Dutch Mantell explained how Cody Rhodes might soon finish his story and defeat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
When The Tribal Chief pinned The American Nightmare to retain his title at WrestleMania 39, it sent shockwaves through the wrestling world. Cody was widely expected to end The Bloodline leader's historic world title run and embark upon a reign of his own. The dejected look on Cody Rhodes' face after the match spoke much more than any words could articulate.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell first praised WWE for the perfect build-up to the title bout at The Grandest Stages of Them All. Mantell added that he liked Triple H's explanation of how the story never ends when asked why Cody lost at the post-show conference.
"I think the SmackDown creative did a bang-up job leading into WrestleMania. It was great. They took their time; they had the patience. Roman Reigns going for the 1000 days record, the Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens thing. A masterful story. And now we gotta go back. I do like what Triple H said in the press conference. The story's never finished, and they are gonna pick the story up, give it up some time. Give them a month, and they'll be right back," said Dutch Mantell.
The wrestling legend explained that though fans were disappointed with the outcome at Mania, WWE was on the right track with Cody Rhodes' story. He feels Roman Reigns could be losing his Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
"A lot of people were disappointed at WrestleMania because Cody didn't win. But he's only getting started here, and they are gonna restart it with him, and Sami Zayn will be a continuation. And I expect him (Roman Reigns) to lose at SummerSlam, maybe," said Mantell. [5:58 - 7:06]
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Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell on why babyfaces always chase the titles
Furthermore, Dutch Mantell mentioned how fans rarely buy tickets to see a heel challenge and dethrone a babyface champion. He added that viewers order a Premium Live Event to see the good guys go over than the other way around.
"The good guys have to be the chasers. Nobody's going to buy a ticket to see the bad guy win. But they will buy a ticket and order the pay-per-view to see the good guys win," added Mantell. [7:10 - 7:30]
Roman Reigns returns to WWE next week. pic.twitter.com/GxyVlRWQWE
— WrestlingWorldCC (@WrestlingWCC) May 6, 2023
Roman Reigns is expected to make his first WWE appearance since WrestleMania 39 on next week's episode of SmackDown.