"I had the same concerns about Cody Rhodes" – Veteran is worried about Bray Wyatt's WWE return (Exclusive)
Dutch Mantell has highlighted some concerns about Bray Wyatt following his return to WWE at Extreme Rules 2022.
Wyatt received loud reactions from fans when he appeared at the end of the recent Premium Live Event. The 35-year-old cut an emotional promo on Friday's SmackDown episode about his real-life issues over the last year. He also received a cryptic warning from a mysterious masked figure.
Mantell, a legendary booker and manager, spoke about Wyatt on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show with Sid Pullar III:
"I am sold on the Triple H creative, with him being the Head of Creative, but Bray Wyatt is a tricky situation. Fans love him. You can almost do anything with him, except kill him. You can't kill him anyway. I'm just worried about how they're gonna use him going forward." [3:45 – 4:08]
Previously, Cody Rhodes returned to WWE in April after six years away from the company. Mantell initially had doubts about how The American Nightmare would be booked:
"I had the same concerns about Cody Rhodes going forward," Mantell continued. "Then he got hurt, but it looked like they were following getting him over. I think if he hadn't have gotten hurt, he'd be over because guys can get over if creative don't do something this one week and then leave him off three weeks, then come back and put him back on, then leave him off, or not maintenance the talent." [4:08 – 4:36]
Watch the video above to hear more from Mantell on why Triple H should book Wyatt in a similar way to Hulk Hogan.
Dutch Mantell hopes Bray Wyatt's booking is different to other WWE Superstars
Wyatt's reappearance in WWE captured the attention of the entire wrestling world. AEW's Chris Jericho even tweeted about his former co-worker following the latest SmackDown episode.
Bray Wyatt is BACK on #SmackDown. https://t.co/3wpXKv11Zg
Mantell is hopeful that WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H has a long-term storyline in mind for the three-time world champion:
"A lot of talent, they get introduced and no maintenance [is] done with them on the weeks they're off. People kinda forget about them." [4:36 – 4:44]
Mantell also gave his thoughts about why Wyatt's next WWE opponent could be difficult to find.
Who would you like Bray Wyatt to feud with next? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.