"The bast*rd might be retiring" - Ex-WWE veteran was fooled by AJ Styles' retirement ruse (Exclusive)
Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell spoke about AJ Styles' retirement segment on SmackDown this week. The Phenomenal One wanted to address his future in the company.
During the show, Styles met with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis asking for a few minutes of TV time. Seeing AJ emotional, Aldis agreed to this request. Later in the night, Styles came out with The O.C. to address the fans. He spoke about possibly retiring and called out Cody Rhodes to pass on the torch to him. However, this turned out to be a trap as AJ blindsided the champion.
During this week's episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell explained that for a moment, he thought AJ Styles was retiring. The veteran mentioned that it was an unexpected turn of events and WWE caught him unaware with this storyline. He praised the creative team for executing the segment on TV.
"It was a good show. I really enjoy shows where I know what's set up. Still, they told that story with AJ. I began to believe, 'Hell, the bast*rd might be retiring. And this is his way to go out.' I bought it hook line and sinker. They're still reeling me in. But they did a really, really good job with it." [4:36 onwards]
With this attack, AJ Styles has once again placed himself in the title picture on the blue brand.
It will be interesting to see how Cody Rhodes responds to this attack and if we get another match between the two stars.
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