Mandy Rose made her surprise return to NXT recently and wasted little time in shaking things up. Since arriving in NXT she unveiled a new look as well as a new faction, Toxic Attraction.
In a recent interview with DAZN Rose spoke about her return to NXT after nearly four years away and how the brand needed a “mainstream Superstar” like her.
“Sometimes switching it up is always good. 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.
The move to NXT allowed Rose to reinvent herself and introduce a darker look and attitude, which signifies an edgier side to her character. However, Rose went on to disclose how the change it to receive respect and recognition for her in-ring work and not her looks.
“Sometimes we evolve in different ways. 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.”
“I love switching it up. I laugh because the last couple of years, I went from blonde, long hair to short. I got my hair cut on national television by my former best friend and former tag team partner (Sonya Deville). Then I went back and kept it blonde and then now brunette, so I feel like I’ve had a lot of changes with hair. I’m going to keep it this way for a little while. It was definitely my decision. I had the idea to do that. I wanted to switch it up with my character. I wanted to become a little edgier. I thought it made a lot of sense with my group Toxic Attraction, kind of swaying the fans to think that first they probably thought I was going to try to make the girls more like me, but I think they rubbed off on me a little bit. I always say the most successful people in life are always listening, always learning, are always trying to change, so it doesn’t matter who you are. If Gigi and JC rubbed off a little bit on me on their edginess and I wanted to become a little edgier, I thought why not and just have a more aggressive side to me and instead be focused on the gloating and be like, ‘It’s all about Mandy Rose and “The Golden Goddess,” and I’m still hot.'”
Toxic Attraction led by Mandy Rose challenge Io Shirai and Zoey Stark for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships on tonight’s edition of NXT 2.0.
What do you make of Mandy Rose’s new look and attitude? Let us know in the comments below
