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WWE veteran Dutch Mantell recently revealed that he was genuinely surprised to see Cody Rhodes failing to defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.
The American Nightmare was widely touted to end The Tribal Chief's historic title reign at The Grandest Stage of Them All. As it turned out, thanks to his Bloodline stablemates, Reigns managed to retain his gold at the event, sending fans into a state of shock. The look on Cody Rhodes' face after the match spoke volumes about his disappointment at being unable to "finish the story."
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell mentioned how the buildup to WrestleMania indicated Rhodes was walking out with the gold. However, as for the quality of the match itself, Mantell had nothing but praise.
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The veteran booker also mentioned how fans who were unhappy with the conclusion are likely to have already forgotten it due to their short attention span.
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"Everything that happened told me he was going over because of the way they were treating it. But they performed, and they accomplished what they set out to do. And believe it, if fans don't like it, their attention span is till like the next TV show," said Dutch Mantell. (9:35 - 9:57)
Check out the full video below:
Former WWE star says Cody Rhodes' WWE rise felt artificial
On a recent episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3 stated that he was unconvinced by Cody Rhodes' rise in WWE. The former NXT star added that it felt "artificial." EC3 also mentioned how having The American Nightmare win at 'Mania was the best decision the company could have made.
"The feud was, as you said, short. It didn't have a ton of build. It seemed artificial, Cody's rise. But you watch that match, you watch that crowd, how much The Bloodline has been on fire. People immediately become stars working with them, so they are making new stars within this process. So the want for Cody to win is legitimate. So it's the best decision they could have made," said EC3.
Cody Rhodes has moved onto a feud with Brock Lesnar, with the two almost coming to blows on this week's RAW. They are set to compete at Backlash 2023 in a match that could easily headline the premium live event.
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