Triple H should have given two-word response about Vince McMahon at the WWE Royal Rumble, wrestling legend says (Exclusive)

Triple H received criticism on social media for the way he handled questions about Vince McMahon at the post-Royal Rumble press conference. Dutch Mantell is one of many who believe the WWE Chief Content Officer should have addressed the topic differently.

On January 25, former WWE employee Janel Grant alleged in a 67-page lawsuit that McMahon sexually assaulted and trafficked her between 2019 and 2022. Two days later, Triple H refused to elaborate on the subject when he was asked three questions about McMahon at the Royal Rumble. Instead, he said he only wanted to "focus on the positives."

Mantell worked for WWE as an on-screen manager between 1995-1996 and 2013-2016. On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk with Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III, he said Triple H should have declined to talk about the matter:

"He was trying to downplay the whole situation, right?" Mantell stated. "'No comment,' I agree, that would probably have been better. 'No comment,' and just go to the next guy." [23:24 – 23:37]

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, McMahon claimed Grant's side of the story was "replete with lies." The 78-year-old also resigned as a board member of WWE's parent company TKO "out of respect" for the organization.

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Dutch Mantell on the possible consequences of the Vince McMahon situation

According to the lawsuit, senior WWE officials "knew about and fostered a culture where the venture of harassment and sexual exploitation of women was tolerated." It is also alleged that Vince McMahon shared sexual pictures of Janel Grant with WWE staff, including members of the tech crew.

Dutch Mantell believes people behind the scenes in WWE are likely fearing for their jobs now the lawsuit allegations are public:

"I bet Titan Towers [WWE headquarters] today, they're running around like ants around an ant hole. What's gonna happen, I think, is when they start pulling people out of Titan Towers and start asking them questions, I think that's when the panic's gonna set in with the group (…) Say I'm at Titan Towers and they pulled me out for questioning, I'm gonna be nervous as hell if I knew about it. That's an intimidation factor. I don't think they can really charge anybody with just knowing about it. What can they do about it?" [10:02 – 11:05]

Mantell also explained why Vince McMahon made him feel uncomfortable during his time in WWE.

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