51-year veteran says Vince McMahon respects him and never interfered with him in WWE (Exclusive)

Earning the respect of Vince McMahon goes a long way for anybody in wrestling. For four decades, he was the most important man in professional wrestling; some would argue that he still is. 51-year veteran Dutch Mantell revealed his interesting relationship with McMahon.

Dutch Mantell started as a wrestler in 1972 and enjoyed an 18-year-long career. Although he never made it big as a wrestler in WWE, he still had multiple stints with the company, with his last one ending in 2016.

On the latest episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell spoke about how promos were always supposed to be word-for-word, but nobody ever said anything to him about it:

"You know, it used to be that when you went out for an interview, you had to say word-for-word. And I never had that experience. They would give me an interview, and I would hit the major bullet points on it and wing the rest of it. And nobody said a word to me." (3:20-3:43)

Mantell revealed that Vince McMahon respects his longevity in the wrestling business, which is 51 years now. He even pointed out that they had their breakthroughs in wrestling at the same time, albeit in vastly different circumstances:

"I think one of the reasons I got by without it was that Vince [McMahon] had respect for me. For the number of years, I actually spent in the business. He broke into the business with his dad [Vince McMahon Sr.] and he was coming along, getting started, and I was getting started too. In totally different worlds, of course. I think he had respect for me because I lasted as long as I had in professional wrestling and they just let it go." (3:44-4:15)

You can watch the full video below:

Dutch Mantell once described exactly how Vince McMahon thinks

For years, Vince McMahon's mindset has been a matter of debate for wrestling fans, with most seemingly confused about how he works and operates.

In an appearance on Smack Talk in 2021, Dutch Mantell revealed how Mr. McMahon thinks:

"He does things on a whim; I guarantee he does. He says 'Well damn it! Let's trust something crazy' and he does it. Like The Gobbledy Gooker. You remember that? He just did it as a joke because every booker does that. He does something that he kinda like and he can play with. That's how it goes. There's no rhyme, no reason and no sense to it," said Dutch Mantell.

What do you think about Mantell's opinion of McMahon? Voice your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below!

---

If you take any quotes from the first half of the article, please embed the YouTube video and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling.