Dutch Mantell recently recalled how Ron and Don Harris once confronted Shawn Michaels in the WWE locker room due to his backstage behavior.
Michaels was notoriously difficult to deal with behind the scenes in WWE in the 1990s. He allegedly badmouthed several co-workers, including The Harris Brothers, which led to an altercation at a Madison Square Garden event.
Mantell, Ron and Don Harris’ former manager, explained to WSI’s James Romero how the incident unfolded:
“Shawn went in there and they confronted him, and they jacked him up on that wall and told him if he keeps running his mouth it’s gonna be worse than this. I think they didn’t punch him, they slapped him. That’s when it stopped. They’re about 6'9" and they wore lifts to make themselves even taller.” [1:12-1:36]
Ron and Don Harris were known as Eli Blu and Jacob Blu, respectively, when Mantell managed the duo in WWE in 1995. Mantell used the name Uncle Zebekiah at the time.
Dutch Mantell compares the Shawn Michaels incident to Chris Rock and Will Smith
American movie star Will Smith recently slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars ceremony after the comedian made a joke about his wife.
Dutch Mantell went on to compare The Harris Brothers’ run-in with Michaels to the incident involving Smith and Rock:
“They were huge, so when they slapped Shawn up against that locker, he got the message and everybody else did too. It’s like Will Smith telling Chris Rock, ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth.’ But they [Will Smith] used the F word. He [Shawn Michaels] never said anything more about them and it was over.” [1:39-2:08]
Mantell added that Ron Harris decided to leave WWE due to his low WrestleMania 11 pay-off. The legendary wrestling manager later told Don Harris that all three of them could have been fired if WWE’s higher-ups knew about the Michaels altercation.
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