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WWE swerved the fans this week on SmackDown by teasing AJ Styles' retirement before the latter unleashed a brutal attack on Cody Rhodes. Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell felt Styles wouldn't like an agent's role after he's done with his in-ring career.
While he still has some fuel left in the tank, AJ Styles is nearing the end of his wrestling days. Retired performers have multiple backstage roles today, and WWE could consider retaining Styles as a producer or agent.
Dutch Mantell, however, believed that Styles wouldn't enjoy the job. The former WWE manager admitted on Smack Talk that watching SmackDown made him think about Styles' post-retirement options.
"I even had a thought. I said, 'What the hell will he do when he retires?' Well, I think he's got a couple of businesses anyway, but I don't think he will be happy being an agent. That's a pain in the a** too. But they even had me thinking that. But again, great angle and well-executed." [From 17:51 onwards]
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Even though many saw the twist from a mile away, Dutch Mantell was still entertained by AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes' latest angle.
In addition to building the narrative around Styles' future on TV, Dutch praised WWE for extensively promoting the story on social media, adding another layer of realism to the proceedings.
Mantell said WWE did a fine job in planting the doubt in the minds of the fans, as he continued:
"I enjoyed this. I enjoyed that they got me in the moment. So, now we're off and running, and we've got a whole new angle. AJ is a son of a, I won't say it. And now he is back in it. When we thought that he lost his match in France, he was done, and they have been talking about that. Oh, he has been in it for a long time; he may want to get out. They did a great job on social media with this, too. So they actually got you believing, other than the TV, that he may be getting ready to retire." [ From 17:18 onwards]
AJ Styles is hell-bent on winning one more world championship, and the man standing in his way is Cody Rhodes, The American Nightmare.
Please credit Smack Talk and embed the video if quotes are used from the article.
