At the helm of Toxic Attraction, Mandy Rose is quickly becoming a prominent player on WWE NXT 2.0.
But it wasn’t that long ago when she was featured alongside Otis in a popular romance storyline on WWE SmackDown or fighting for the Women’s Tag Team Championship on WWE RAW. So when she suddenly moved to what was then known as the black-and-gold brand, many fans were curious to know why Rose made this change.
In an interview with Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN, Rose shined some light on the situation by saying that NXT needed a “mainstream superstar” like her, and she wanted to shake things up in her own career. She then teased that the changes fans have been seeing in recent weeks are only the first steps in the ultimate plan.
“Sometimes switching it up is always good,” said Rose. “NXT needed a woman like me. Like I said in my promo last week, they needed a mainstream superstar to be able to help some of the women evolve. I don’t have the most experience in wrestling compared to some of the women and a lot of the women in all of WWE. But when it comes to mainstream qualities, I have a lot of those.
“So I feel like why not come and help some of these women, whether it’s anything related to WWE, or whether it’s the way they dress, the way they look, the way they present themselves, the way they are perceived, the way they speak in interviews, and the list goes on and on. It’s rebranding my character a little bit. I always think it’s great to evolve. I think change is always good as well. So I wanted to switch things up a little bit. So I’m having a lot of fun in NXT. It’s been a great experience so far. I have a little bit more creative say as well, which is really cool. The whole new brand of NXT 2.0 and Mandy 2.0, it’s all coincides. It’s just the beginning.”
Rose elaborated on how she’s thriving on NXT 2.0 by noting this change of scenery has fueled her evolution. She then made it clear that she doesn’t want to be underestimated due to her looks anymore; instead, she wants to prove herself as a legitimate competitor in the ring.
“Sometimes we evolve in different ways,” said Rose. “But sometimes finding new avenues and new ways to present yourself is because I’ve always been known as the “Golden Goddess and God’s Greatest Creation”, and if you think about it, those names are based off of my looks. That’s fine. I get it. Coming off Tough Enough, it was all about my looks, but I don’t want it to just always be about my looks. I’m tired of that. I’m tired of everyone saying she’s just a hot blonde. She’s just this and that.
“I want people to recognize and respect the work I’ve put in inside and outside the ring. I want it to be made clearer to people and let them show them that, and it sounds kind of silly because it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s just a hair color change,’ which I’m still beautiful, and I still look hot. I’m not going to lie. I’m actually loving the dark hair, and I think I even look hotter.”
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