WWE makes major mistake with Jacob Fatu on SmackDown; wrestling veteran blasts creative team (Exclusive)

Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently criticized Jacob Fatu's booking on SmackDown. The star was in a Money in the Bank Triple Threat qualifying match this week.

The United States Champion was in action against Andrade and Carmelo Hayes for a spot in the Money in the Bank match. However, total chaos unfolded during the match as Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo tried to help The Samoan Werewolf. Jimmy Uso neutralized Mateo and Solo, allowing Andrade to hit Carmelo with The Message for the win.

During this week's episode of BroDown with host Mac Davis, Mantell wondered why WWE was booking Jacob Fatu in Triple Threat matches. He noted that the company wanted to portray the star as a monster heel, yet this approach would harm his credibility with unwanted losses. He felt the creative team needed to give Fatu special attention if they wanted to get him over as a dangerous force of nature in the ring.

"One match I had a problem with was the Fatu match. Why in the hell was he in it? If they're gonna paint him up to be a killer, let him be a killer. Don't put him up there and let him go 12-14 minutes with two other guys. I mean, if you're gonna make him special, creative needs to make him special. Not just like any other guy." [From 4:20 onwards]

Details of Goldberg's last match HERE

Time and again, Jacob Fatu has made it clear that he does not need Solo's help to win matches. However, the interference from The Street Champ has once again cost Fatu another match. It will be interesting to see if these issues lead to a major divide between the two stars.

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About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

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Edited by Prityush Haldar