WWE veteran comments on the controversial finish of Drew McIntyre and AJ Styles' SmackDown match (Exclusive)
A highly anticipated episode of SmackDown featured a match between Drew McIntyre and AJ Styles, which ended with the former winning the high-stakes singles contest. Dutch Mantell reacted to the match's screwy finish and how it might have helped every performer involved.
Drew McIntyre and AJ Styles battled in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match, with LA Knight being on commentary and adding to the star-studded proceedings.
Knight's ringside argument with Styles eventually cost the latter the match as Drew McIntyre hit the Claymore for the three-count. While reviewing the show on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell had no problems with the finish, noting it benefitted the three top superstars.
"Actually, (it was a) pretty good finish. I think that everybody benefitted from it. I liked it because it wasn't just a straight-up screwjob, and he beat him. LA Knight kind of figured into it, but that was one of the things, and he beat him with his big Claymore." [47:00 - 47:49]
Dutch Mantell made another fascinating observation from SmackDown this week, claiming that the performers in every match kicked out at two instead of delaying it even more.
Mantell personally wasn't a fan of near falls and felt they should only be reserved for major title matches.
Here's Dutch explaining the apparent change in WWE's TV matches:
"Do you know what I also noticed tonight? The matches, they were kicking out at two instead of two and a half. I don't know if they told them to do that. I hate that kicking two and three quarters; you might do that in a title match. But everybody doing it seems to take it out. I actually liked (two) a lot better." [47:50 - 48:30]
Drew McIntyre picked up a big win, but his contractual status could pose problems for WWE's creative team moving forward. For now, McIntyre is one of the hottest heels in the business and will look to make a big statement at Elimination Chamber.
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