"They need to build it" - Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell gives his honest take on main events in AEW shows (Exclusive)
WWE veteran Dutch Mantell has commented on an area AEW needs to improve in.
The Jacksonville-based promotion, founded by Tony Khan in 2019, has done well to establish itself as one of the finest in the wrestling industry. It is now considered the only true competitor to WWE, but there are certain areas they might be looking to work on to become the number one brand.
During the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell focused on one such area. He opined that the promotion needs to find a way to make their main events look more appealing. He also professed not to be a fan of the show's announcer set-up.
"It was a good main event. They need a lot more emphasis on their main events. I mean they need to build it a little, promote it, do the shows a little more. See AEW has got a decent show, I don't like the announcer set up. They had four announcers tonight with Jericho.[...]Too many announcers and you can't hear what either of them say." (1:08:13 to 1:09:21)
You can watch the full video here:
Dutch Mantell slams Tony Khan's AEW for an unsafe work environment
The company's booking of its main event is not the only thing Mantell is disappointed with. He also came down heavily to the risky wrestling styles and life-threatening spots often witnessed at their shows.
In the same interview, the 72-year stated that these risky spots could lead to severe consequences for the company.
"If somebody gets hurt in AEW, that's going to be a hell of a lawsuit. Then they would go back to Tony Khan saying that we don't train these guys. Well, if you don't train them and somebody breaks their neck, it's a two-million dollar lawsuit or more. I don't know how you'd defend against that. I think what he's (Tony) saying we don't train these guys, we just use them as they come and we let them go. That's almost incriminating in and of itself," said Mantell.
What a great main event @ClaudioCSRO vs @dustinrhodes for the ROH World Championship tonight on Friday Night #AEWRampage right NOW on @TNTdrama! Thank you to everyone watching @AEWonTV tonight!
It is a known fact that AEW's style of wrestling caters mostly to the hardcore fans of the sport. But it would be safe for TK to go lighter on his wrestlers on occasions to maintain the good reputation it has earned in the past three years.
What are your thoughts on Dutch's take on the main events in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below.
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