Wrestling veteran admits 38-year-old star is a better option to dethrone Roman Reigns than Cody Rhodes (Exclusive)

Roman Reigns on the 3rd February edition of SmackDown
Roman Reigns on the 3rd February edition of SmackDown

There has been a long debate over who should dethrone Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief has had the most dominant run in WWE in nearly four decades, with only a handful of men having reigns longer than him. Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell admitted that there is a better option than Cody Rhodes to dethrone The Tribal Chief.

Cody Rhodes seemed destined for his spot. Although the crowd is reacting to him well, it seems clear that during his absence, the tide has turned in favor of the 38-year-old Sami Zayn, who was recently kicked out of The Bloodline.

On Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell first asked the question about what The Rock defeating Roman Reigns does in the long run:

"If The Rock wins, then what? Remember, it's not the first move, it's the second move, so how could The Rock, if he won, how could he in his first or second defense, what could he do to elevate a guy that's still there?" (5:25-5:48)

He admitted that Sami Zayn is the best option to dethrone Reigns:

"Well, I do like that because Roman [Reigns] could beat his [Sami Zayn's] a** for 45 minutes. And Roman could end up beating himself and then Sami puts a little bit of a move and then boom! The place would erupt." (6:25-6:41)

You can watch the full video here.


Can Sami Zayn shock the world against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber?

It will be interesting to see how things play out between Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. Many have compared his situation to Daniel Bryan's, but the big difference is that WWE has been getting behind Sami Zayn in this story, unlike Bryan who got his spot thanks to fan demand.

This isn't to ignore the fact that Bryan was actively in the World Championship picture for months before his big push. However, Bryan had a second odd instance in 2021 when he was added to the main event of WrestleMania 37 with Reigns and Edge despite him not wanting to be in that spot.

It looks unlikely at this moment that WWE will push Sami Zayn to join the Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes match at WrestleMania 39. At best, we will get an instant classic at Elimination Chamber.


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