Mandy Rose did not just have a run-of-the-mill reign as NXT Women’s Champion during her stint with WWE, she was one of the longest-reigning Woman’s Champions on the black and gold brand, having held the title for 413 days. On December 13th, Rose put her title on the line against Roxanne Perez in a losing effort. While this shocked the WWE Universe, what happened the next day left the fans stunned. Mandy Rose was released from her WWE contract due to posting racy content on a subscription-based platform, FanTime.
The incident caught the ire of the WWE Universe as the fans started pointing out the double standards in WWE. It was also later uncovered that Rose was warned by the promotion before, but she still continued to post titillating content to make extra bucks.
Interestingly, the former NXT Women’s Champion’s expulsion may have been a blessing in disguise, as she made a fortune from FanTime a week after she was released. However, fans still miss the leader of Toxic Attraction abysmally. NXT head honcho Shawn Michaels recently addressed Mandy Rose’s expulsion.
Shawn Michaels says he did not fire Mandy Rose
In case you didn’t know, The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels, has been the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for a long time. Michaels took over NXT after Triple H suffered a cardiac arrest in 2021. Running the creative direction of NXT is within Shawn’s purview as an executive.
At a presser, during the promotion of NXT’s PLE Vengeance Day, Shawn Michaels clarified that he had nothing to do with the unceremonious release of Mandy Rose.
“Obviously, not the ideal situation. I will say, if I’m allowed to say it for the record, I didn’t fire her. I can’t fire anybody. Only thing correct about any of that is that I handle creative. It was unfortunate,” he said.
The two-time Hall of Famer then heaped praise on Mandy Rose, stating he enjoyed working with her. According to him, Rose was a “phenomenal champion”.
Michaels admitted that he had to make the creative call because he was put on the spot. Based on HBK’s statement, it is conspicuous that the title changing hands was his call.
“It’s one of the things that I’ve learned, doing this job, nothing comes before the brand. We have to put those things forward and that’s what we did,” said HBK.
HBK also added that Roxanne was always booked as the next NXT Women’s Champion, but they had to go a few weeks early with their plans amidst Mandy Rose’s controversial incident.
Will Mandy Rose ever return to WWE?
While WWE is reportedly open to the idea of Mandy Rose’s return in the future, God’s Greatest Creation may not want to return to wrestling, at least not for now as she wishes to continue with her FanTime career.
In an interview with Adam’s Apple, Mandy Rose was asked if she will ever return to wrestling. While she said- “never say never”, she also responded with a “no” when asked if she was contacted by Triple H or Stephanie McMahon at all. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Mandy Rose in wrestling.
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