Veteran wrestling manager calls out WWE’s uncharacteristic move during Rey Fenix's debut on SmackDown (Exclusive)

Modified Apr 05, 2025 09:52 GMT

Rey Fenix defeated Nathan Fraizer on SmackDown [Image: WWE.com]

Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently spoke about Rey Fenix debuting on SmackDown this week. The ex-AEW star made his first appearance for WWE.

Fenix is the brother of WWE Superstar Penta. During his debut match on the blue brand, he faced a unique challenge in the form of Nathan Fraizer. However, the NXT Tag Team Champion was no match for Fenix as the Luchador planted him with a Mexican Muscle Buster for his first win under the WWE banner.

This week on BroDown with host Mac Davis, Mantell mentioned Rey Fenix is really talented in the ring. However, the veteran noted that while announcing him, WWE billed his weight at 182 lbs, which was generally light for company standards. He revealed that the promotion would jack up a star's weight back in the day and decided against it with Fenix.

"He's very good. They gave his weight 182, which is kind of light. They usually jack it up there as much as they can. I liked the first match. I didn't sit there and say, 'Finish this up, come on guys, let's go, let's go, let's go.' " [2:54 onwards]

After an impressive debut, it will be interesting to see what WWE has in mind for Rey Fenix in the coming months.

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About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

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Edited by Rahul Madurawe