Mandy Rose has been on one of the best runs of her career since moving from Monday Night Raw to NXT, culminating in a match against Raquel Gonzalez at Halloween Havoc last week, which saw Rose defeat Gonzalez for the NXT Women’s Championship. On the same night, the rest of Toxic Attraction (made up of Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) also secured the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships from Io Shirai and Zoey Stark. It was a big night for the trio, and in a new interview with Fightful Rose was asked how the whole move to NXT happened, and while it was not something she was expecting, she was game for the idea pretty much immediately.
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“I got the call and I didn’t really get much explanation, which is kind of the usual,” Rose said. “I didn’t expect anything less.It was one of those things where they want you to help some of the other talent out, need a good heel, and I said, ‘Sure.Why not?’I live in Florida.It’s not that bad of a commute for me.I kind of just went with it, and obviously, it worked out really well.I’m in the process of helping a lot of the other talents and a lot of the other women.In that process, I think I really evolved myself in the best way possible.I kind of felt like I needed a little bit of a revamp or whatever it may be.I think we all go through those moments where our characters have to evolve and change a little bit or find some other layers to your character in a sense.I have, and I’m really enjoying this ruthless side of me.I knew I always had it, but sometimes you have to have the time and the space for it.”
As for working with Dolin and Jane, many assumed Rose was headed to work with the Robert Stone Brand, but Rose likes that they were able to swerve everyone.
“I didn’t really know them too well obviously when I first went to NXT.I knew they were different from me in the sense of characters and all of that.I knew they were just starting to get on TV, but I liked the idea that they were different,” Rose said. “I thought it was cool because we showed some clips of me and Franky Monet, and I think people thought I was going to join the Robert Stone brand or something like that because that was kind of the obvious.I think it was cool that we didn’t go with the obvious and that we swerved them into showing that I was going to take these two women under my wing, yet they were very different from me.”
“Everybody thought they were just going to make the girls look more like Mandy or be more like Mandy Rose, but it was kind of a swerve in the sense that along the process of me helping them, I was the one that became edgier, and they helped me along the process.It was a collaboration,” Rose said. “I always say no matter how experienced you are or how good you are at something, there’s always learning.You do learn while you’re with women that might be in a different stage than you are.I didn’t come from a wrestling background, but I was always on stage.I’ve always had confidence and had that stage presence.I was able to help the girls showing and being more confident whether it’s in the ring or walking out and doing a promo.It’s very motivating for me.”
We’ll see Rose and Toxic Attraction on tonight’s NXT, which airs on USA Network at 8 PM EST.
What have you thought of Rose’s NXT run so far? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
H/T Wrestling News
