In a bombshell opinion, WWE veteran Dutch Mantell threw shade on a 37-year-old star's ability to headline WrestleMania 38 against Roman Reigns.
Two years ago, The Tribal Chief unified the WWE Championship with the Universal Title after defeating Brock Lesnar at The Grandest Shows of Them All. The Beast first lost the WWE title at the hand of Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble 2022, entered the 30-man contest at the last minute, and went on to win the competition.
Earlier this week, the former WWE star Matt Riddle claimed he was supposedly planned to win the Rumble that year, instead, the 46-year-old legend took home the win.
Speaking on a recent edition of Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the former WWE manager speculated if The King of Bros were to win Royal Rumble 2022, he would have locked horns with Roman Reigns.
However, adding fuel to Matt Riddle's comment, the 74-year-old veteran weighed in, stating that the 37-year-old star could realistically not stand toe-to-toe with The Bloodline leader as the main eventer at WrestleMania 38.
"No, I don't [think Matt Riddle would have taken seriously as a main eventer for WrestleMania to face Roman Reigns]. I really don't. Brock Lesnar different story. He's accepted as a main eventer, a former champion, tough son of a gun, tough son of a b**ch. I don't think the fans looked at Matt that way, I think they may have liked him a little bit, but Brock Lesnar, they have seen him have a few MMA matches and win, so they knew he was tough b**tard. But putting Brock Lesnar vs. Roman or put Matt Riddle against Roman is a different story," Mantell said. [From 46:24 - 49:05]
You can watch the full episode below:
Roman Reigns is set for a colossal contract signing on next week's WWE SmackDown
Last week on New Year's Revolution edition SmackDown, General Manager Nick Aldis announced Roman Reigns would defend his title against Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and LA Knight in a Fatal-Four-Way match as a result of The Bloodline intruding a triple-threat bout.
The latest episode of blue brand saw The Megastar, The Phenomenal One, and The Viper brutally laying out Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso after a 3-on-2 Handicap Match.
WWE has now announced that The Tribal Chief will have to show up on the upcoming episode of SmackDown and sit down with Styles, Orton, and Knight for an official contract-signing program for the 2024 Royal Rumble.
Do you think Matt Riddle would have been an ideal contender to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38? Sound off in the comments section below.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use the above transcription.