Wrestling legend impressed with WWE's booking for Kevin Owens' high-stakes encounter on SmackDown (Exclusive)

Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell spoke about the United States Championship #1 contender tournament finals between Kevin Owens and Santos Escobar.

The two men met in the finals this week on SmackDown. The current US Champion, Logan Paul, also showed up and witnessed the bout also while doing commentary. KO and Escobar fought long and hard for the win. The former LWO member targeted Owens' injured arm throughout the match. However, The Prizefighter came back strongly and picked up the win with a Pop-Up Powerbomb followed by the Stunner.

On the latest episode of Smack Talk, Mantell mentioned that Owens and Escobar put on a stellar match. He claimed that WWE booked the encounter perfectly, with the scuffle at the end between Owens and Logan Paul. He felt now there was clear animosity between the two men heading into the Royal Rumble.

"Oh, it was a good match. And they didn't drag out the finish. Bam, let's go. They told the story. Now they have a reason to book the match. I liked it. So, it did it's job." [From 46:12 to 46:28]

You can watch the full video here:

After the match, The Maverick tried to make fun of his new challenger. He ridiculed how Kevin Owens was already tired, and he hadn't even broken a sweat. Paul also mentioned that he has held on to the title for over 60 days. However, Kevin Owens did not hesitate and clocked Logan with the cast on his hand.

It will be interesting to see this rivalry heat up in the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble 2024 Premium Live Event.

Do you think Kevin Owens can dethrone Logan Paul? Let us know in the comments section below.

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You can catch the full results of SmackDown here.