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There was once a man in WWE named Adam Rose, an over-enthusiastic party guy who came to the ring with his Exotic Express and all of them came dancing to the ring, making for an amazing live experience for the audience in attendance. The act of Adam Rose and his "Rosebuds" got over first with the NXT Universe, and later on the main roster.
Well, I won't be shocked if many of you don't remember who Adam Rose was as his WWE career wasn't really memorable, other than his entrance. Even though Adam Rose, who was previously known as Leo Kruger, couldn't reach heights of success, he provided a platform for several current top WWE Superstars to make their initial TV appearances.
In this article, we'll take a look at ten WWE rosebuds, and where are they now. Be sure to comment down and let us know your favorite rosebud.
#10 Becky Lynch
Arguably the most popular WWE Superstar to have been part of Adam Rose's Exotic Express, Becky Lynch has been one of WWE's biggest stars in the last few years. Being one of WWE's four horsewomen, Becky had a decent start on the main roster, but the debut of "The Man" gimmick changed the game for her.
She rose to the heights of success in WWE, winning the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble. Then she was a part of the first all-women WrestleMania main event in 2019 and becoming the first woman to simultaneously hold both the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championship.
Becky Lynch held on to her RAW women's title until the RAW after Money in the Bank 2020 where she announced that she is pregnant and will be stepping away from the WWE ring for the time being. She is engaged to WWE Superstar Seth Rollins and the couple will soon be welcoming their first child together.
#9 Tessa Blanchard
While Becky, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Asuka, and others are taking women's wrestling to heights never seen before in WWE, there's another woman who has been creating huge waves across the wrestling world through her fearless attitude and sheer talent. We are talking about the former Impact World Champion, Tessa Blanchard.
Daughter of the WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard, she has wrestled in WWE and was also once a rosebud. She also participated in the first Mae Young Classic tournament in 2017 but was eliminated in the first round by Kairi Sane.
Tessa Blanchard is currently a free agent after Impact terminated her contract in June 2020. There has been much speculation as to whether she will join WWE, AEW, or some other promotion, and we'll have to wait and see what's next for her.
#8 Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss wasn't a big name in NXT, but her move to SmackDown as part of the 2016 WWE Draft led to her becoming a huge star of WWE's women's division. She won the SmackDown Women's title twice and then moved to RAW and became the first woman to have won both the Women's Championships of RAW and SmackDown.
Winner of the 2018 women's Money in the Bank match and the first Women's Elimination Chamber match, Alexa Bliss was once in the Exotic Express of Adam Rose. Currently, she has been in a tag team with Nikki Cross (also a former rosebud) and the two have won the WWE Women's Tag Team titles twice.
#7 Zelina Vega
A former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion, Zelina Vega, previously known as Thea Trinidad made several appearances for WWE as one of Adam Rose's rosebuds in 2014. While she has wrestled a few times on NXT and WWE's main roster, including the WrestleMania 35 women's battle royal and 2020 Women's Royal Rumble, WWE has mostly been happy to use her in a managerial role.
Accompanying the former NXT Champion, Andrade, Zelina Vega has impressed the WWE Universe through her mic skills and heel character. The duo has been joined by the former Cruiserweight Champion Angel Garza recently, with him appearing as a tag-team with Andrade. WWE has teased the faction breaking-up and it is to be seen how long they can co-exist.
#6 Braun Strowman
The Monster Among Men as a rosebud? Yes, for those of you who don't know or don't remember, Braun Strowman was once a rosebud. He even revealed on a podcast that Vince McMahon noticed him only after he saw him play a rosebud on WWE TV.
After debuting as part of the Wyatt Family in 2016, WWE went on to make Braun Strowman a singles Superstar in 2017. While he got a monster push, Strowman was unable to get his hands (no pun intended) on the World titles even after several opportunities.
His moment came only at WrestleMania 36 where he replaced Roman Reigns in his title match against Goldberg and defeated the WWE Hall of Famer to win the Universal Championship for the first time. He has recently completed 100 days as the champion.
#5 Ruby Riott
Ruby Riott is one of the most underrated women's Superstars on the WWE roster. Possessing great in-ring skills and the ability to connect people to her character, Ruby Riott briefly competed in NXT before making her main roster debut in 2017 as the leader of the Riott Squad alongside Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.
After being on a hiatus due to an injury, Ruby Riott returned to WWE earlier this year in February 2020. She competed in the Elimination Chamber match to determine the #1 contender for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36 but was eliminated by Shayna Baszler. Recently, she turned face and teamed-up with Bianca Belair on RAW to defeat The IIconics.
#4 Elias
Elias is one of those WWE Superstars who have the ability to get over with the fans just through his mic skills. Interestingly, the 4-time 24/7 Champion was also once a rosebud, as seen in the picture above. Elias made his WWE main roster debut in 2017. Walking through the crowd, appearing in backstage segments playing his guitar, The Drifter had a different vibe to him.
Being a heel for most of his main roster career, he became popular for his in-ring concerts, only to be interrupted by someone every time. He began a feud with King Corbin recently, with both exchanging wins on multiple occasions.
He last appeared on WWE TV on an episode of SmackDown in late May where he got injured in a (storyline) car accident and has been out ever since. Elias is actually out of action for the next six to nine months due to a surgery.
#3 Nikki Cross
As mentioned previously, Alexa Bliss's tag team partner Nikki Cross was also a former rosebud, appearing in the Exotic Express during an episode of RAW in 2014. She worked in NXT as a singles competitor as well as a part of the faction Sanity, which sadly never lived up to the hype.
She made her main roster debut in November 2018, answering an open challenge to Becky Lynch. She started teaming up with Alexa Bliss in mid-2019 and while WWE fans were expecting the Goddess to turn on Nikki, both have stuck together as a team till now. Nikki Cross will be challenging Bayley for her SmackDown Women's Championship at Extreme Rules 2020.
#2 Scarlett Bordeaux
Scarlett Bordeaux has made a huge name for herself throughout the world of pro wrestling in the last few years. She played a rosebud on several occasions in 2014, including at WWE Payback that year. After her highly popular yet controversial gimmick of the "Smoke Show" in Impact Wrestling, she parted ways with the promotion in June 2019.
A few months later in September, WWE announced her signing and she started training at the WWE Performance Center. She finally appeared on NXT in May 2020 as a valet of Karrion Kross, who is also her real-life boyfriend. While Kross is looking set for a big push on NXT, we are yet to see Scarlett perform as an in-ring competitor on the brand.
#1 Carmella
Carmella signed with WWE in 2013 and made her NXT debut in September 2014, where she started appearing as the manager of the tag-team of Enzo Amore and Big Cass. Carmella appeared as a rosebud on a few occasions, before getting drafted to SmackDown in 2016 and being separated from Enzo and Cass.
During her four-year-long WWE main roster career, she has achieved a lot of success. She won the first-ever Women's Money in the Bank match in 2017 and cashed in on Charlotte Flair to become the SmackDown Women's Champion. She also won the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal in 2019 and became a two-time 24/7 Champion, while delivering some hilarious segments alongside R-Truth.
