Legend claims Paul Heyman did "absolutely nothing" to help recently departed WWE Superstar (Exclusive)
Dutch Mantell has given his brutally honest view on Cesaro’s short-lived WWE alliance with Paul Heyman in 2014.
One of Cesaro’s biggest WWE moments came at WrestleMania 30 when he won the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The following night, The Swiss Superman separated from Mantell and declared himself to be a “Paul Heyman Guy.”
Mantell, known in WWE as Zeb Colter, discussed the storyline development on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s “Smack Talk” show. He revealed that WWE’s higher-ups wanted Cesaro to become more villainous alongside Heyman. However, the partnership did not work and lasted just a few weeks:
“They took him away and put him with Heyman,” Mantell said. “They explained it to me, ‘Well, we want to get some heat on him.’ I said, ‘Really? You want to get heat on him? How is Paul… what’s he gonna do?’ Well, it turned out he did absolutely nothing because about a month later he was back by himself again.” [5:54-6:21]
Watch the video above to hear Mantell’s thoughts on how WWE Superstars may have reacted to Triple H taking over creative from Vince McMahon.
Dutch Mantell would not have booked Cesaro with Paul Heyman
Member when Cesaro was a Paul Heyman Guy?
Member that jacket?
#WWE #Raw https://t.co/dQ25qHMOAe
Known as The Real Americans, Cesaro and Jack Swagger were among the most impressive tag teams in WWE between July 2013 and April 2014.
Mantell, the tag team’s manager, thought WWE’s decision-makers were wrong to separate the duo after just nine months:
“We’d have all been better off if they’d have left Cesaro with us,” Mantell continued. “I mean, I think Jack and Cesaro made a great team. They had a great gimmick. I could get enough heat just talking. All they had to do was go in there and bust their a** and get the match over. I think that was a missed opportunity there, a big one.” [6:29-6:49]
Cesaro and Swagger feuded with the likes of Cody Rhodes & Goldust and The Usos during their time together as tag team partners. Despite their undoubted ability, The Real Americans never won the WWE Tag Team Championship.
Swagger (Jake Hager) joined AEW in October 2019. Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) left WWE in February 2022 and made his AEW debut in June. He recently defeated Jonathan Gresham for the ROH World Championship.
How would you have booked Cesaro and Paul Heyman’s partnership? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling’s “Smack Talk” and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.