10 DUMB WWE Booking Decisions (We Didn't Want To Admit Were GENIUS!)

9. WWE “Demotes” Mandy Rose

Mandy Rose
WWE

If everyone's being honest, in-ring skills were never Mandy Rose's main strength on the main roster. She's extremely telegenic - that's what caught WWE's attention first, and they'd rely on Mandy's looks for most of her storylines. Then, something incredible happened, and it might even have been totally accidental.

Rose was bumped to NXT in July 2021. Most fans likely figured that was a demotion, but Rose worked incredibly hard to better herself as a wrestler and on the microphone. She'd win the NXT Women's Title by October, headed Toxic Attraction and became a much better all-rounder.

Sure, things ended badly between Mandy and WWE, but her NXT stint was surprisingly awesome. WWE booked her to show up on the third brand for one reason and one reason only: They'd burned through everything they could think of on Raw and SmackDown, so she needed a change of scenery.

It worked out, and could even be considered a genius-level decision whether anyone knew that going in or not.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.