The WWE has received much praise as of late for bringing back some major stars in 2022, and for seemingly making other right moves in the aftermath of Vince McMahon stepping down. It was inevitable that the organization would catch flak before too much time passed, and on the heels of McMahon reportedly wanting to return, a major up-and-coming superstar was just handed her walking papers. Former NXT champion Mandy Rose was released by the WWE, and after rumors began swirling and pointing to her NSFW content online being the cause, she shared a brief response.
Just one day after Mandy Rose dropped her NXT title to Roxanne Perez on TV, news spread via Fightful Select that the WWE abruptly released her from her contract. The report alleged that WWE execs felt they had to release Rose due to the NSFW content featured on her FanTime subscription profile. Recently, video footage from the site was leaked to Twitter and other sites, showing Rose topless and swimming around in a pool.
The WWE allegedly felt the video, as well as other content on the page, was outside the moral parameters of her contract, and was thus deemed inappropriate and a fireable offense given their partner relationships. It’s reported that reps at the WWE didn’t believe Mandy Rose was interested in stopping the posts, so she was instead released. At the time, it’s unknown exactly how that decision played out, as far as how mutual or one-sided it was.
Mandy Rose spoke out in the hours following her release, but not on her Twitter or Instagram. Instead, the NXT champion posted the following to her FanTime page, and reassured subscribers that she wasn’t planning on stepping away amidst the WWE fracas.
Hey guys, thank you for all the messages. I am overwhelmed with all the love and support from you guys. And don't worry the page is still up! ;)
Bryan Alvarez had more rumors to share on the situation during Wrestling Observer Live, reporting the rumor that Mandy Rose was making much more money from her fan subscription page than she was in the WWE. While no exact dollar amount was given, Alvarez stated that Rose was making the type of money a talent would make if they were a part of the WWE’s main roster.
Rose was part of the main roster from 2017 to mid-2021 but was sent back to NXT where she’d had a solid measure of success. Rose held the NXT women’s championship for 413 days, making her the third woman in the brand’s history to hold the title for longer than a year.
WWE fans online are somewhat confused by Mandy Rose’s release, especially given the brand’s history with salaciousness. Past WWE superstars have posed for adult publications, and the Attitude Era was full of moments and storylines that were highly sexualized. At the same time, the WWE has made efforts to move away from that in the past decade+, which may be why Rose couldn’t cement her spot within NXT.
Current speculation online positis that while the WWE may not have wanted to associate with Mandy Rose given her NSFW content, competing entity AEW might. After all, AEW welcomed released superstar Toni Storm with open arms well after she joined OnlyFans. Embracing Rose, and this new avenue of income many celebrities are embracing in the modern era, may allow AEW to scoop up a talented veteran from WWE whose best years are likely still ahead of her. Whether it will take that opportunity, or if Rose is even interested in returning to wrestling, remains to be seen.
Mandy Rose won’t be at any upcoming WWE events for the foreseeable future, but fans can check out her past work on Peacock. Now is a good time to be a subscriber anyway, as there’s no shortage of fun past Christmas episodes of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown to watch.
