Amanda Rose Saccomanno (born July 18, 1990) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Mandy Rose. Rose began a professional fitness competition career in 2013 and became a bodybuilding competitor the following year. In 2015, she placed second on the WWE competition '' Tough Enough'', after which she signed a contract with WWE and joined the cast of the reality television show '' Total Divas''. After a brief stint in WWE's

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a highe ...

, NXT, Rose made her main roster debut in 2017 as part of the short-lived faction Absolution with Paige and Sonya Deville. For approximately three years, Rose competed alongside Deville and they were known as Fire and Desire. The two disbanded in March 2020 at WrestleMania 36 and eventually had their own

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...

that culminated in a Loser Leaves WWE match, which Rose won. After a brief association with Dana Brooke in 2021, she returned to NXT and formed an alliance with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, dubbed Toxic Attraction. In October at Halloween Havoc, Rose defeated Raquel González to win her first title in her career, the NXT Women's Championship.

Early life

Amanda Rose Saccomanno was born in the New York City suburb of

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. The youngest and only daughter of four children, her older brother, Richard, died on October 3, 2022 after several years battling against depression. She has Irish and Italian ancestry. Her childhood nickname was "Hamburgers". She attended Yorktown High School, where she participated in dance. She later earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

at Iona College, majoring in speech pathology. She entered her first

fitness competition Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events for women and men. While bearing a close resemblance to bodybuilding, its emphasis is on muscle ''definition'', not size. The class was originally introduced when bodybuilding ...

in 2013, and took first place in the World Bodybuilding Fitness & Fashion Boston Show. She was also crowned the 2014 World Beauty Fitness & Fashion Bikini Champion.

Professional wrestling career

WWE

''Tough Enough'' and NXT (2015–2017)

Saccomanno was a contestant in the sixth season of the WWE competition '' WWE Tough Enough'', which began airing in June 2015. She was at risk of elimination on the July 28 episode, but was saved by judge The Miz. During the season finale, she adopted the ring name Mandy Rose, lost a match against Alicia Fox, and placed second overall, after winners Sara Lee and Josh Bredl. After the ''Tough Enough'' season finale, it was revealed that Rose had signed a five-year contract with the company. Rose made her in-ring debut for WWE's developmental territory, NXT, during a six-woman tag team match at a live event in Venice, Florida on January 30, 2016. On the August 17 episode of ''NXT'', Rose debuted in a six-woman tag team match along with Daria Berenato and

Alexa Bliss Alexis Cabrera (née Kaufman; born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss ...

, in which they were defeated by Carmella, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Glencross. On the September 28 episode of ''NXT'', Rose lost her first televised singles match to Ember Moon.

Fire and Desire (2017–2021)

On the November 20, 2017, episode of '' Raw'', Rose joined Sonya Deville and Paige as they attacked Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, and Alexa Bliss. A week later, the trio's name was revealed as Absolution. On January 28, 2018, at the

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle r ...

, Rose entered the first women's Royal Rumble match at number 4, and she was the first woman eliminated from the match by

Lita Lita or LITA may refer to: People * Lita (given name) * Lita (wrestler) (born 1975), American professional wrestler * Adriana Lita, Materials scientist *Leroy Lita (born 1984), Congo football player * Selina Jahan Lita, Bangladesh Awami League pol ...

. In February, Rose took part of the inaugural women's

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...

match, which was won by Bliss. At WrestleMania 34, Rose participated in the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, which would be won by Naomi. Both Rose and Deville were drafted to SmackDown during the

2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up The 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up was the twelfth WWE draft, produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between the Raw and SmackDown brands. Instead of a traditional draft, changes between the brands were made behind the scenes, ...

, with Paige, who had retired and become the SmackDown general manager, subsequently declaring that Absolution was over. Rose then continued competing in various tag team matches alongside Deville. In October, Rose eliminated Deville before she herself was eliminated by Carmella in a battle royal at the inaugural all women's pay-per-view,

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. At Survivor Series in November, Rose competed in her first traditional five-on-five elimination match as part of Team SmackDown in a losing effort. Rose later feuded with Naomi after she flirted with Naomi's husband, Jimmy Uso, to "ruin Naomi's life", which involved Rose hinting at kissing Uso as well as Naomi attacking Rose in a hotel room to which Rose invited Uso. The rivalry continued with Rose and Naomi eliminating each other from the women's Royal Rumble match at the namesake event in January 2019, where Rose managed to last 25:50. The two exchanged victories over each other in February. At

in February 2019, Rose and Deville competed in a six-team Elimination Chamber match for the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, starting the match and becoming the final team eliminated by Sasha Banks and Bayley, who won the match in the process. Rose participated in the second WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal during the WrestleMania 35 pre-show in a losing effort. She competed in the

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was establish ...

at the namesake pay-per-view on May 19. Deville, who was ringside, unsuccessfully tried to climb the ladder and help Rose in the match, which was won by Bayley. On the September 3 episode of ''SmackDown'', Rose and Deville, now dubbed Fire & Desire, earned a match at Clash of Champions for the Women's Tag Team Championship by defeating Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. At the event, the two failed to capture the title. In December 2019, Rose entered a romance storyline with Otis, with Otis helping Rose during her matches. She later agreed to a date with him on Valentine's Day, but

Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand. After a prolific career in amateu ...

appeared in Otis's place during the date, which resulted in a romance between Rose and Ziggler. The storyline then evolved into a love triangle involving a feud between Otis and Ziggler over Rose. It was revealed on ''SmackDown'' in April that Deville was working with Ziggler to keep Otis from Rose. At WrestleMania 36, Rose interfered during a match between Otis and Ziggler by attacking Deville, who was at ringside, and Ziggler, which helped Otis score the victory. Following the match, she and Otis shared a kiss. On the May 22 episode of ''SmackDown'', she and Otis lost to Deville and Ziggler in a tag team match. On July 31, Rose's hair was cut by Deville during a backstage attack, which led to Rose debuting a new look with shorter hair the following week. That same month, she defeated Deville in a Loser Leaves WWE match at SummerSlam. In September, Rose was traded to the

Raw brand Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestle ...

. She subsequently formed a tag team with Dana Brooke. In April 2021, the two competed in a

tag team turmoil match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

during the first night of WrestleMania 37, where they were eliminated by the Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott).

Toxic Attraction (2021–2022)

In July 2021, Rose returned to the NXT brand and the following month, she formed an alliance with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, dubbed Toxic Attraction. She subsequently abandoned her blonde hair and dyed it brown. At Halloween Havoc in October, Rose defeated Raquel González in a Chucky's choice

Trick or Street Fight Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

match to win the NXT Women's Championship, the first title in her wrestling career. Earlier that same night, Dolin and Jayne won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, in turn having Toxic Attraction holding all women's championships in NXT. On December 5, at WarGames, Rose and Toxic Attraction teamed with Dakota Kai. They were defeated by the team of

Cora Jade Brianna Coda (born January 14, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, performing on the NXT brand under the ring name Cora Jade, where she is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion. Before signing to WWE, she pre ...

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions w ...

, Kay Lee Ray, and González in a

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...

. In January 2022, At New Year's Evil, Rose defeated Jade and González in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to retain the title. At Stand & Deliver, Rose defended her championship against Jade, Ray, and Shirai in a fatal four-way match. Throughout her championship reign, Rose went on to fend off title contenders such as

Roxanne Perez Carla Gonzalez (born November 5, 2001) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Roxanne Perez, where she is the current NXT Women's Champion in her first reign. She is a form ...

, Wendy Choo and Zoey Stark. At Worlds Collide, Rose unified the NXT UK Women's Championship with the NXT Women's Championship by defeating NXT UK champion Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport in a triple threat match. At Halloween Havoc, Rose retained her title against

Alba Fyre Kayleigh Rae (born 11 August 1992), better known as Kay Lee Ray, is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Alba Fyre. Rae began her wrestling career in 2009 a ...

. On October 26, Rose reached the 365-day mark as champion, becoming only the third woman to hold the title for a continuous reign of one full year. On the December 13 episode of ''NXT'', Rose lost the NXT Women's Championship to Roxanne Perez in a rematch, ending her reign at 413 days. The next day, Rose was released from her WWE contract due to her FanTime content.

Other media

Saccomanno has been featured in multiple fitness publications including ''

Fitness Gurls Fitness Gurls is a fitness based magazine. It covers fitness, health, nutrition and exercise routines. The magazine is published bi-monthly in print and digitally. The magazine has been compared to a Maxim for Fitness. Cover Models Their cover mo ...

'', ''Fit & Firm'', and ''FitFemme''. Saccomanno appeared as part of the main cast for the fifth season of the WWE reality television series '' Total Divas'', which began airing in January 2016.

Business ventures

Saccomanno is an owner of her own beauty and skincare line named Amarose, a combination of her first and middle names. On July 28, 2022, Saccomanno alongside fellow wrestler Daria Berenato, best known as Sonya Deville, opened their own virtual donut brand named DaMandyz Donutz, delivered by Uber Eats in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Personal life

Saccomanno participates in yoga, pilates, and CrossFit. In April 2018, she revealed that she was dating fellow professional wrestler Sabatino Piscitelli, better known by the ring name Tino Sabbatelli. They got engaged in September 2022.

Filmography

Television

Video games

Championships and accomplishments

Fitness and figure competition

* World Bodybuilding Fitness & Fashion ** 2013 WBFF Boston – (first place) ** 2014 WBFF Diva Bikini Pro World Championship – (first place)

Professional wrestling

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' ** Ranked No. 21 of the top 150 female singles wrestlers in the '' PWI Women's 150'' in 2022 * WWE ** NXT Women's Championship ( 1 time)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Mandy 1990 births Living people People from Yorktown, New York American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent Iona College (New York) alumni American female models Fitness and figure competitors American female professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from New York (state) American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Tough Enough contestants NXT Women's Champions 21st-century American women 21st-century professional wrestlers