Daily DDT Conversations: Does Mandy Rose have the potential to be a breakout star in WWE?

Daily DDT conversations focus on topics across professional wrestling and the first looks at the WWE’s Golden Goddess – Mandy Rose

Professional wrestling is an industry that creates a lot of debate surrounding a variety of topics. It doesn’t matter if it’s the fans, media personalities, detractors or the wrestlers themselves – there’s always something to talk about.

This conversation series will look at major talking points from around the industry and curate the thoughts from some of those that have passionately watched wrestling beyond simple fandom. We can all agree to disagree, but one thing will always ring true – professional wrestling creates some of the most interesting debates in the sports and entertainment industry.

The first question in this series is about a woman on the WWE roster that many thinks is poised to have a breakout 2019: Mandy Rose. She has played a central part in women’s storylines in recent months; mostly involving former champion Naomi and her husband, Jimmy Uso. Now, Rose is a superstar in the title picture as she and Asuka have a budding feud as a secondary storyline between her and Sonya Deville begins to bubble up.

Even though WWE has multiple hours of content space across their platforms – many of the women find themselves grouped in meaningless storylines or not getting ample booking. Rose is not one as she’s continued to get weekly time dedicated to her position on the brand. Rose as a wrestler has been controversial as some see her as a throwback to the diva days – the type of woman CEO Vince McMahon has been known to push to the forefront based on looks.

Even though that was a common practice in professional wrestling, that in hindsight was problematic at the very least – there were several women who rose above that regrettable booking to become big names in the industry. Rose has been compared to one, Trish Stratus, due to the baseline reasons of her background and physical appearance. This brings up a question that will be answered in this piece:

“Being compared to a Hall of Famer is an accolade that comes with praise and pressure. With that in mind, does Mandy Rose have the potential to be a breakthrough star like we saw with Stratus during her run?”

Scarlett Harris @ScarlettEHarris

"I’m not sure about the comparisons to Trish Stratus. I think they begin and end with the fact that they’re both blonde fitness models who have some skill in the ring.I’m more intrigued by the vitriol Mandy receives because of this. We’re in the “women’s wrestling era” which is obviously great, but I think some of the responses to conventionally beautiful women who didn’t come from the indies can be toxic, just as the “Diva-stans” can be toxic. Some of the criticisms against her are valid (like when she ridiculed a woman of color’s hair), but one could assume she’s a victim of circumstance. How much input would Mandy realistically have had into her racially-coded feud with Naomi, for example? Probably not much.Should Mandy be punished because she happens to look a certain way that appeals to the person in charge? Instead I think we should be criticizing the systems of power that push someone who arguably isn’t ready – but who has vastly improved over the past year."

Joe Soriano @SorianoJoe

"I’ve been quite impressed with Mandy Rose’s improvement since her debut in late 2017.Though her interview with Lilian Garcia has done more for her character development than some of the main roster storylines she’s been in, Rose has shown that she has all the tools to be a future champion. She’s incredibly strong, her strikes, particularly her knee strike, are devastating, and she does such a fantastic job of playing the villain.Clearly, WWE has designs on her reaching the summit at some point, and as much as I’m a proponent of pushing superstars who don’t fit WWE’s usual mold, we must be careful when framing this discussion. I want to make sure people aren’t taking anything away from Rose, because she’s become an excellent promo in a short span of time and is legitimately above average in the ring despite her relative inexperience in comparison to her peers. She shouldn’t be squashing Naomi, for example, and isn’t yet on Deville’s level in the ring, but I can buy her as a strong competitor and future champion due to the respect she’s earned with her hard work over the past year.The comparisons to Trish Stratus are interesting, but I see Rose differently. To me, she’s this rugged wrestler who takes no prisoners, knows how to show off her tremendous physical strength, and might be a better heel than a face. If she keeps improving, I think fans will focus more on defining Mandy on her own terms. The optics of her storyline with Naomi were honestly a shame, but, to her credit, Rose played her role perfectly. Perhaps a babyface run could do her well in the future, but, right now, Rose is a great heel and a fast-riser in WWE."

Raphael Garcia @RGarcia_Sports

"I can understand both sides of the conversation when it comes to Mandy Rose. On one side, she does fit the mold of what WWE Creative has featured prominently in the past. Many complained about early promotion of WWE Evolution in 2018 that featured three women with very similar physical features instead of leveraging the diversity that shines on the women’s roster. Rose’s quick rise on the roster harkens back to that practice that can overshadow some others that would also perform very well if given the same opportunity.On the other hand, there’s a reason why Stratus is a Hall of Famer and if Rose has a career that spawns a similar type of success that she can call her own – wrestling fans should support that. Whenever a big name is created that has mainstream status, that individual can help elevate the other wrestlers on the roster. Rose has many of the pieces needed to reach that point and is working on those that are needed between the ropes. This isn’t the Attitude Era and WWE should tread lightly with how Rose and all the women on the roster are booked, but Rose – along with many of her peers – continues to improve and create excitement for what’s to come in the future."

Everyone will have their own take on every topic that comes up. When it comes to Mandy Rose, its clear that she has earned a lot of praise for her steady improvement both as a character and in the ring. WWE has done a great job protecting her early during her main roster run and when the dust settles, she may blossom into a bigger star than some are expecting. At 27-years of age and less than four years in the industry, Rose has a lot of room to grow and that leads to the potential to become something special on the WWE main roster.

A special thank you to Scarlett Harris for sharing her thoughts in this piece. You can check out a portfolio of her excellent work here.