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WWE’s thin women’s roster recently got a bit more depleted with the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, Sasha Banks and Naomi, walking out before Raw back in May. That means WWE has been focusing on the same small group of women week after week. If WWE wants to spice things up, there’s a woman in the wings waiting, a veteran of the main roster who has seen her star rise exponentially in the last year, in the NXT Women’s Champion, Mandy Rose.
Rose has shown she can play the lovable babyface and the dastardly heel. She has proven that she is something more than eye candy, but a wrestler who can lead an entire brand. Mandy Rose has been more than ready to go back to the main roster for some time now. Maybe more importantly, WWE needs her back there sooner rather than later.
Rose Was Already A Success On The Main Roster
For almost four years, Mandy Rose was a staple on Raw and SmackDown. In the beginning, some dismissed her as just another blonde brought in for her looks (she was actually the 2015 Tough Enough runner-up), but there were sparks of something great. She was part of the Absolution faction with Paige and Sonya Deville, and had a long-running feud with Naomi, before teaming with Deville again as a part of Fire & Desire. Still, she was often looked at as being a sex symbol, the model trying to be a wrestler who got to Naomi not by being utilized as a great character, but with the unoriginal drama that came from her attempts to flirt with and bed Naomi’s husband, Jey Uso. It was lazy.
Rose’s best work came in early 2020, with a beauty and the beast storyline that saw Otis crushing on her week after week, slowly winning Rose over. It gave Rose a chance to expand her range, showing a softer side that went against what she so often played. Fans loved it. At the height of the story, COVID-19 hit, fans disappeared, and even though Otis and Mandy Rose would become an onscreen couple, without the audience interaction that propelled them, they fizzled out. She would feud with Sonya Deville in a high-profile match at SummerSlam, but then she was drafted back to Raw, Otis was forgotten, and not too long after, so was Rose.
Mandy Rose Has Shocked Everyone In NXT
When Mandy Rose showed up in NXT in July 2021 it was seen as a demotion. Rose’s star had been so diminished on Raw that she no longer worked on the main roster. Now she would be reduced to being just another cog in NXT. It’s not what happened, however. This Mandy Rose was different.
It started with the look. Her hair was dark now, the blonde gone. It seemed to say that this was a new Mandy Rose who wanted to be taken seriously. She was treated seriously by WWE, quickly forming the group known as Toxic Attraction with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. The trio became the focal point of the new NXT 2.0, appearing not just in matches, but backstage bits every week. They get more TV time than anyone now, including the men.
WWE obviously sees something in Rose by pushing her this hard. At Halloween Havoc 2021 Rose captured her first title, the NXT Women’s Championship. She’s been portrayed as a dominant heel, still holding the title seven months later. After beating everyone that’s been put in front of her, there doesn’t seem to be much left for Rose to do in NXT.
There Is A Big Spot Waiting For The Improved Mandy Rose
It’s obvious that Mandy Rose is set to return to the main roster one day. Someone of her talent isn’t meant to stay in developmental. She’s ready now. Rose has shown what she can do in NXT, transforming from being someone who wasn’t always taken seriously to a world champion. It’s probably safe to say that not many people ever expected that. Rose wasn’t handed her spot. She had to work for it.
If WWE ever needed Mandy Rose, it’s now. Sasha Banks and Naomi are gone, at least for the time being. Bayley is hurt. Charlotte took a hiatus for her wedding. The women’s roster is severely depleted, especially on the SmackDown side. A returning Mandy Rose brings a screen presence that only a few have. There is no need to introduce her, as she’s already known to even casual fans. She doesn’t have to learn how to adjust. She’s done it before. The only difference is, now, Mandy Rose is ready to take over the entire division.