"I thought he was gonna cry" – Dutch Mantell reveals joke he played on WWE producer (Exclusive)
Dutch Mantell worked as a wrestling booker in Puerto Rico for several years before rejoining WWE in 2013 as the Zeb Colter character. The legendary manager recently recalled an amusing story about when he tricked Abyss over a booking.
Abyss wrestled for TNA Wrestling between 2002 and 2019. The current WWE backstage producer was once asked by Mantell whether he wanted to wrestle in Puerto Rico for the International Wrestling Association (IWA). However, he politely declined the offer because he wanted to focus on TNA.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell told host Kevin Kellam that Abyss contacted him a week later when TNA did not book him on a show. The 74-year-old played a joke on the former TNA talent by pretending his IWA roster was full:
"I called him back two days later," Mantell stated. "I said, 'Brother, boy, if you'd have called me 30 minutes earlier that day...' 'What? What? What?' I said, 'Yeah, I just booked a guy right before you called me.' 'No, man, tell me it's not true. Tell me it's not true. Can you cancel him now and use me?' 'No, I can't do that. I can't book somebody and then unbook them. How would that look?' I thought he was gonna cry." [9:53 – 10:19]
Watch the video above to hear Mantell's thoughts on WWE hiring Abyss in 2019 after 17 years in TNA.
How Dutch Mantell informed Abyss he was only joking
The phone call ended with Abyss believing Dutch Mantell's story that there was no work available in Puerto Rico.
After letting the then-rookie sweat for an hour, Mantell informed him there would be a spot for him on the card:
"Then I called him back I think an hour later. I said, 'I was only bulls****ing you, yeah, I can use you.' 'Oh, really? Oh, God, I almost had a heart attack!' I said, 'If I send you a ticket, can you be here next week?' 'Oh yeah, oh yeah.'" [10:20 – 10:39]
Abyss had a successful one-year run in IWA. He won several titles with the promotion, including the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship.
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Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and embed the video if you use Dutch Mantell's quotes from this article.