Dutch Mantell says WWE Hall of Famer may be in line for a "bigger role" in AEW

WWE veteran Dutch Mantell recently assessed the future of AEW and came to the conclusion that other than Bryan Danielson, Jeff Jarrett could be next in line to take a prominent role in the promotion.

Jarrett made his AEW debut in 2022 and has already become very involved backstage. His onscreen character has got more prominence and fame than many had eventually thought. But, if the WWE veteran is correct, DoubleJ has been rising the ranks backstage.

According to the veteran during a recent episode of his Storytime with Dutch Mantell podcast, Jeff Jarrett has a real chance to take over creative if Tony Khan steps away from the role in AEW.

"The next one I think we may see in a bigger role is my old buddy, Jeff Jarrett. And Jeff has been there, he formed TNA – him and his father, Jerry Jarrett – and actually done pretty well with it during the time I was there."

Mantell continued:

"Jeff would be a good, good choice to put in there somewhere. Because he grew up in the wrestling business. I knew Jeff when he was 13, working with his grandmother, and little Jeff would ride up with her and work in the concession stand with her and that’s where he got the love for the business."

The WWE Hall of Famer will likely have to deal with Paul Wight - who attacked him at All In - before he can think about moving up higher on the AEW ladder.

---

Missed out on Wednesday's AEW Dynamite? Catch up with the results here.

---

The WWE veteran believes the TNA Knockouts Division was almost as big as Hulk Hogan's debut

While he's mainly been praised for his current AEW run, Jeff Jarrett recently faced some harsh criticism from the likes of Jim Cornette for his Texas Chainsaw Massacre match. Despite this, DoubleJ will likely always be remembered for the early years of TNA, where he teamed up with names like Dutch Mantell to create a WWE alternative.

During the same episode, Dutch Mantell further recalled forming The Knockouts Division in TNA and what it ended up doing for the promotion.

"When I got those girls together and they started putting on those banger matches? The ratings went up. And I’ve said this before, the biggest rating ever on TNA, other than the Hulk Hogan Encore act, was a 3.45 and that was Gail Kim and Awesome Kong in a main event on Impact."

Only time will tell who could possibly take over AEW if Tony Khan decides to step away from handling the talent. Unfortunately, all the rumors of internal issues over the past year have shown that there might be serious problems in the locker room.