"As real as it could get" - Dutch Mantell heaps praise on a high-intensity match involving former WWE NXT Women's Champion (Exclusive)

WWE legend Dutch Mantell has heaped praise on the controversial match that took place on AEW Dark: Elevation between former NXT Women's Champion Athena and Jody Threat.

The match, which aired on October 17th, garnered a lot of attention due to the physical nature of how Athena conducted herself, with some people believing that she was using excessive force on her opponent.

Some even believed that the match was a shooting fight, with the former WWE superstar going into business for herself due to the negative reception she got. However, the reception was mainly down to her opponent being from Canada, where the match took place.

One person who didn't care whether it was real or fake was Dutch Mantell, who spoke to Sid Pullar III on Sportskeeda Wrestling's "SmackTalk" about the match. Mantell went as far as to praise the match for having so much realism running through its short runtime.

“If anybody says to you ‘wrestling is fake,’ show them that tape right there, because it’s as real as it could possibly get, I mean in looking at. So I’ll give them credit for that because you know the purpose is to make it look—is realism, and that match had realism stamped on that part. When [Athena] took [Jody Threat] down, and then she kicked her and stumbled and she started laying those elbows in on her, yeah I appreciate that.” said Dutch Mantell. [5:09-5:44]

Athena was reportedly approached by AEW management following the match, as was Jody Threat. However, both women seemed happy with the match and there was no ill will between the two participants.

You can watch the full clip from SmackTalk right here:

Dutch Mantell believes that Jon Moxley is the ideal person to lead the AEW locker room

With rumors that the match between Athena and Jody Threat being a case of a wrestler taking their backstage frustrations out on camera, Dutch Mantell thinks that AEW World Champion Jon Moxley is the right man to keep the locker room in line and lead the young talent forward.

There have been numerous instances of backstage altercations in AEW. However, Moxley has stayed well away from the drama in the recent months, and has instead led by example, even canceling his family vacation to step in and help out following the "Brawl Out" incident between CM Punk, Ace Steel and The Elite.

"But he can tell the younger guys, and they need an older guy, an experienced guy to tell them to knock their c**p off and do what they’re told.” said Dutch Mantell. [3:12 - 3:24] (H/T Sportskeeda)

Do you agree with what Dutch Mantell had to say? Let us know in the comments section below!

Please embed the YouTube video and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use any quotes from the article.