"They seriously believe he can beat Roman" - Dutch Mantell says 42-year-old WWE star should be Reigns' next opponent (Exclusive)

Roman Reigns is still the top guy following a triumphant effort at WrestleMania 38, and it seems WWE has chosen Shinsuke Nakamura as his next title challenger.

During this week's Smack Talk episode, Dutch Mantell revealed why Randy Orton was a better candidate to feud with Reigns.

Orton is one of WWE's most experienced talents, and Mantell believes he can hook the audience into a storyline by delivering just one solid promo.

The former WWE manager said that fans respect The Viper and genuinely feel he can beat Roman Reigns if given the opportunity:

"A guy that I think they may have one big run with, again, against Roman Reigns, would be Randy," stated Dutch Mantell. "Don't you think? I think he can give you an interview that would; he would walk the people in. And I think it would be a hell of a match, and the people, I think they seriously believe he can beat Roman. That's something we hadn't even thought of. Even though he is in a tag team now, you can take him; just have him show up." [50:00 - 50:47]

As covered earlier, Dutch Mantell wasn't too high on the idea of Cody Rhodes dethroning Roman Reigns.

Instead, Mantell explained that Orton was perfect for the role as he had the fans' support and could still deliver high-quality performances in WWE's main event spots:

"I think he makes a lot more sense than Cody taking the belt because he has had that belt before. Well, see, he's got it. I think people respect him, and I think he can still perform at a level that he needs to perform at, and I'm saying that because I watched WrestleMania. I watched the Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns match, and it just ended. They worked hard, but it was just a flat ending. It really was." [50:48 - 51:31]

"You've got Riddle" - Dutch Mantell on the advantages of WWE booking Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

Dutch Mantell agreed that while WWE doesn't need to book Randy Orton to defeat Roman Reigns, the company can always involve Riddle and add more layers to the angle.

Roman Reigns urged The Usos to go after the RAW Tag Team Championship on the latest SmackDown, which gives WWE a straightforward avenue to get Orton in a program with the Tribal Chief.

Mantell also noted that WWE does not have any other young superstar ready to take on Reigns at the moment. Moreover, from a stylistic standpoint, he believes Randy Orton makes for an ideal rival for Roman as they are both safe workers in the ring.

"I'm not saying to beat him; I'm saying to go against him," clarified Mantell. "Whatever happens there, you've got Riddle in the background. You can go right to him while you have somebody else ready. And we've been saying that for how long? Almost two years? How much time does it take? But you've got a guy sitting there, Randy Orton, that's massively over, and he can control that crowd like nobody's business. He can go out there, and I think they can have great matches because they can layer it up. They wouldn't have to take any super-duper bumps. Roman doesn't do that anyway." [52:14 - 53:00]

Do you agree with Dutch Mantell's views regarding Roman Reigns' WWE future? Should Randy Orton receive a shot at ending The Tribal Chief's dominance? Sound off in the comments section below.

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