WWE NXT officials reportedly held a meeting before Tuesday’s TV show to discuss the release of Mandy Rose.
As we’ve noted, Rose was released by WWE this week, just hours after dropping the NXT Women’s Title to Roxanne Perez in the NXT main event on Tuesday night, ending her 413-day reign. WWE reportedly released Rose due to the photos and videos she was posting to social membership platform FanTime, as officials felt like they were in a tough position based on the adult nature of the content, with the feeling that the content was outside of the parameters of her WWE contract. Tuesday’s title change was a last minute decision based on the fact that Rose was being released, and not the original plan. You can click here for a previous report with Rose’s first post-release comments to fans, WWE’s prior knowledge of her FanTime domain, what Rose had been telling people in recent months about possibly getting in trouble for the content, and more.
In an update, a new report from the Wrestling Observer notes that meeting was held, and WWE Performance Center Head Coach Matt Bloom informed WWE Hall of Famer & Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels of the kind of content Rose had been posting to her FanTime website.
Michaels’ immediate reaction was one of, “we have to get the title off of her immediately,” so they changed plans for the post-Deadline edition of NXT, and booked Perez to become the new NXT Women’s Champion in the main event. WWE had plans for Perez to win the title from Rose, but at a later date, believed to be New Year’s Evil on January 10.
It was noted that right after Rose dropped the title, she was fired. This is in line with recent reports that said she was completely caught off-guard by the termination.
Rose’ subscription website developed a following and became lucrative, and she went further with how risqué thee content was getting, and the feeling within WWE was that she “crossed the line” in a significant way. WWE officials felt like they had absolutely no choice but to release Rose.
WWE officials previously promised sponsors a cleaner product, and that goes for the Superstars that represent the product, so in that situation they felt like they had to part ways with Rose. It was previously reported that WWE officials felt like the content was not appropriate for one or more of their partner relationships, and that Rose didn’t seem interested in stopping the uploads.
Furthermore, a new report from Fightful Select notes that things seemed “very hasty” on Tuesday night when it came to the title change. News of the title change dropped shortly after NXT went on the air, but those close to Rose claim she was in good spirits at the tapings on Tuesday. She was also in good spirits immediately following the title change.
Rose reportedly had two years left on her WWE contract. Fightful adds that she was one of many WWE talents who were signed to new, five year deals in 2019. We noted before that there was nothing to the rumors of Rose requesting her release. Word now is that some WWE sources tried to leak that Rose asked for her release two weeks ago, but there’s no indication that this is true.
There had been rumors on Toxic Attraction possibly going to WWE’s main roster, but Fightful adds that there were no advanced plans to bring Rose back to the main roster. Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne received several looks on the main roster, and word is that they had long impressed people of influence within WWE. It remains to be seen what WWE will do with them now that Rose is gone.
It was also said that while Rose is gone for now, an impression was given that it’s not a situation where she can never come back, and that the door will likely remain open for a possible return down the road.
There’s no word yet on Rose’s pro wrestling future, but it’s clear she will be just fine from a financial standpoint. It was noted by Bryan Alvarez that Rose was rumored to be making more on her subscription website than she was making in WWE. She was believed to be making “main roster money” from the FanTime platform.
Rose’s FanTime website, located at mandyrosesacs.com, currently has 12,800 likes, which is 2,500 more than it had 24 hours ago. The cost to subscribe is $30 per month, but fans can also tip Rose at the site, and the platform offers other ways that Rose can earn significant money. Rose’s fiancé, former WWE talent Tino Sabbatelli, has appeared with her in some of the content.
Rose was quickly removed from the NXT banner on the official WWE website. The banner previously featured Nikkita Lyons, Cora Jade, NXT Champion Bron Breakker, Rose, Grayson Waller, and Carmelo Hayes. The new banner features Lyons, Jade, Breakker, Perez, Waller, and Hayes.
Rose was moved to the WWE Alumni roster today.
Backstage Updates on Mandy Rose's WWE Release and Future, Her Contract, Big Money She's Making, Toxic Attraction, Shawn Michaels' Reaction to Content