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Janel Grant recently alleged in a 67-page lawsuit that John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon sexually assaulted her while she worked for WWE. Dutch Mantell, a legendary wrestling booker and manager, says he always felt "weird vibes" when he interacted with Laurinaitis and McMahon.
Laurinaitis worked in various behind-the-scenes WWE roles between 2001 and 2022, including Head of Talent Relations. According to the lawsuit, he and McMahon used their "positions of power" over Grant and "pressured her to engage in sex acts."
Mantell performed as the Zeb Colter character on WWE television between 2013 and 2016. He said on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk with Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III that he did not like being around Laurinaitis and McMahon:
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"These guys are out there, man, really," Mantell stated. "I can stand next to you guys and be okay, but get Vince and John Laurinaitis in the same room, and I've been there too, and I was about to jump through my skin, but didn't know why. I thought, 'What, are you such a wussy you can't even talk to them?' That's what I was thinking. No, because I was getting all these weird vibes coming off of them from both sides. I just can't explain that." [32:53 – 33:28]
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After the lawsuit was filed, Vince McMahon denied Grant's allegations and vowed to clear his name. The 78-year-old also stood down as a board member of WWE's parent company TKO "out of respect."
Dutch Mantell felt "free" when he was not around Vince McMahon
During his 40 years as WWE's creative figurehead, Vince McMahon produced television shows from a monitor backstage, also known as the Gorilla Position. Wrestlers and other on-screen performers would walk past McMahon on their way to the ring.
Reflecting on that experience, Dutch Mantell recalled how he always wanted to get away from the former WWE Executive Chairman. He also referenced the fact that, according to the lawsuit, McMahon and his wife Linda are no longer together:
"No wonder Linda's not with him anymore," Mantell said. "I mean, my God. Like I said, I used to get strange, weird vibes from the guy just being close to him. Sometimes when I would go up around Gorilla Position waiting to go on, he'd be 15 feet from me and I couldn't wait to get out of there. I couldn't wait to go down that ramp, do the deal." [20:08 – 20:37]
Mantell added that he did not like the feeling of walking past Vince McMahon after appearing in segments on television:
"I mean, when I went down the ramp, I was free right then. I was away from him. Then you had to come back and go right by him. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I just felt constricted and held back. There's no way to explain it. This [lawsuit] may have at least answered part of it because he's just a weird guy." [20:38 – 21:01]
In the same episode, Mantell gave his thoughts on Triple H's response to questions about Vince McMahon at the Royal Rumble press conference.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
