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Former WWE star Levi Cooper (f.k.a. Tucker) is still unsure why the storyline between Otis and Mandy Rose ended in 2020.
Otis and Rose became an on-screen couple following Otis’ win over Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania 36. The storyline fizzled out in the summer of 2020 when Rose focused on her rivalry with Sonya Deville and Otis began feuding with The Miz.
Speaking to The Angle Podcast’s Joey Karni, Tucker admitted he could not understand why such a popular storyline suddenly ended.
“The lack of pay-off, I have no idea,” Tucker said. “I’ll probably go to my grave not understanding how you can have a six-month storyline that was definitely a top-five storyline and, maybe in terms of fan interaction, the top one in the company, and then just basically have those two go their separate ways and pretend like it never happened in the first place. Very insulting to the audience, in my opinion. It makes them [fans] much less likely to invest in a long-term story the next time.”
Watch the video above to hear more of Tucker’s thoughts on his WWE career in a recent interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone.
Tucker’s possible explanation for Otis and Mandy Rose’s split
Mandy Rose and Tucker moved to RAW in the WWE Draft in October 2020, leaving Otis without any allies on SmackDown. The 2020 Money in the Bank winner has since gone on to form a new heel tag team with Chad Gable.
Tucker believes that the absence of WWE fans during the COVID-19 pandemic might explain why several storylines abruptly ended over the last 16 months.
“All the things that have happened post-fans, I think that’s a big reason why, even if we don’t discuss it, that was the reason,” Tucker said. “We try to look at all the other little reasons. That [no fans] is still the main catalyst for anything going off the rails kind of from pre-COVID to being in the pandemic.”
Tucker originally wanted to get involved in Otis’ match against Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania 36. However, Ziggler’s tag team partner Robert Roode was not allowed to attend the WrestleMania taping due to travel restrictions. As a result, WWE decided that Tucker was not needed at the event.
Please credit The Angle Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription, if you use quotes from this article.
