WWE veteran predicts unusual ending to highly anticipated Backlash encounter: "Gunther won't pin him" (Exclusive)

Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently spoke about Gunther's match against Pat McAfee. The two stars are set to go one-on-one at Backlash.

Gunther went off the rails on RAW after WrestleMania 41, attacking Michael Cole. McAfee stepped in and was quickly overpowered and put to sleep by The Ring General. Later, RAW General Manager Adam Pearce stepped in and suspended the star. However, Pat McAfee wanted retribution and challenged the Austrian to a match at Backlash.

In the most recent episode of The Wrestling Time Machine with host Mac Davis, Mantell said that WWE can possibly do a spot where McAfee gets hurt during the match, with The Ring General capitalizing on the opportunity. He felt Gunther was the overwhelming favorite to win this match.

"I think the finish for that is McAfee hurts his leg, and Gunther won't pin him. He keeps punishing and punishing him. He retains his tough guy image, but I think Gunther just overwhelms him. I really do," he said. [From 3:07 onwards]

This encounter will be McAfee's first singles match since WWE WrestleMania 39. It will be interesting to see if he can stand up to the former World Heavyweight Champion in singles combat.

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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