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Former wrestling manager Dutch Mantell recently praised Raquel Rodriguez for her character work on the latest edition of WWE SmackDown.
The former NXT Women's Champion was in action against Bayley on the Friday night show, where she fell short of winning. It was her second consecutive loss. She and her partner Aliyah failed to retain their WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against Dakota Kai and IYO SKY on RAW.
Speaking on the latest episode of Sportskeeda's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell stated that despite losing on SmackDown, Rodriguez's character work was impressive.
He explained that instead of waving at fans and having a smiling face while making her entrance, Raquel Rodriguez wisely maintained a "pissed" look.
"She was pissed off. And if you're gonna be pissed off, why don't you show you're pissed while coming down the curtain? I mean, it's not gonna change in 10 seconds. She kept that same demeanor, 'I'm pissed off,' and went right to it. She's telling the people when she comes out, 'I'm here to kick a**,'" said Dutch Mantell. (From 25:51 - 26:11)
Check out the full video below:
Raquel Rodriguez received timely help from Shotzi on WWE SmackDown
Following the match on SmackDown, Bayley and her Damage CTRL stablemates, Kai and SKY, began assaulting Rodriguez.
This was when Shotzi came to Raquel Rodriguez's aid, with Damage CTRL escaping just in time. The former NXT Champion addressed the event post-show, stating that she didn't see Shotzi coming out to help her.
"I will admit that tonight I let my feelings have the better of me. And yes, I did seek revenge against Damage CTRL, but did you hear what they said about me and my partner? Listen, after the match I was just as shocked as anyone to see Shotzi come to my rescue."
She added that she was confused about how to take things forward with Shotzi, with whom she had a short-lived feud in May.
It seems like the two former rivals would have to join hands to keep Damage CTRL's antics in check.
Do you agree with Dutch Mantell's take on Raquel Rodriguez's performance on this week's WWE SmackDown? Sound off in the comments section below.
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