Mandy Rose rejects comparisons to WWE Hall of Famer

Mandy Rose is enjoying a dominant reign as NXT Women’s Champion on NXT 2.0 but has quashed comparisons with a WWE Hall of Famer. 

Rose moved across to the NXT 2.0 brand last summer and formed a dominant alliance with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne known as Toxic Attraction. At Halloween Havoc in October, she captured the defeated Raquel Gonzalez to become NXT Women’s Champion – her first title win in WWE. 

It’s a title reign that has now lasted over 258 days, the fifth longest run with the championship in NXT history, exceeding Charlotte Flair’s memorable run as NXT champion in 2014. 

The run is a culmination of a long journey for Rose, who started her WWE career as part of Tough Enough and instantly received comparisons to Trish Stratus thanks to her similar look and transition from fitness modelling to WWE. 

Speaking on the latest episode of The Bump, the 31-year-old was asked about the comparisons to the WWE Hall of Famer and rejected them by stating she needs to write her own path. 

Opportunity, honestly. I’m given the opportunity, and without getting too deep, I’m able to showcase what I have, and I’m able to get the time. I’m having these longer matches, and I’m able to show my true potential; at the end of the day, I have it all. We said that from the beginning, obviously, all the way from Tough Enough, everyone’s been saying, ‘She could be the next Trish Stratus,’ all that, but it’s like, you need to have that opportunity to be able to show and be able to showcase your maximum potential. There will never be another Mandy Rose.

This past Tuesday Rose defeated Roxanne Perez – thanks to a little help from Cora Jade – to retain her NXT Women’s Championship. 

She will find out her next challenger on Tuesday’s NXT show,