Wrestling legend says WWE will avoid booking Roman Reigns versus 35-year-old SmackDown star despite a huge push (Exclusive)

Roman Reigns is heading towards 1,000 days as the WWE Universal Champion. Should he remain the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, he will complete 1000 days as the titleholder. The list of opponents seems to be thinning down, and wrestling legend Dutch Mantell thinks WWE will avoid booking him against current Intercontinental Champion Gunther.

The Austrian, who leads the Imperium faction, has been on a roll and is almost certainly going to hit a year as Intercontinental Champion. He is in the running to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, with only Randy Savage and The Honky Tonk Man ahead of him.

When speaking about the Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar program on the latest episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell said that he isn't sure what lies ahead for Roman Reigns and doesn't believe that Gunther will be booked against The Tribal Chief.

"My only question is, where does Roman go? That's the question. The bench was slim, to begin with, so if he's not going up against Cody [Rhodes], then who is he going up against? They've worn out Sheamus, but remember, they've got another wildcard they could play - Gunther. I wouldn't necessarily do that, but by his victory at WrestleMania - they're going to really get behind that guy. They're not going to put him against Roman, because that would make it heel vs heel. If you book them together, you'd be damaging both of them." [1:49-2:33]

You can watch the full video below:

Dutch Mantell thinks Gunther could eventually replace Roman Reigns

Dutch Mantell has been an advocate for Gunther for a while now, even stating that he had a year on par with Roman Reigns

On an episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell expressed his opinion about how overlooked Gunther's future was by many people.

"One guy that we have overlooked here being a big heel is Gunther. I think that's a huge upside. And I think before it's all over, they'd [WWE] want Roman [Reigns] to be a babyface and get Gunther up to the killer heel role, because I don't think Karrion Kross will make it. Something's missing there." [3:47-4:21]

It remains to be seen how things will pan out for The Ring General and The Tribal Chief as the year rolls on.

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Do you agree with Dutch Mantell's views on Roman Reigns? Voice your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!

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