Former WWE Star Mandy Rose Speaks to I-95 Morning Show From a Deli in Carmel

On Friday (6/16/23) we were able to get connected with a last minute celebrity guest on the I-95 Morning Show.

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We have a listener that goes by "Captain Spaudling" who put us in touch with former WWE Superstar Mandy Rose. After a couple of e-mails and texts we were on the phone live with Mandy whose actual name Amanda Rose Saccomanno.

Help me understand this, you're at a deli in Carmel right now? 

"Yes, my father owns Arthur Avenue Deli in Carmel, in the Putnam Plaza and I'm actually helping out this week. I've been working, I'm working like a dog actually." 

Fans must go crazy, they go in for a grinder and see you. They must go nuts, right? 

"Yeah it's actually really funny a girl came in the other day and she really did a double take. She was like oh my God, someone just told me to come in here because that's Mandy Rose's families' deli, it was her first time in there and she was freaking out, it was the funniest thing." 

You go to Yorktown High School, you go to Iona, you get a speech pathology degree, how do you end up in wrestling as a girl from Westchester who has a great education? I just doesn't seem like a natural path. 

"No it definitely wasn't natural at all. I went to Iona College, I got my Bachelors degree in speech language pathology and then one of the girls I was working with, she told me that I should get into fitness modeling and bodybuilding and it was kind of interesting to me because I kind of wanted to get my life back in order as far as getting a routine and working out. So I started that and everything just kind of, after that it was just one thing after the next, I was doing body building shows and then I got recruited for a Skype interview for a reality show called "Tough Enough" with WWE. I had no idea what I was doing, I literally was just like well, why not? It's not going to hurt so I did the interview and then I got, well it was not a definite spot on the show. You had to go to Orlando for a couple of weeks and do these crazy tryouts. They told me to come to Orlando, pack for three months, if you make it, if you don't we'll just send you back. So I told my mom and dad, I said I'm going to take this opportunity, you never know. It's WWE wrestling I have no idea what I'm doing but it's awesome. They were all for it, everyone was super supportive and I went on and obviously the rest is history. I wouldn't regret one thing and that is why I always tell people take risks and do things that you might never expect to do because you never know where it's going to take you." 

You have your own skincare and beauty line that is available now, your own line of donuts that are available? 

"Yeah so I'm on a little bit different of a path now. I'm in a little transitional phase, I'm no longer with the WWE right now but that's not to say I won't wrestle in the future. I'm not really sure, I'm taking a break right now and focusing on my skincare line, my other brand, DaMandyz Donutz, helping out at my dad's deli. I have some plans in the works that I kind of want to help out with them and do some things, you know my dad is pretty old school and I want to revamp a little bit. I have some ideas there are just so many other things, I'm really busy on my exclusive fan site which is called Fan Time where I get to really engage with my fans and have an amazing relationship. It has just been awesome, I really can't complain I have so many things in the works, it's been really great." 

You went to Yorktown High, you grew up in Yorktown. How does the deli end up in Carmel? What is your dad's road like?

"Yeah so my dad had this deli since before I was born, like 30 years about. He had restaurants prior to when I was born and then he started the Italian deli business. He used to be on Fair Street and he had a huge deli on the corner and then he moved down here into the Putnam Plaza, he's been here for quite some time and everyone knows him around here. We call him "The Moozy Man" he makes fresh mozzarella and it's the best mozzarella you're ever going to have in your life." 

Listen to our entire interview with Mandy below. We also discussed the rigors of wrestling travel, relationships behind the scenes at the WWE and her nickname "hamburgers."

This interview snuck up on me and it shows. While I think we did an OK job with 30 minutes to prepare, I now know there are a lot of other questions I should have asked. Mandy's exit from the WWE should have been my lead question but I didn't know what I did not know.

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify

I like that Mandy's family business is important enough to her to get behind the deli counter and get to work.

Mandy did tell her story on the Tamron Hall Show 5 months ago after she was reportedly let go by the WWE because she was releasing racy content.

P.S. I stopped watching pro wrestling after the "Attitude Era" ended but I need to get back to it because there is a lot of guest opportunities for the I-95 Morning Show.