WWE veteran reflects on his time with Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo in TNA (Exclusive)
WWE veteran Dutch Mantell has been a key figure in the wrestling industry for decades. Besides being a remarkable in-ring competitor, he has managed several top names and worked as a backstage personality in numerous companies. He recently recalled his first stint in TNA.
The last time Mantell was part of an official match was in 2013 for WWE. He teamed up with Jack Swagger to take on Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez, but the bout was a no-contest. Following his stint with the company, he joined IMPACT Wrestling (fka TNA) as a creative consultant in 2017.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell was asked about his time working for TNA's creative team. He worked for the promotion between 2003 and 2009 before returning in 2017. The WWE veteran recalled working with Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo in the Nashville-based company.
"About three. It was me and Jeff [Jarrett] and Vince [Russo]. Sometimes, people would float in and float out. Like a lot of the special effects and production people, they would just come and sit in. We kinda had it clickin', it was just three guys." [06:12 – 06:37]
WWE veteran Dutch Mantell advises Tony Khan not to hire too many people in AEW's creative team
On the same episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell discussed AEW's creative process and shared some advice for the company's president Tony Khan.
AEW's creative team currently consists of many top names, including Bryan Danielson and Will Washington. Meanwhile, Mantell advised Khan not to include multiple people in creative to avoid a clash of ideas.
"Well, one thing I would advise Tony on [is] don’t get too many people on that [creative]. Because you’re not going to get a lot of people agreeing on the same thing. And then they would actually form cliques. They will agree with each other on certain things, and (…) That’s the way it works. Because we get too many people on a creative team, it really (…) Now, it may have worked this time. Will it work over the long haul? I don’t know." [04:55 - 05:26]
The WWE veteran also shared his thoughts on AEW's new weekly show, Collision:
"All in all, I thought it was a really good introduction of AEW to Saturday nights, and they did a good job, is all I can say." [2:23 - 2:34]
This is what I thought about the new @AEW show Collision. It wasn’t booked by Tony Khan. I believe that it had to be booked by someone else, CMPunk maybe. The show looked entirely different with much bigger and muscular guys. Plus it flowed well. Your opinion? @WSI_YouTube
Do you feel that AEW has gotten better since hiring new creative personnel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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