7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 17)
6. This Rose Has No Thorns (Yet)
Mandy Rose hasn't been presented very well in recent weeks, but she was here.
She wasn't wrestling, so there were no "you will never look like me" outbursts at fellow women, and she even seemed a little shy and retiring when Sonya Deville suggested her pal was smitten with Otis. Later, Rose flashed a smile when Otis saved her from a nasty fall and did that tongue flutter thing that's begging to become a meme.
There's an innocent vibe to the entire story that's somehow endearing despite the soap opera style of it. Otis is thawing an ice queen's heart, and forcing her to look behind physical appearance to the person beneath that shell. Or, this writer is a sucker and Mandy is setting the Heavy Machinery man up for a fall.
Whatever the case, the story was well done this week. If Rose is going to turn on Otis (which is likely), reveal that she's been playing him and become SmackDown's biggest bitch, then she's playing a nice poker face.