Thunder Rosa says Mandy Rose deserves more respect.
Rose moved to NXT in 2021 after she spent a few years on WWE Raw and SmackDown. She gradually established herself as one of the brand's top stars, and she won the NXT Women's Championship at NXT Halloween Havoc. With her Toxic Attraction stablemates (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) by her side, Rose has reigned supreme ever since. Meanwhile, Rosa is the AEW Women's World Champion, but she has been sidelined with an injury since August. Toni Storm subsequently won the AEW Interim Women's World Champion at AEW All Out.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Rosa picked Rose as her MVP of the last week. She praised the NXT star for the way she has represented the brand and worked hard to hone her craft. Rosa then recalled how Rose didn't get a lot of respect for her in-ring work during her time on the main roster, but she has evolved into a strong champion.
"I’m gonna say Mandy Rose, and I wanna give an appreciation to her because she’s worked so darn hard in the last month representing the NXT brand and also working on her craft. When she was in Raw and SmackDown all that time, people did not have any respect for her, a lot of the time, because of her lack of skills, like there’s a lot of little things here and there. But I feel like she really has took the time. She has developed her character really, really well. People tune in to see her. She always makes everybody talk about her. This last match she had, she’s showing a lot of fire in the fact that she’s taking a lot more risks as a champion. It really shows that she’s growing, and she is really committed to what she’s doing right now. She’s really committed to represent NXT’s women’s division as a champion. She might not be a high-flyer, she might be super spectacular, but what she’s doing, I think it’s very important because that shows you if you give time to someone and if you believe in them, that’s how you can develop and that’s how you can become. I think Mandy Rose deserves a little bit more respect because she’s really working very, very hard," Rosa said.
Aside from Rose as an individual, Rosa also highlighted the way Toxic Attraction has been booked and noted that the trio has developed into the top heels in NXT's women's division. She compared Rose's rise in the last year to the way she was booked in NWA.
"This is important of booking, of booking a person the right way. Mandy and Toxic Attraction needed that opportunity and that storyline that they have to develop as the heels, the main heels of a company. Why? I can tell you. When I was in NWA, working on the first season, how I was booked, it really developed the Thunder Rosa a lot of people really liked when I came to AEW. I feel what they have done with Mandy Rose in the last year, they have created an aura for her that she really has empowered herself and taken it over. That’s why when you see her, in every match that she’s doing, with an extreme match or just a regular match, she’s delivering. I think it is important that we give her her flowers because she deserves that," Rosa said.
Rosa then stated that Rose benefits from the dynamics of the NXT women's division, as there is a clear divide between heels and babyfaces. She then emphasized that she has been enjoying Rose's work and her promos in recent weeks.
"For me, one thing that I love is that she owns the fact that she pretty, that she’s beautiful, but she’s also a champion, and she’s also the face of the women’s division in that aspect. The dynamics that she has with the babyfaces there, I think at NXT, you’re either super, super heel, and you’re super, super babyface. That’s very palpable. I don’t feel like there a lot of tweeners, and I think that helps her a lot more when she is doing her thing. I’m really enjoying her work in the last couple weeks, and I really enjoy her promos. They’re very entertaining, with her and Toxic Attraction," Rosa said.
In a recent interview, Rosa stated that she's not worried about what the landscape of the AEW locker room will be when she returns. Click here to see what she had to say.
Tony Khan recently discussed the status of the AEW Interim Women's Champion, given Rosa's injury. Check out his comments here.
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