [to leave] and it's time for the next chapter of my life."
