"Don't give a cr**" - Wrestling veteran on why Minoru Suzuki is not a draw for AEW (Exclusive)
Former WWE booker Dutch Mantell believes Minoru Suzuki is not a draw for AEW and explained why the latter would not attract new viewers for the company.
On this week's YouTube-exclusive AEW Rampage: Buy-In, Suzuki collided with Bryan Danielson in a legitimate dream match. Despite taking 'The American Dragon' to the limit in a grueling encounter, Suzuki fell prey to the former's Running Knee Strike.
WWE SmackDown v. AEW Rampage Review | Smack Talk w/Dutch Mantell: Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks! twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…
The bout aired simultaneously as SmackDown on FS1, with many fans tuning in to catch the NJPW veteran and Danielson wrestling. However, Dutch Mantell believes that those watching WWE SmackDown stuck with the show and didn't switch channels.
Speaking on the latest edition of Sportskeeda's Smack Talk, Mantell explained that only hardcore AEW fans know Suzuki. He added that a casual fan wouldn't go as far as to learn about Minoru Suzuki and then watch him compete instead of simply watching SmackDown.
"Whoever was watching SmackDown stayed with it. Because Suzuki, you guys are hardcore fans, you know Suzuki, so you wanna watch him. But if you take some truck driver down in Georgia, he doesn't give a cr**, and he doesn't know who he is. Again, we are talking about casual fans, they don't know Suzuki. They have to learn about him," said Dutch Mantell.
Check out the full review of this week's AEW Rampage and WWE SmackDown in the video below:
What has Minoru Suzuki been up to in AEW?
Minoru Suzuki debuted in AEW at All Out 2021 and has appeared quite frequently in AEW's programming. The NJPW veteran first competed against Jon Moxley on the September 8th edition of Dynamite, where he lost.
Later, at AEW Grand Slam on September 24th, Suzuki teamed up with Lance Archer to take on Moxley and Eddie Kingston. However, the legendary performer yet again ended up on the losing side in the unsanctioned match.
Now that he has also lost to Danielson, Suzuki will hopefully reverse his fortunes in AEW soon.
.@suzuki_D_minoru - coming soon! #IMPACTonAXSTV @njpwglobal https://t.co/FrxOgAIbNb
Meanwhile, Minoru Suzuki is also set to debut for IMPACT Wrestling soon, with the company hyping his arrival with a vignette.
Do you agree with Dutch Mantell's assessment of Minoru Suzuki not being a draw for AEW? Sound off in the comments section below.
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