Dutch Mantell spoke to a former AEW star who Tony Khan allegedly didn't want, confirms a lack of backstage communication
Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell (fka Zeb Colter) disclosed his talks to a former AEW star who wasn't allegedly wanted by Tony Khan in the company. Mantell also opened up about the lack of communication with the star in the past.
The former AEW star in question is Jake Hager (fka Jack Swagger). The 42-year-old star is known for his time in the WWE from 2008 to 2017 where he had a memorable run with Zeb Colter as his manager. Hager later joined All Elite Wrestling in 2020 but didn't achieve big heights there before his recent departure.
Meanwhile, wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell revealed that he spoke to Jake Hager when he was signed with AEW regarding his run in the promotion. Speaking on his Story Time podcast, Mantell also disclosed that there was a lack of backstage communication in Tony Khan's promotion regarding his booking:
"I actually talked to him a few times when he was in AEW and I asked him, 'When are they gonna do something except just have you show up every now and then behind those other guys or whatever.' And he never had an answer for me so apparently they tell him either... When he got to AEW, it was like he was there but he wasn't there. They would come out and they'd show him but involving him in an angle or something, they never did it and I did not know why." [From 01:30 to 03:13]
Check out the video below:
Veteran on Jake Hager's biggest push in Tony Khan's promotion
The former WWE manager Dutch Mantell also recalled the biggest push Jake Hager had in Tony Khan's promotion when people were chanting 'We the People,' a reference to his old WWE gimmick. Mantell said that AEW should've gone with it to gain leverage:
"His biggest push I think is when the first time Jericho went out there with Jack and the people were saying, 'We the People,' and Jericho just cut that out and said, 'We the People was a horrible gimmick, nobody liked it anyway.' So, if they were hollering something like that I would've kind of went with it a little bit just to keep them saying it." [From 03:14 to o3:41]
Moreover, Jake Hager is currently active on the independent wrestling scene following his departure from Tony Khan's promotion. Only time will tell what the future has in store for Hager.
If you use parts from the above quotes, please credit 'Story time with Dutch Mantell' and give H/Tto 'Sportskeeda Wrestling' for transcription.