"Bray Wyatt didn't get over last time" – Wrestling legend has doubts about the former WWE Champion (Exclusive)

Bray Wyatt struggled to connect with fans at times during his previous WWE run, according to Dutch Mantell.

The former WWE Champion was mostly presented as a bad guy during his time as the Bray Wyatt character on the main roster between 2013 and 2021. The latest White Rabbit clue on SmackDown's Season Premiere strongly hinted that he could return at Saturday's Extreme Rules event.

Mantell, formerly known as Zeb Colter in WWE, discussed Wyatt with Sid Pullar III on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show. The legendary booker gave his take on why the 35-year-old did not receive more hate when he portrayed a villain:

"Bray Wyatt didn't get over last time," Mantell said. "You know why he didn't get over? He wasn't over that much. (…) He was like a babyface. They wanted him to be a heel, but he was really a babyface, and he didn't really get over as a heel because he didn't really do anything evil to get a pin. He just beat them with his hold, boom, so they're not gonna boo that." [7:10 – 7:57]

Watch the video above to hear more from Mantell on the positives and negatives of Wyatt's possible return.

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Dutch Mantell disliked Bray Wyatt's promos

Wyatt reinvented his in-ring persona in 2019 to become the horror-themed Fiend character. Prior to that, he often cut lengthy promos during his run as the cult leader of The Wyatt Family.

While nobody can deny Wyatt's popularity with large sections of the audience, Mantell had difficulties understanding the message of his promos:

"He is a really good guy, but I never got his deal," Mantell continued. "When he would do his interviews and he would go through all this talking, and when he would get done or finished, I'd go, 'What the f**k did he say?' because I didn't remember a word he said, and I liked the family, he had the back-up, so I wish it would have clicked on me." [8:12 – 8:39]

Mantell added that he knows many fans will disagree with his views:

"He sold a lot of merchandise. He was different, so we'll see what they do with this. Just because I'm not 200 percent sold on it, it doesn't mean thousands and thousands and thousands of wrestling fans won't be." [8:41 – 8:55]

WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H has received a lot of praise since taking over from Vince McMahon as the head of creative in July.

In Mantell's opinion, fans will appreciate the effort that The Game and his writing team have put into creating the recent White Rabbit clues.

Do you think Bray Wyatt "got over" with WWE fans before? Let us know in the comments section below.

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