"You gotta blame Vince" - Wrestling veteran comments on WWE releasing Bray Wyatt
Dutch Mantell has opened up on where he felt it all went wrong for Bray Wyatt in the WWE prior to his release.
In the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, former WWE manager and wrestling legend Dutch Mantell shared his thoughts on Bray Wyatt's booking during his time in WWE and Vince McMahon's role in it:
"You can't blame the booking. You gotta blame Vince." Mantell said, "It's politics. Something happened in there along the way that Bray Wyatt, as himself and Bray Wyatt as the Fiend or whatever - he just didn't have their trust. Whether that is warranted or not, he didn't have it. I don't know what he was making. He was there 12 years. So he really doesn't have a complaint. He oughta be glad that there's a place for him to land: AEW. But then again in AEW, there's only so many spots that they're able to take. This is the nature of the wrestling business. To me, getting released is part of the wrestling business, period. I know fans get disheartened when they read this and they hear of this but that's the way this is" said Dutch Mantell.
WWE released Bray Wyatt last week after he worked there for over 12 years. He is a former world champion and was one of the top merchandise sellers in the entire company. His release came as a surprise to many given how integral he had been to WWE in the past few years.
Despite being a former WWE Champion and a two-time Universal Champion, many believe Wyatt wasn't utilized to the best of his abilities in WWE and insist that he could have done more.
In the mid-2010s, Wyatt was booked to lose two of the biggest matches of his career, against The Undertaker and John Cena. On top of that, last year, his run as champion came to a stop after Golberg conquered The Fiend at Super Showdown 2020.
Check out more on what Dutch Mantell had to say regarding Bray Wyatt and the recent WWE releases in the video below:
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Bray Wyatt was absent from WWE TV for over 3 months before his release
Bray Wyatt wrestled his last match for WWE in April at WrestleMania 37. He lost to Randy Orton in the opening match of night 2. On the following RAW, Wyatt made an appearance and stated that he was going to have a "fresh start" soon.
Bray Wyatt himself replied to a recent Twitter post highlighting some interesting elements of Wyatt's last WWE appearance.
What do you make of Dutch Mantell's comments on Bray Wyatt's final run in the WWE? Where do you think Bray Wyatt would end up following his WWE release? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.