Mandy Rose’s release may have come as a shock to fans, but it was something that the ex-Superstar had seen coming for 24 hours.
Rose was let go by WWE in December 2022 due to the nature of the photos and videos being shared with subscribers on her website.
Prior to her release, Rose had been one of the most dominant champions in recent history, holding the NXT Women’s Championship for 413 days.
The Inclination
Mandy Rose’s release came just one day after she lost the NXT Women’s Championship to Roxanne Perez, the winner of the 2022 Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge.
Speaking on The Sessions, Rose said that it was after arriving at the taping for NXT where she was informed of the title change, that she first suspected her time was up.
“[I was] completely surprised with everything. I went to work like a normal Tuesday for TV and I was told that the title match that was supposed to happen down the line [was happening.] At Vengeance Day, was when it was supposed to maybe happen, but that was all up in the
Right away, I had the inclination that something was up. Everyone had treated me so great at NXT. I had a great relationship with Shawn Michaels, the writers, the producers, everyone. I was never kept out of the loop either, being champion for 413 days, I was in the loop for everything. I didn’t really have that many surprises. So [arriving that day] was very like ‘whoa did I do something? What’s going on?” Obviously, I had some inclination because of what was going on on social media.’
“Right away, I had the inclination that something was up.”
Mandy Rose.
“[Moving up the title change] It came from Shawn Michaels himself. Obviously, I know it was coming from the head of creative so I knew in that sense that I didn’t have to try and go seek other answers, even though I wanted other answers. But at that moment I had to do my job and get planning our match and everything else.”
Losing the Title
After capturing the NXT Women’s Title at Halloween Havoc 2021, Rose’s reign (the third-longest in history) ended abruptly on the December 13, 2022 edition of NXT.
Speaking about the match, Rose said that she tried her best to be in the right frame of mind, despite knowing something was coming.
“It was weird. In the moment, I felt that I was focused, and I always loved working with Roxanne. We had a good relationship so that was good. It [the title change] actually went smooth, as did the rest of the day, but in my mind, and I didn’t sell it, I didn’t show it, I was like ‘this is so messed up. What is going on?’ And I had multiple people coming up to me being like ‘what is going on?'”
When asked about the new NXT Women’s Champion, Rose said that she felt mixed about Perez’s big win.
“I felt bad for Roxanne because she’s so amazing, and I really do love her as a person. It was so exciting, anytime you get told you’re going to win the title, it’s very exciting. But I just felt bad because I felt like it was rushed.”
Mandy Rose.
