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Former WWE on-screen manager Dutch Mantell recently blasted the company for making Gunther look weak on this week's episode of SmackDown.
Imperium took on The New Day along with Braun Strowman in a six-man tag team match this week. The Monster of All Monsters dominated the match and had Gunther on the run for most of the encounter. Even as Xavier Woods pinned Ludwig Kaiser, Strowman's mere presence discouraged the Intercontinental Champ from breaking the pin.
Speaking on this week's edition of Smack Talk, Mantell said that he was shocked to see the Intercontinental Champion run from Strowman. The wrestling veteran claimed to be a fan of The Ring General and felt that the angle was detrimental to his character.
"Gunther backing away from Strow-ham or Strowganoff or whatever his name is? Why would you let him go from being the dominant figure that he is, standing up to Sheamus to all of a sudden, he's running from Strowman? I didn't get that at all. I didn't see why they didn't just have a regular match and then just have them come face-to-face. Why would Gunther run? He's not afraid of anybody." [From 15:33 - 16:15]
You can watch the full show here:
You can catch the full results of SmackDown here.
Braun Strowman has advanced to the semi-finals of the WWE SmackDown World Cup
Last week on the blue brand, Braun Storwman defeated former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal to advance to the semi-finals of the SmackDown World Cup. The former Universal Champion will now face Ricochet, who won his first-round bout against Mustafa Ali this week.
The other semi-final will be contested between Santos Escobar and Butch. The Brawling Brutes member picked up a huge win over Sami Zayn this week while Escobar defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in his first-round encounter.
Today's matchup could indicate that Strowman is the clear favorite to win and WWE is building towards a feud between him and Gunther.
Do you think Braun Strowman will win the SmackDown World Cup and challenge The Austrian Bruiser for the Intercontinental Championship? Let us know in the comments section below.
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