"My hats off to them" - WWE storyline "started to cook" only after Vince McMahon stepped down, says veteran (Exclusive)

WrestleMania is just a few weeks away, and the biggest storyline in WWE inarguably revolves around The Bloodline. The fascinating angle is leading up to two of the biggest matches on the WrestleMania card. During this week's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell praised Triple H's team for fine-tuning the story to perfection.

This week's SmackDown featured a massive angle as all the major characters, barring Roman Reigns, got into a heated brawl that briefly spilled over into the crowd.

Dutch Mantell felt the show-closing segment was an example of typical "maintenance work" from WWE and getting all the top names in the ring together was the right creative call. Mantell, who has booked for many promotions in the past, explained why:

"The ending was good. Now you put them all on the same stage, you've got what, two weeks to go? Okay, well, and that's just vintage maintenance work on this angle. You put them all on the same stage. So I thought it was good." [18:18 - 19:00]

Dutch Mantell has been thoroughly impressed by how WWE has handled The Bloodline saga, especially after Vince McMahon stepped down from all his roles back in 2022. While Mr. McMahon is back as the Executive Chairman, he still does not have creative powers, which remains under Triple's control.

As per Dutch, WWE hasn't put out a storyline as good as the one involving The Blooldine in years. He has also credited Triple H for enhancing the quality of the program over the past few months:

"That's the old type of storytelling; it's what it is," Mantell continued. "...So, they've got to have a cut-off point. But this is one of the best programs and build-ups and maintenance to an angle from WWE in years. And it all goes down, you go back to Vince stepping down and Triple H taking over, and then it started to cook. My hats off to them." [19:01 - 20:00]

What happened in the main event segment of this week's WWE SmackDown?

WrestleMania is seemingly being built around Roman Reigns' faction. In addition to his world title defense, The Usos are also expected to have one of the most exciting matches on the card against the team of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, who are yet to get back on the same page.

WWE advanced the narrative for both bouts on SmackDown this week as The Usos first addressed the crowd before the show ended. Jey Uso explained why he turned on Sami Zayn before focusing on Cody Rhodes.

The American Nightmare came out to give a fitting response, however, it was Sami Zayn who took advantage of the situation and executed a blindsided attack on the tag team champions. The babyfaces had the last laugh as they got the better of The Usos and celebrated with the fans as the episode went off the air.

Did you like the finish of the most recent SmackDown show? Sound off in the comments section below.

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