WWE fans are witnessing the latest version of Beauty and the Beast with the current romance angle between the pair of Otis and Mandy Rose. The duo has been sending shock waves among the WWE Universe ever since the start of this storyline.
Former WWE writer Andrea Listenberger was the one to pitch the idea to Vince McMahon, and we all know how Mr.McMahon feels about such stories. WWE has been investing a lot of screen time for this angle, and it played a significant part in Otis winning this year’s men’s MITB ladder match.
RELATED: MITB: 10 Real Life Facts Fans Should Know About Otis
The entire pro-wrestling fraternity is buzzing over this story, and for those who missed it, here’s how it all played out. Without further ado, let's dive into the romance angle between Otis and Mandy Rose.
10 Fire & Desire Origins
Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville joined forces with Paige in November 2017 and formed the heel faction Absolution. But their partnership didn't last long after Paige had to retire from in-ring action due to her neck injuries in April 2018. However, Rose and Deville continued to work together as a team following Paige's retirement.
They got drafted to SmackDown during the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up and continued to work as a team despite showing some signs of dissolution. They became an important addition to the blue brand's women's tag team division, and they began to call themselves "Fire and Desire" in 2019.
9 Heavy Machinery Arrives On The Main Roster
Otis arrived at NXT in 2016 and started teaming up with Tucker, calling themselves Heavy Machinery. The team competed in the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament and got eliminated in the first round, losing to Austin Aries and Roderick Strong.
After unsuccessful attempts at the NXT Tag Team Championship and the following year’s Dusty Rhodes Classic, they wrestled their final match in NXT in December 2018 before making the jump to the main roster.
They made their Raw debut on January 14, 2019, and then got drafted to SmackDown in the Superstar Shake-Up.
8 The Secret Santa
The unusual tale started on the December 20, 2019, episode of SmackDown when every superstar was high on the Christmas spirit. Mandy Rose drew Otis' name in the SmackDown Secret Santa and gave him a big piece of ham followed by a Christmas kiss.
Things took a turn for the worse when The Revival messed up Otis' ham during a match and ended up getting destroyed by him. Mandy Rose consoled Otis with a cheerful hug only to get his sweat all over her dress.
7 Enter The Bad Guy
Otis tried to make it up to Mandy for ruining her dress by gifting a Christmas Fruit Cake for his peach. Mandy Rose was kind enough to accept Otis' gift, but Dolph Ziggler entered as the unwanted third wheel in the budding relationship.
He stomped on the Christmas cake and tried to convince Mandy that she shouldn't be anywhere near Otis. But the couple managed to brush that aside after a few incidents, including a memorable Royal Rumble moment. Otis crawled out from under the ring to save Rose from elimination which led to him setting up a date with her on Valentine's Day.
6 Date Gone Wrong
Otis was gearing up for his date with Mandy Rose on Valentine's Day, and his good friend Tucker was by his side helping him get in shape for the big day. He was all dressed up for the date when he received a text message from Rose that she would be running a bit late for the night.
But it turned out that Rose wasn't the one to send the message, and she was waiting for him at the restaurant. Dolph Ziggler used the opportunity to steal the date, leaving Otis heartbroken to see Mandy with Ziggler.
5 Mind Games Begin
Otis was distraught after Ziggler stole his date, and Tucker confronted Mandy Rose about the date, but she didn't have any idea about the text message. Ziggler, now boasting over his deeds, started playing mind games with Otis by showing pictures of him and Mandy Rose together.
It didn't stop there as Ziggler continued to mess with Otis' mind backstage and had completely brainwashed Mandy Rose to not listen to Otis' explanations. It was Tucker who stood with Otis throughout the rough experience until they had a big breakthrough on the April 3, 2020, episode of SmackDown.
4 The Grand Deception
Tucker looked to defend his friend's pride by taking on Dolph Ziggler in a one-on-one match. Otis wasn't at ringside because he received a text message earlier, and he ran off without any notice.
Ziggler got himself disqualified after he hit a Zigzag on Tucker on the steel steps. He looked to inflict more damage before Otis would make the save. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville were also at ringside when the mysterious hacker appeared on the titantron.
RELATED: Predicting How Otis & Asuka Will Cash In Their MITB Contracts
He revealed that it was Deville who sent the text message from Rose's phone on Valentine's Day, and it was a combined plot by both Ziggler and Deville to sabotage Rose's relationship with Otis.
3 Road To WrestleMania
Mandy was distraught after learning that her partner Sonya Deville stabbed her in the back. Both Mandy and Otis looked for retribution against Ziggler and Deville, and it took place at WrestleMania 36.
Otis defeated Ziggler on the Grandest Stage of Them All and celebrated with Mandy Rose with a kiss in the middle of the ring. Sonya Deville tried to explain her actions to Rose on the following episode of SmackDown. Deville was distraught on riding the coattails of Rose during their time as a team and did what she did to redeem herself.
2 Mr. Money In The Bank
Otis and Mandy continued their feud with Ziggler and Deville following WrestleMania and competed in one-on-one and mixed tag team matches on SmackDown.
Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler yet again on the May 1, 2020, episode of SmackDown, but this time, it was for the opportunity to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.
Otis walked into the colossal ladder match with a huge disadvantage as he was not able to climb the ladder because of his weight. But he shocked the world when he caught the MITB contract, which slipped out of AJ Styles' hand and became the 2020 Mr. Money in the Bank.
1 The Tale Continues
Otis, now with two big prizes in his possession, is living his life in style. He now has a beautiful girlfriend in Mandy Rose and also a guaranteed opportunity at the Universal Championship with the MITB contract.
His poolside date segment with Mandy Rose on the May 29, 2020, episode of SmackDown had the fans buzzing. The WWE Universe is wondering what would be the endgame for this beautiful love story, and the fact that Otis could become the Universal Champion makes things even more interesting.
