Dutch Mantell gave Alex Shelley a gimmick the WWE star hated: "He didn't like it but, he was getting over with it" (Exclusive)

Alex Shelley is enjoying a tremendous start to his WWE run. However, one of his former bookers in TNA, Dutch Mantell, recently recalled working with the current SmackDown star.

While he is known for his alliance with Chris Sabin, one-half of The Motor City Machine Guns has excelled as a singles star during multiple phases in his career. When Alex Shelley first joined TNA in the mid-2000s, Dutch Mantell was in the creative team and the former WWE manager gave him an interesting "Paparazzi" gimmick.

Shelley would be seen carrying a camera around and Dutch Mantell revealed that the superstar disliked this character. While reminiscing about Shelley's TNA stints, Dutch Mantell noted that the 41-year-old star was annoyed about not getting to wrestle much.

Despite initially not securing much in-ring time, Dutch felt that the gimmick got Shelley over with the fans and exhibited the wrestler's personality.

Mantell revealed:

"I did a thing with him in TNA, I called him Paparazzi, he just ran around with the camera and it was getting over. But the thing about Alex, he hated it. He used to say, 'Oh, I'm not getting to wrestle.' I'm trying to tell him, 'Listen, we're trying to build this character and then your wrestling fills in and at least you've got something to back it up. Every time we met, he used to say, 'We need to talk about this Paparazzi gimmick.' He didn't like it but, he was getting over with it. He really was." [From 54:33 to 55:05]

Check out the video below:

Alex Shelley is already a champion in the WWE alongside his long-time partner Chris Sabin. MCMG is expected to be a leading act in WWE's tag team division for the foreseeable future.

Please credit Smack Talk and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription while using any quotes from this piece.