"Takes away from her win" – Wrestling veteran criticizes WWE's presentation of Liv Morgan (Exclusive)
Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell said WWE needs to make Liv Morgan feel like a credible champion.
The former Riott Squad member won the Money in the Bank match last Saturday. Two hours and fifteen minutes later, she cashed in on Ronda Rousey to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell said WWE should try to hype Morgan's win. He said there was more focus on Natalya softening up Rousey than on Morgan's cash-in and eventual victory. He added that it felt like the cash-in was just a fluke:
"Yeah, why would they even bring that up? That takes away from her win. It goes against her win, saying she fluked it out. This is when you start pouring the accolades on. She's already had a match, she's tired. She goes in the ring against a woman like Ronda Rousey and still has the wearwithall, she hooked her and she pinned her 1-2-3. And they should have been poring on the praise for that girl. But they didn't. I don't know why they did that." (from 28:00 to 28:34)
You can watch the full video here:
You can catch the full results from WWE SmackDown here.
Dutch Mantell feels Michael Cole supported Liv Morgan on SmackDown
During the discussion, Dutch Mantell stated that having Michael Cole in the ring helped drive the conversation. He added that this was the first time Liv Morgan was in the spotlight, and having a seasoned veteran like Cole on the mic beside her gave her the rub:
"Okay, so you noticed Michael Cole in the ring with her. Do you know why he was there? Because he has to lead her. Becuase if she stayed there, she's freaked out. She's never really done it before. And I kinda like an announcer in the ring," Mantell said. "She did a good interview. She did. She's a pretty girl. People like her." (from 26:15 to 26:52)
It is official!
New #SmackDown Women's Champion @YaOnlyLivvOnce will defend her title against @RondaRousey at #SummerSlam!
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WWE announced that Liv Morgan would defend her title against The Baddest Woman on the Planet at SummerSlam. It'll be interesting to see if Morgan can hold her own against the formidable Ronda Rousey.
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