Mandy Leon on WWE’s Impact on Women of Honor, Being a ‘Rosebud’

Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa! She went from being one of Adam Rose’s ‘rosebuds’ to becoming one of the leading females on Women of Honor…and her name is Mandy Leon.

ROH Women of Honor star and former ‘rosebud’ Mandy Leon sat down with Josh Barnett from For The Win to talk about wrestling in ROH, the impact of WWE and being a ‘rosebud.’

Leon, now 25-years-old trained at the ROH Dojo and always had the goal of leading the rebirth of wrestling in the promotion. She had the honor of having the first WOH match of the new era, with her No DQ match during her feud with Taeler Hendrix being a must-watch.

Q: YOU HAVE DESCRIBED WOMEN OF HONOR AS “MY BABY” AND ARE AMONG THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF THE RETURN OF WOMEN TO RING OF HONOR. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?

“When I first started training, there wasn’t a women’s division. We had a few matches now and again as dark matches, but there wasn’t a roster. I was so new and had no right to say any of this on the first day of class, but I said, ‘I want to be the girl that brings back women’s wrestling in Ring of Honor. I want to help create a division and one day have a historic Women of Honor championships belt.’ Of course, everyone looked at me like, ‘This is your first day here; you have no experience; what are you talking about?”

“One day I asked if I could have a match with Deonna Purrazzo before a show in Baltimore and they said yes. … It wasn’t supposed to be anything but a dark match. The company was doing YouTube exclusive matches. For whatever reason, that didn’t work out and they decided to throw the women’s match on YouTube instead and see what happens. Overnight, it was a huge thing that went viral. We then had more matches and more matches.”

“That created the rebirth of Women of Honor brand. You have the women’s revolution in WWE. We were also creating our own revolution that not a lot of people knew about. To see where it is today is absolutely crazy. It’ just monumental in my eyes and means a lot to me. I never thought I would be where I am. All it takes is asking for an opportunity and you do it to your fullest and have people who believe in you.”

Q: TWO BIG THINGS TO MAKE A DIVISION WOULD SEEM TO BE MORE CONSISTENT TV TIME AND A CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW CLOSE DO YOU THINK WOMEN OF HONOR IS TO THOSE GOALS?

“We’ve had a VOD event and two exclusive Women of Honor episodes on the Ring of Honor TV show. I think we’re not separate anymore; we’re equal to the main show. … Hopefully at some point this year we can place a Women of Honor match on every episode and pay-per-views. It’s been two years where we’ve developed our characters and people know us. We have these stories that we can now say, ‘Let’s put this on TV, maybe we have a tournament, maybe we can crown the first champion.’ I think we’re almost there. We’re so close.”

Q: BECAUSE WWE IS SUCH A BIG COMPANY, HOW DOES ITS FOCUS ON THE WOMEN’S DIVISION HELP WOMEN’S WRESTLING IN ROH?

“A lot of people have this misconception that we’re in competition, but that’s not the case. There is literally zero competition. It’s just two entities that are at the top in professional wrestling. We’re doing our own thing and they’re doing their own thing. I do think it’s a beautiful thing that the attention they brought to their women’s division, the amount of opportunities and all those women that they’re using for the physical aspect of the division have come from the indies so it does bring focus back here and it does help. People want to see it here and how we do it.”

Q: YOU SPENT SOME TIME AS A “ROSEBUD” IN WWE WITH THE ADAM ROSE CHARACTER. HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE AND WAS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO POTENTIALLY SIGN WITH WWE?

“It was fun. I was brand new in the business and had not that much experience at all so it was an opportunity to network and get the experience. Everybody there is very nice and treats you like family.”

“I was there just as an extra and we did have dark matches before every taping. Through that, I earned a tryout in Orlando and that went phenomenal. A few months later, everything was transitioning where the focus was on the more athletic side of things and creating a strong women’s division. Once that came about, for me, I didn’t want to go there yet. My goal wasn’t just to get an opportunity because of the way I look. I wanted an opportunity because I made a name for myself and I worked in Ring of Honor and made history in the indies and made an impact. Then I want to go there. I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished what I’ve wanted to accomplish yet. I do want to go there someday, but right now I’m happy here. Ring of Honor will always be my home.”

Q: HOW DID YOU BECOME “THE EXOTIC GODDESS”?

“I was working an independent show in Maryland and my friend and colleague Larry Legend was announcing the matches and introductions that night. He asked me how I would like to be introduced to the ring. It was only my second match at that time so I wasn’t sure how to describe myself. I’ve always been obsessed and fascinated with ancient Egypt. So we came up with “The Exotic Goddess” just joking around. Once he announced me like that, it was something that stuck and people loved it. I look at it as Mandy Leon “The Exotic Goddess” is a mysterious, enchanting, witchy gypsy that is not only beautiful but fierce and powerful.”

With H/T to For The Win.

ROH Women of Honor Internet Exclusive MANDY LEON vs DEONNA PURRAZO (7.25.15 Baltimore, MD)

Editor’s Note:

I think Mandy is an incredible athlete who has so much potential left in her. She is only 25, meaning she can probably go for over a decade more. I’d love to see her in WWE but being a focal member of WOH, she needs to continue on making that a big brand before making the transition.

Do you like Mandy Leon? Would you like to see her in WWE? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page or Twitter account. Additionally, you can find me on Twitter at @SOSNH1995.