WWE’s Mandy Rose Explains Why She’s Having ‘a Lot of Fun’ on NXT (Exclusive)

Mandy Rose returned to NXT earlier this year and is now the NXT Women’s Champion. While Rose made a name for herself on the main roster appearing on Raw and SmackDown, the WWE Superstar is enjoying her time competing in the company’s third brand. PopCulture.com caught up with Rose, who talked about why her experience in NXT this time around is better than her first. 

“It’s been a lot of fun, and I can’t say I had much experience on NXT TV prior to this because I really didn’t,” Rose told PopCulture. “I think I had a total of, like, two matches, but the whole process of training and all that. Daria (Sonya Deville) and myself were both in NXT for, like, two years. This time around, I have to say, it’s been a lot of fun. With a little more experience and kind of just, along the way, helping out some of the girls, I found a new self for me in a sense, and kind of revamped my character a little bit. I always think it’s really good to evolve at some point. We all kind of need that. I’ve always had confidence, but I think I found even more confidence in this latest run and it’s just been a lot of fun. It’s always nice to give back and to help out.”

Rose, 30, returned to NXT in July. The following month, Rose teamed with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, and the trio is called Toxic Attraction. Known for her blonde hair, Rose dyed it brown and defeated Raquel Gonzalez at Halloween Havoc to win the NXT women’s title, her first championship since joining WWE in 2015. Rose is now ready to take on some of NXT’s top talent. 

“I’d have to say some of the women that I’m looking forward to working with, Kay Lee Ray. I really want to work with Kay Lee Ray,” Rose revealed. “She’s not new in any sense, she’s had quite the experience obviously out in the UK and prior to that, but she seems like she’d be a fun competitor, and Io Shirai, she’s amazing. I’ve worked with her a little bit. Cora Jade, she’s definitely a rising star in the making. She’s very young, but I think she will be something big. There’s so many girls and it’s fun and it’s different and it’s new.”

Sonya Deville, who is Rose’s best friend and former tag team partner, described to PopCulture the impact Rose has made on the competitors in NXT. “All I hear backstage, and all I hear from people over there at NXT is how helpful Mandy is, and how humble she is, and just how great it is to have someone down there with a different perspective,” Deville said. “And it’s not better or for worse, but it’s just, she has a different perspective because she was on Monday Night Raw, she was on SmackDown. She’s been on numerous pay-per-views.” Deville then told Rose: “I think it’s really cool that you’ve completely reinvented yourself and completely evolved down there, and just taking an opportunity and made lemons into lemonade, and it’s just so cool to see, and I’m just so proud of you.”