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Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar had another heated face-off in the opening segment of WWE SmackDown this week. Many were impressed with the show, industry veteran Dutch Mantell being one of them.
In a champion vs. champion confrontation, Lesnar and Reigns engaged in a brutal war of words. This came right after The Tribal Chief declared that he did not want to see Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman ever again. The segment ended with the WWE Champ receiving a Superman Punch from the Universal Champ.
Following SmackDown, Dutch Mantell sat down with Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III on SmackTalk to discuss the events from the show. The veteran highly praised the confrontation due to the versatility of the angle.
Here's what Mantell had to say:
"It's a good angle because now it's wide open. They can go anywhere they want to go with it. I think they will be able to keep it going. If they took this long to get to here, how far is WrestleMania? 12 weeks?"
He was also open to seeing a title unification match at WrestleMania and the end of the brand split.
"I like that idea (end of brand split) anyway. Because you can shake your show up if you have a bunch of other talent. I mean they got a bunch of other talent now, we just never see them and I don't know why," Dutch Mantell continued.
You can watch the full episode of SmackTalk here:
Seth Rollins showed up to meet Roman Reigns on SmackDown
In a backstage segment, WWE officials Adam Pierce and Sonya Deville discussed selecting a new challenger for Roman Reigns ahead of Royal Rumble.
As the show drew to a close, RAW superstar Seth Rollins made a surprise appearance. As Roman Reigns enjoyed the Usos' victory over the New Day, 'The Visionary' entered the room and began to laugh in his signature maniacal way.
However, WWE is yet to confirm the match between Reigns and Rollins. With two RAW superstars showing up on SmackDown, one might wonder if the brand split is really coming to an end.
Do you think Roman Reigns will face Seth Rollins at Royal Rumble, or is it just a swerve? Do you agree with Dutch Mantell on the end of the brand split? Let us know in the comments below.
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