Former WWE Champion was 'his own worst enemy' after getting involved with female star, according to Dutch Mantel

Longtime wrestling personality Dutch Mantel shared his opinion on a former WWE champion's downfall. Mantel believes that Alberto Del Rio was "his own worst enemy," especially after he got involved with a female WWE superstar back then.

On a recent episode of Story Time with Dutch Mantel, a fan asked the former WWE manager which among Del Rio, Jack Swagger, and Cesaro had the most potential and if they "squandered" their potential. Mantel thought that El Patron had the most potential, but he wasted it because of his actions.

"Del Rio was his his own worst enemy and getting with that girl, what was her name? (Paige/Saraya). I think that was his downfall right there because he was very very jealous of her and from what I've heard she was very very jealous of him. And they both like to drink so put them together, two volatile personalities, add some liquor in and you had some problems," Mantel said. [1:07 - 1:52]

Dutch Mantel managed Alberto Del Rio during his surprise return to WWE at Hell in a Cell 2015 when he defeated John Cena to win the United States Championship. Del Rio began dating Paige in early 2016 and made their relationship public in May of that year.

The couple even got engaged five months later before splitting up about a year later. The two reportedly broke up because Del Rio wanted to be close to his children in Texas, while Paige prefers living in Florida.

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Dutch Mantel gives his opinion on Cesaro and Jack Swagger

Cesaro and Jack Swagger are two more superstars who were managed by Dutch Mantel as Zeb Colter in WWE. Mantel explained that Cesaro was a good worker, but the company never saw him as a star, while Swagger is in the same category because he doesn't have the best promo skills.

"Cesaro was a great worker but they looked at him like he was flat. How do we make this guy a star? Nothing against him. He was great but they didn't see it in him, and in Jack they didn't see it either because Jack has trouble doing an interview. And when they put me with him that went out the window," Mantel said. [3:40 - 4:08 in the video above]

Mantel and Del Rio were released by WWE in 2016, while Swagger and Cesaro were let go in 2017 and 2022, respectively. Swagger and Cesaro currently work for All Elite Wrestling.