Former WWE On-Screen Manager Does Not See Bray Wyatt As Top Draw

WWE fans have been extremely high on Bray Wyatt since he made his otherworldly return to the pro wrestling industry during the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, but former on-screen manager Dutch Mantell does not see anything special in his gimmick.

Better known for his time in WWE as Zeb Colter, Mantell gave his reasoning on his podcast.

"I don't think, other than his merchandise sales, which is astronomical I heard, I don't think he added that much to the live gates or the pay-per-view buys because he would just go in the ring and just beat guys up. Where's the heat in that? There's no heat," Mantell explained.

"He just beat guys. So how are you gonna boo a guy that basically just beat another guy straight up. What are you mad about? Nothing. He just beat him. So that was the only problem I saw with him."

Mantell's statements do make sense in a way as Wyatt has rarely, if ever, been booed by WWE fans whenever he comes out and performs, despite being a heel.

As the leader of the Wyatt Family in the early 2010s, the group always had the support of the fans even if they were booked to be heels after attacking supposed babyfaces like Roman Reigns, The Rock, The New Day and John Cena on separate occasions.

During Wyatt's time as his The Fiend character from 2019 to 2020, Wyatt attempted to draw heat by attacking perennial fan-favorite Finn Balor, several WWE Hall of Famers and Daniel Bryan.

Regardless of what they tried to do, Wyatt and whoever was affiliated with him at the time were always going to have the support of the fans and to that point, Mantell was correct–it is difficult to build a monster heel in Wyatt.

But what he forgets to mention is that modern pro wrestling fans will almost always have equal support for the heel and face since traditional roles in the industry are not as important as the performers themselves.

In this regard, Wyatt has been a top draw and Mantell was quick to acknowledge that the amount of merchandise that he moves is a major plus for WWE management and their bottom line.

Mantell is high on what Wyatt brings to the table and applauded the timing of his return.

"He has some kind of a mythical quality about him, too – as long as that doesn't get broken. I think he's gonna be fine... But he came back at the exact right time... Vince (McMahon) is gone, Triple H is back, creative has more control and they are more competent, plus Bray Wyatt is a master thinker [in terms of] creatives," he stated.

Wyatt has been the talk of the town since making his WWE return and while he has the fans eating out of the palm of his hands with his promos, the booking will determine how high bright his star will shine.