4 WWE Superstars who could have sent the misleading text to Otis on Valentine's Day

The moment had finally come. After months of chasing, stumbling and flirting, Otis would finally get his dream date with his dream girl. It was all set for Valentine's night, which just so happened to fall on a Friday in 2020. Therefore, the Valentine's day date between Otis and Mandy Rose would take place live on Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.

Fans were eager to finally see the lovable big man of Heavy Machinery get his chance to impress the beautiful woman who many considered to be out of his league. Yes, it was an odd romance, but it was entertaining the WWE Universe in the arenas and at home. Could Otis really win over the former 2014 World Beauty Fitness & Fashion Bikini Champion? We couldn't wait to see what would happen on their upcoming date.

However, things would not go to plan. As Otis was getting ready for his dream date, he received a text message supposedly from Mandy Rose. The message said that Mandy was running late and therefore, Otis would have to wait a while longer before meeting Rose at the restaurant. Thinking nothing of it, Otis continued to prepare, even bringing roses with him as a gift to his "peach".

But, upon arrival at the restaurant venue in question, Otis would be shocked, stunned and devastated. Otis would gaze out upon the sea of tables at their dinner date location, only to see Mandy Rose sitting opposite Dolph Ziggler. Otis dropped his roses to the floor, heartbroken, and left the restaurant with his dreams dashed.

In reality, Mandy Rose had been waiting at the restaurant all night and had not been running late at all. The SmackDown Superstar, one half of Fire and Desire, was under the assumption that Otis stood her up.

While she was waiting at the table, counting the minutes that passed while Otis was still absent, Dolph Ziggler would seize an opportunity. Taking advantage of Otis' tardiness, the former World Heavyweight Champion would sit with Mandy Rose for dinner date instead of the big man.

But, this raises the question, if Mandy Rose didn't send the text message to Otis about Rose running late for their date, then who did? Let's take a look at some of the suspects.


#1 Dolph Ziggler

This may seem like a relatively obvious choice. Who had the most to gain having Otis out of the picture? That would be the former World Heavyweight Champion himself Dolph Ziggler. The Show Off was obviously a suiter of Mandy Rose. Ziggler had made this apparent when he would routinely approach Mandy Rose backstage during episodes of SmackDown prior to the scheduled Valentine's date.

Dolph Ziggler's pursuit of Mandy Rose even got to the point where Ziggler would crush a holiday fruitcake made by Otis' sweet old mother under his brand new Air Jordans during an episode of SmackDown. This was a holiday fruitcake that Otis had gifted to Mandy Rose only minutes earlier in the show as a gesture of good faith after getting sweat all over Rose the week prior.

Since Dolph Ziggler swooped in and gatecrashed Otis' scheduled date with Mandy Rose, Ziggler and Rose have seemingly become a full-blown on-screen couple. The new couple are always sharing pictures and posts on social media, something which The Show Off rubs in Otis' face at every opportunity.

So, it would all make sense. Dolph Ziggler steals Mandy's phone, messages Otis, capitalizes while Otis is not at the restaurant and finally succeeds in his pursuit of Mandy Rose, while Otis is left to cry into his steaks and weights.

#2 Sonya Deville

Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Keep your friends close but your enemies closer'?

This could be the case with Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. The Fire and Desire tag team have long rumoured to be involved in a "romantic" angle whereby Sonya Deville would eventually reveal to Mandy Rose that she sees her more than just a tag team partner. It was even teased briefly in 2019, with the eventual finale of the storyline showing that Deville indeed has a romantic affection for her tag team partner Mandy Rose. However, this angle was quickly and quietly dropped.

Sonya Deville is the first openly gay WWE female superstar in WWE history. She has been an active advocate for LGTB rights on various programs such as Total Divas, on social media and on even on WWE television. This advocacy of LGTB rights can be seen in which Deville proudly wears a pride flag in her ring gear every time she competes. WWE is always looking to break boundaries in their stories which they tell on television, which was seen by the reveal that Liv Morgan and Lana had a previously unknown relationship. Could the next step of this evolution in WWE storytelling be the reveal that Sonya Deville is in fact in love with Mandy Rose?

This past Friday night on SmackDown, we saw Sonya Deville talking to Dolph Ziggler backstage at the WWE Performance Center. While we didn't fully hear what they were talking about, it was apparent that Deville and Ziggler were talking about something secretive. Could they have been discussing their plan to put Dolph Ziggler and Mandy Rose together from the beginning? This would answer the argument of how Dolph Ziggler got access to Mandy Rose's phone to send the text messages to Otis. As Mandy Rose's best friend and tag team partner, Sonya Deville would, of course, have access to personal items such as Mandy Rose's phone.

Sonya Deville even said on multiple occasions "that Ziggler was more your type" when questioning why Mandy Rose was considering going on a date with Otis.

#3 Tucker

Could the mystery text have been from none other than Otis' tag team partner himself, Tucker?

"But why would Otis' long-suffering tag team partner turn on him?" I hear you ask. Well, it's very simple -- this could be another situation of the "Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels" scenario. When you look at Heavy Machinery, it's evident that Otis gets the majority of the spotlight. Otis is the one that the fans cheer for and talk about on social media every Friday night. Otis is the one that many see as a future star in WWE. This certainly could be seen as a breeding ground for jealousy when it comes to his tag team partner Tucker.

With this jealousy building up inside of Tucker, perhaps he could've himself worked with Sonya Deville to get his hands on Mandy Rose's phone. With access to Mandy Rose's phone, Tucker could have easily sent the text to Otis, knowing his friend's phone number, that Mandy Rose was indeed running late. Sonya Deville could've then tipped off to Dolph Ziggler that Mandy Rose was alone at the restaurant. Therefore, this would allow the Show Off to slide in on the Valentine's date, while Otis would lose out on his dream girl. In the end, a heartbroken Otis would go back to his best friend.

Yes, there's a lot of moving parts in this theory. There would have to be an allegiance between the likes of Tucker, Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler, but let's not rule it completely out just yet as stranger things have happened in WWE. If WWE did indeed want to break up Heavy Machinery so both men could go on to have singles careers, then what better way to split up a popular tag team then over the affection of a beautiful woman.

#4 Tino Sabbatelli

Now, this theory could be a little bit out there. How about WWE NXT Superstar Tino Sabbatelli?

It is reasonably well known that Tino Sabbatelli was indeed dating Mandy Rose in real life at one point of time. Now, we don't know the current status of their relationship, but it's certainly not out of the question to weave in a sprinkling of reality into the storylines. In fact, the best storylines in WWE history have been ones in which blur the lines between reality and fiction.

WWE could certainly tell the story of a jealous ex-boyfriend in Tino Sabbatelli trying to sabotage any prospects of love in which Mandy Rose could potentially have. The only issue here would be that Mandy Rose is, of course, currently dating Dolph Ziggler as a consequence of the Valentine's date fiasco. Tino Sabbatelli could, of course, say that this wasn't part of his plan, but he could certainly play after jealous ex-boyfriend very well.

Tino Sabbatelli has been recently dealing with an injury which has kept him off of NXT TV. He is currently on a hiatus from the NXT brand recovering from said injury. But it is hoped that he will soon be making a return to NXT/WWE television. What a better way to have Tino Sabbatelli debut on the main roster than by dropping him straight into one of the most popular storylines going currently on Friday Night SmackDown.

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