Vince McMahon lied about WWE idea in Netflix docuseries, veteran claims (Exclusive)
Vince McMahon discussed WWE's national expansion in the 1980s during the Mr. McMahon docuseries on Netflix. According to Dutch Mantell, the former WWE Chairman did not tell the truth about his initial plans for the company.
Reflecting on WWE's battle with WCW in the 1990s, McMahon said former WCW owner Ted Turner tried to put him out of business. Asked if WWE did the same to other companies in the 1980s, the 79-year-old claimed he only wanted to "compete."
Mantell was a booker and wrestler in Memphis when McMahon turned WWE into a global juggernaut. On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk with Sid Pullar III, he questioned whether his former boss was telling the truth:
"Basically, you can just dispel everything that he says because [in Vince McMahon's view] he wasn't trying to hurt anybody," Mantell said. "He would just tell them a story. Vince, I don't believe anything he says, to tell you the truth, because the wrestling business, and I hate to say this, but it's just a bunch of liars in there. They will tell you what you want to hear or enough to get you off their back to where they can get away from you for a while." [7:15 – 7:43]
Watch the video above to hear Mantell discuss the issue McMahon faced after buying rival companies.
Dutch Mantell dismisses Vince McMahon documentary remarks
In 1995 and 1996, Dutch Mantell performed as the Uncle Zebekiah character in WWE when the company was feuding with WCW in the television ratings.
Addressing that period in wrestling history, Mantell added that Vince McMahon is wrong to suggest he still wanted other promotions to exist:
"He's been a part of that business for 50 years, so he's not gonna change all of a sudden now because Ted Turner comes in. But what he did, of course, now he has to draw a line in the sand. What they did [in Vince McMahon's view], they were trying to put him out of business, but what he did, he was [in Vince McMahon's view] trying to compete. Compete with who? If you put everybody out of business, who are you competing with? Nobody! So, anyway, it's a bunch of s**t." [7:45 – 8:15]
Mantell also doubted the believability of a story Paul Heyman told about Shane McMahon's relationship with his father.
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Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.