During a new interview with FOX Wilmington, Mandy Rose commented on her work in bodybuilding before joining WWE, the origin of her ring name, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On how she looks up to Serena Williams: “I would say, Serena Williams, I’ve always looked up to [her]. She’s just bad– and I mean, she just speaks volumes, obviously. And I mean, there’s just a lot of women out there that, you know, even like JLo […] she just, you know, looks better and better with age. And she’s just a huge influence to young girls that want to be out there in whatever industry it is. Music, entertainment, movies. So it’s just a great time.”
On her work in bodybuilding and fitness before she joined WWE: “I was studying speech-language pathology at Iona College and I got my bachelor’s degree there. And then I was approached from a friend, actually, that was like, ‘You know, you should get into bodybuilding and fitness competitions.’ And I didn’t really know anything about that industry, but it kind of intrigued me a little bit. So I was like, ‘I’ll give it a shot.’ You know, I always was fit and loved to work out and play sports, but I didn’t really know, you know, anything about fitness competition. So I was training to do a show in Boston with WBFF [World, Beauty, Fitness & Fashion] and I did the show, I really didn’t know what I was doing, but I placed first, which is really cool. And from then on, I went on to WBFF Worlds and I became the 2014 Bikini World Champion, which then led me to WWE. So, it’s kind of crazy.”
On why it’s a good time to be a woman in sports entertainment: “I mean, just everything! You see these women, you know, we’re just all breaking down barriers. I mean, it’s what people want to see, too. You know, especially in sports, entertainment and WWE. And people want to see the women, you know, kick butt. And it’s just a great time. So I’m really blessed. And for me, it’s only the beginning of my career and I’m excited for what’s to come. And it only makes me more motivated and be more driven to want to get to the top, want to get to the very top, just like the women’s main event of this year at WrestleMania.”
On the origin of her ring name: “Mandy Rose: My real name is Amanda Rose Saccomanno, so a lot of people don’t know that, but Rose is kind of special in my family as my grandma’s name is Rosemary, my mom’s name is Mary Rose, I’m Amanda Rose, my niece is Demi Rose. So it kind of just keeps going in the family. But I was put on Total Divas right when I got signed, so before I kind of stepped foot in the ring, I was on Total Divas and I went by the name of Mandy, so … we didn’t really want to change my name after that. It was like everyone knew me as Mandy and even from Tough Enough, so we went with Mandy Rose.”
