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Dutch Mantell does not believe Roman Reigns will ever achieve the same level of stardom as two-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.
Reigns, the current Universal Champion, has been presented as WWE’s top full-time superstar ever since John Cena began reducing his wrestling schedule in 2015. Before Cena, the likes of Hogan, The Rock, and Steve Austin were viewed as the top guys of their own WWE generation.
Mantell, a panelist in the Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards, has 50 years’ experience in the wrestling business. He told Riju Dasgupta that Reigns’ overexposure on weekly television is the reason why he will not become the next Hogan:
“He’ll never get there. He’ll never rise to that level of status. Let me tell you one of the things that people never mention when they talk about Hulk Hogan. Why was Hulk Hogan over so much? And I can ask you this question: how many times have you ever seen Hogan on TV for free?” [14:23-14:51]
While Hogan appeared regularly on television during the height of his popularity in the 1980s, his matches usually took place at pay-per-views.
“They kept him away [from TV]. He’d do an interview, but when he wrestled it was something special and you didn’t see him wrestle that much. So if you wanted to see him you’d have to buy a ticket to go watch him,” Mantell added. [14:56-15:13]
The legendary booker and manager believes three Attitude Era legends – The Rock, Austin, and The Undertaker – all reached similar levels to Hogan. However, he cannot say the same for Reigns:
“Of course it changed with The Rock and it changed with Stone Cold and it changed with The Undertaker, but Roman Reigns? He’ll never reach that stratosphere of Hulk,” said Mantell. [15:14-15:26]
Voting for the Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards ends on March 10. So be sure to get your votes in by clicking here ASAP!
Dutch Mantell discusses Roman Reigns’ failure to get over
Roman Reigns often received loud boos from fans during his six-year run as WWE’s top babyface between 2014 and 2020.
Dutch Mantell thinks the 36-year-old, who now performs as a bad guy, is still learning how to evoke the reaction he wants from fans:
“I think John Cena has [reached Hogan's level] and I think Austin has and The Rock has and The Undertaker has. But Roman Reigns, he’s just a different character. And you can look at how long it took to get him over. He’s still getting over, really. But the longer it takes to get somebody over, if they don’t go crazy, it takes longer to fall.” [15:27-15:57]
Having now found success with his Tribal Chief character, Mantell also warned that WWE’s decision-makers cannot afford to book Reigns badly again:
“You can’t do anything stupid with him because that would kill him. He’s a thinking wrestler and he’s very good on promos, but he had Paul Heyman with him and that helped tremendously.” [16:04-16:21]
Reigns is scheduled to defend his Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 38 on Sunday, April 3. Lesnar’s WWE Championship will also be on the line in the match.
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