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Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently spoke in support of Vince McMahon and his legacy in the wrestling business.
Mr. McMahon is arguably the most successful promoter in wrestling history. He took over almost every major territory during his nationwide expansion back in the 80s and made WWE a global phenomenon. Of late, the 78-year-old has been mired in controversy, with former employee Janel Grant filing a lawsuit accusing him of sexual misconduct and harassment.
In a recent clip from Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the veteran brushed off any claims stating that Vince ruined the wrestling business. Mantell pointed out that the business is doing better numbers than ever right now.
"Hell no, he didn't ruin wrestling. It's doing the best now than it's ever done. Who said he ruined wrestling?" Mantell continued, "He didn't ruin it, no. Because you can't ruin wrestling. You can't kill it either." [From 3:13 - 3:42]
Mantell spoke about where Vince McMahon started
During the same conversation, Mantell detailed that Vince McMahon oversaw the growth of WWE. He recalled how Vince picked the company from his father when it was a just local territory promoting shows in New York.
He felt Vince McMahon took WWE to a point where the business is now worth billions of dollars.
"Think about that. Two point three billion dollars out of the wrestling business that used to be considered trashy entertainment. I read this the other day, people soon forget how Vince started all this stuff. He didn't start wrestling of course, but he took it and he molded it and he changed it in such a way that he could sell his stock now for 2.3 billion dollars." [From 2:30 - 3:08]
Mr. McMahon has seemingly stayed away from wrestling since he resigned back in January.
However, with the recent sale of his TKO stock, it will be interesting to see if the former WWE CEO returns to wrestling in some form.
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcript.
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