Things are going pretty well for ex-NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose heading into 2023. Sure, she lost her contract with WWE after refusing to change the content she was posting on her Fan Time page, but hey, according to her manager per TMZ, the former member of Fire and Desire has already made 500k since her firing and could be a self-made millionaire by the end of the year, which is very good business if you can get it.

With promotions around the world already expressing interest in hiring the 32-year-old former champion, as Tommy Dreamer has already declared that Impact Wrestling would happily hire Rose if AEW doesn't first, the future is looking bright for the performer born Amanda Rose Saccomanno regardless of her intentions.

Still, some have questioned Rose's decision to leave behind WWE when she was seemingly in the middle of a serious glow-up the likes of which typically comes with a 400-plus day title reign and a few hundred minutes of television time dedicated to getting herself and the rest of Toxic Attraction over ahead of a potential elevation to the main roster. If Rose's goal was to become a top performer in professional wrestling, why leave the top company in the industry when her arrow was pointing straight up, especially for the short-term allure of a financial windfall that would seemingly only grow with more mainstream exposure?

Fortunately, none other than “The Nature Boy,” Ric Flair decided to comment on just that while talking to his co-host Conrad Thompson on his To Be The Man podcast.

Ric Flair doesn't think Mandy Rose played her cards right with WWE.

Asked about Rose's decision to keep her Fan Time page going and thus end her run in WWE, Flair weighed in on how he would have handled a similar situation and how her decision to leave the company when she is arguably at her hottest from a booking standpoint may affect her long-term ceiling as a performer.

“Well, I don’t know what kind of money she was making with the company, but personally, I only know Mandy a little bit, but I really like her,” Flair said. “And personally, I thought her work had gotten a lot better in NXT because she had gotten more opportunities. I expected her to be back up on the main roster, so, only she can make that decision… If I was her, I'd rather be on TV because that stuff gets old, and then sometimes, you can't come back from that kind of stuff, the more of it you do. I'm not giving anybody advice on how to run their life. But, I myself would rather be on TV. And if she was improving like she had been, and god, she looks like a million dollars, and she can get a great paycheck I’d rather be wrestling, that would certainly be my choice.”

“I don’t know what she wanted to do, I don’t know what her aspirations truly were but if they were to be on top at WWE, then I would say chase that goal. Pursue that goal because you’ll know shortly whether you’re ever going to get there. If they bring you back up and they give you a push and you don’t make it this time then go do what you want to do but if they were going to bring her back up because she has improved, in my opinion a lot, and she obviously looks great, that would be my choice.”

When Thompson pointed out that Rose will be fine after her run over a year as the NXT World Champion, Flair delivered his final thoughts on the matter.

“And she got a lot of PR, I mean, you heard her name all of the time, Flair said. Yeah, so she was really getting over with the public. I don’t know how many fans she has on social media but she must have a large contingency of male followers now with this new gig she’s got going on.”

Is Flair correct? Is leaving WWE now, when Rose hadn't truly proven herself as the same level of star as, say, Sasha Banks, shortsighted if her goal truly was to become an all-time great in the professional wrestling business? Or does making over half a million dollars on Fan Time, when coupled with the prospects of wrestling for AEW, Impact, or another company when her non-compete comes to an end, provide a better opportunity for Rose to set herself up for future success? Either way, Flair hopes to see her succeed, as he's a fan of Rose as a person.