WWE might have handled Odyssey Jones firing differently under Vince McMahon, says longtime wrestling personality
Odyssey Jones was quietly removed by WWE earlier this month after allegations of domestic violence emerged against him. Longtime wrestling personality and former WWE manager Dutch Mantell, formerly known as Zeb Colter, claimed that Vince McMahon would have handled things differently.
It took more than a year for Jones to make his main roster debut after his initial call-up in the 2023 WWE Draft. He finally appeared on the August 5, episode of RAW to aid The New Day against The Final Testament. He was on television for less than a month before he was removed by the company.
Speaking on the latest episode of Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the 74-year-old wrestling personality thought that Vince McMahon would have handled the situation differently compared to Endeavor.
"(Endeavor) can do with as they please. A different owner, different regime. Now, Vince would just let three months go by and just ease back into it. But the way the world is now, when you do something, you're gonna have a bunch of people who's going to rally behind the women. And if he did this, you know he's a piece of crap really. He is and I'm not defending him at all but like I said Endeavor, they want to start off with a clean slate and they want to lay the law down. Now, this is the way it's going to be and they don't want any problems going forward. I don't blame them," Mantell said. [6:17 - 7:06]
While Odyssey Jones is innocent until proven guilty, he's not the first WWE star who was let go after allegations surfaced online. Enzo Amore was fired after a woman accused him of sexual assault in 2018, while Velveteen Dream was released a few months after he was found allegedly grooming teenage boys.
Odyssey Jones removed amid storyline with The New Day
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of The New Day had their hands full with The Final Testament. Karrion Kross and the Authors of Pain took them both out before Odyssey Jones came in as backup on the August 5, episode of WWE RAW.
While fans were elated and impressed with Jones' debut, Woods was not amused because Kingston didn't give him a heads-up. WWE was seemingly heading to a potential breakup for The New Day, but Jones' release might have saved the longtime team.
However, Kingston did the unthinkable earlier this week after RAW when he was late to greet Woods for his birthday on September 4. Woods' nonchalant reaction and Kingston's lackluster pictures in his post piqued the curiosity of fans online who thought that WWE would move forward with the breakup story without Odyssey Jones.