Wrestling Legend on TNA: "While I was there, we kept trying to get WWE to notice the company" (Exclusive)
The recent appearance of TNA's Jordynne Grace in WWE NXT has fans excited about a partnership between the companies. Dutch Mantell reacted to the development and recalled how the Stamford-based company wouldn't even acknowledge TNA in the past.
Dutch Mantell is a seasoned veteran who left his mark in both WWE and TNA and was well aware of how top executes in both organizations operated.
Mantell said that World Wrestling Entertainment, especially under Vince McMahon's regime, didn't give any attention to TNA despite the company enjoying a few good spells. Dutch worked in TNA backstage for several years and revealed that they actively tried to appease the WWE, which was the undisputed leader in the business.
Mantell explained:
"Hell no! Hell, they wouldn't even acknowledge the existence of TNA! If you said TNA to Vince, and he knew what it was, he'd probably say, 'Who?' they never wanted to acknowledge that another company existed. They never did. While I was there, we kept trying to get WWE to notice the company. They might have noticed it privately. They never noticed it publicly." [32:45 onwards]
Dutch Mantell also discussed the recent changes in TNA and how they've massively impacted the company's path.
As the President of TNA, Scott D'Amore received a lot of praise for reshaping the product and putting the spotlight on several new stars. However, he was unexpectedly fired from his position earlier this year, with Anthony Cicione replacing him.
Mantell couldn't understand how TNA secured a working relationship with their apparent rival after D'Amore's exit, as the latter was a big proponent of the companies doing business together.
"And recently, TNA, they had a guy booking it and running it, Scott D'Amore, he pushed for it, he pushed for it because he was pushing for it back in the day. They let him go and put another guy in there who is not even wrestling-oriented, and they do the deal with WWE. I never understood what happened there." [33:22 onwards]
The Forbidden Door is well and truly open, with many stars openly happy about possibly mixing things up with talents from TNA.
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