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Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell heaped praise on the Intercontinental Championship match between Sami Zayn and Ricochet this week on SmackDown.
Zayn and Ricochet opened this Friday's show with a singles encounter for the Intercontinental title. The two superstars went head-to-head in the thrilling matchup.
However, the unexpected finish came when Johnny Knoxville came ringside to distract Zayn. Ricochet used the opportunity and hit a Hurricanrana to win and end Zayn's third Intercontinental Championship reign.
Speaking on this week's Sportskeeda's Smack Talk, Mantell said that he liked the match's finish. He also mentioned that Ricochet needed the title since he hadn't won anything big after his move to SmackDown during the 2021 Draft.
Here's what Mantell had to say:
"The finish was excellent. The way he took the Hurricanrana, it looked like it knocked him silly. I mean, you could slow that down. I don't know how, but some guys can take it and some guys can't. Sami can take that move and make it look devastating. And I liked that they put the title on Ricochet. He needed something like that. Then we had Johnny Knoxville come out. He was the reason that Sami lost the title. Now Sami Zayn is going to take him on at WrestleMania, which I don't have a problem with." (from 4:10 onwards)
You can watch the full episode of Smack Talk here:
Sami Zayn will face Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania
The Master Strategist was in disbelief after losing the title. Upon reaching backstage, he threw a fit. He demanded a match at Mania, and Knoxville accepted later in the night.
The two men will face off at WrestleMania Sunday on April 3 at the AT&T Stadium in Texas. At first, the match was expected to be a title match. However, since Zayn lost it, it will be a special attraction bout. As for Ricochet, fans expect him to have a stellar title defense against a credible opponent.
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