"This is what the wrestling business needs"- Former WWE personality voices his thoughts on Tony Khan infamously hugging Claudio Castagnoli
Dutch Mantell weighed in on Tony Khan infamously hugging Claudio Castagnoli upon the latter's AEW debut.
Claudio Castagnoli made his long-awaited AEW debut at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view. The Swiss Cyborg bested NJPW's Zack Sabre Jr. in an extremely physical contest. Later during the media scrum, Tony Khan hugged Claudio in a way that seemed like Mr. Khan was crying in the latter's embrace.
Speaking on the Wrestling Shoot Interviews podcast, the former WWE manager detailed his initial reaction and acknowledged Tony Khan's love for the industry:
"I went on Twitter and said 'what is going on here?' Then I said you won't catch Vince hugging somebody like that and you won't. But Tony was in this embrace with Cesaro and it caught me by surprise first and then I got to think about it. Well, maybe this is what the wrestling business needs. Because Tony Khan loves this business." - said, Dutch Mantell (0:34 - 1:09)
The wrestling veteran also mentioned that Tony Khan expressing his emotions is good for wrestling:
"So I'm thinking if this guy isn't afraid to show his emotions like that, he may really be a good thing for wrestling now. I don't think he can be used or abused or treated as a money mark. He's got more sense than that." (2:32 - 2:53)
WTF@ is going on here? One thing you can say. You’d never see @VinceMcMahon in this pose!! I think even Caesaro himself is embarrassed. Damn Tony! @THEVinceRusso https://t.co/nMPK0iELA1
Dutch Mantell on what hindered Claudio Castagnoli's run in WWE
During their WWE days, Claudio Castagnoli and Jake Hager (fka Jack Swagger) teamed up almost a decade ago. Dutch Mantell took on the managerial role by establishing "The Real Americans" faction with the two.
The faction began to gain traction but its momentum eventually fizzled out. However, loud chants of "We, the People" at the Blood and Guts event proved that fans haven't forgotten.
RT for The #RealAmericans, Antonio Cesaro, Jack Swagger, and Zeb Colter. #WeThePeople #RAW http://t.co/rlWIdpOsyx
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk podcast, Dutch Mantell weighed in on Cesaro's underwhelming promo skills. He opined that the creative team should have worked with him towards improving that:
"Well, he's not very good in promos. They could have worked with him. That's what actors do. They work with him in doing promos."- said, Dutch Mantell.
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Many fans believe Claudio Castagnoli was underutilized in WWE despite being a terrific performer. It'll be interesting to see what lies ahead for The Swiss Superman under the AEW umbrella.
Please credit Wrestling Shoot Interviews and give a H/T to Sportskeeda when using quotes from this article.