Article With Dutch Mantel Comments On TNA

[BoboBrazil 0]

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/sports/article/0...2315724,00.html

 

Alex Marvez's weekly look at professional wrestling

By ALEX MARVEZ

October 2, 2003

 

 

If Dutch Mantell can duplicate the success he enjoyed in Puerto Rico, World Wrestling Entertainment could have some legitimate competition from the National Wrestling Alliance/Total Nonstop Action promotion.

 

After turning the International Wrestling Association into the world's most successful regional promotion, Mantell has assumed the role of lead matchmaker for Nashville-based NWA/TNA. Mantell's new goal is to help create better storylines for a group that has sorely lacked direction for its ample talent.

 

"Chemistry is the first thing I'm looking for," said Mantell, who has 30 years of experience as a wrestler and matchmaker. "Some guys are tremendous performers, but they don't evoke emotion or feeling in the people they need to invoke it in.

 

"There's an old country song that says you've got to make people feel what you feel. It's the same way with wrestling. With the really great performers, people live and die with them. That's what I'm looking for here - emotion and passion. Sometimes, they've had matches just for the sake of doing matches. You have to have a purpose."

 

Such a traditional wrestling philosophy was seemingly forgotten in recent years by WWE, which has struggled to create new stars and intriguing storylines that make sense. But in IWA, Mantell proved his matchmaking style can still pay dividends.

 

When he first jumped from the rival World Wrestling Council in 2001, Mantell said IWA was ready to close shop with losses averaging $10,000 a week. But Mantell helped IWA become profitable and overtake WWC as the dominant promotion in Puerto Rico even though he didn't have spectacular wrestling talent to work with. IWA telecasts drew a 50 share at the height of the promotion's popularity, which translates to roughly half of the television sets in Puerto Rico that were turned on at that time.

 

Mantell's accomplishments were noticed by NWA/TNA wrestler and executive Jeff Jarrett when he was booked for special appearances in IWA. Jarrett had headed an NWA/TNA matchmaking committee consisting of Vince Russo (who helped guide World Championship Wrestling into extinction), Glenn "Disco Inferno" Gilberti, Bill Banks and company president Dixie Carter. To his credit, Jarrett has now ceded those powers to Mantell.

 

"Every time (Jarrett) would show up, he would see a sellout or a tremendous house," said Mantell, whose IWA cards drew as many as 12,000 fans. "I think our success can be measured by the fact everything we did ended up in the ring. We cut out a lot of talking. And we didn't insult the fan's intelligence. When we did something, we tried to keep it simple."

 

Mantell, whose real name is Wayne Cowan, landed his first job as lead matchmaker in the early 1980s while still an active performer for the now-defunct Championship Wrestling from Florida promotion. While in Puerto Rico, Mantell said he was approached twice by WWE to apply for a matchmaking position but declined the opportunity.

 

Mantell is happy he passed, as NWA/TNA appears on the verge of becoming the most viable contender to WWE since WCW faded in March 2001. While still unable to land a cable television deal, NWA/TNA projects its potential audience will reach 40 million homes via a syndication package and exposure through companies that carry the group's weekly Wednesday night pay-per-view shows.

 

"It's going to take time," Mantell said. "You can't do it in one week or one month. It's a constant building period. I don't want to say bear with us, because they're paying for the product. People want compelling TV. That's what I'm trying to make it."

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Holy shit. He's THAT good? Here's hoping he can mold TNA into a CONSISTANTLY good product.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Go, Mantell, go!

[Silence 0]

I hope this past week's show wasn't his doing. However, didn't he say something about that with the "building process" comment? No, it couldn't be, because that's what Linda McMahon always says about building stars in WWE and the right ones are never built up. Instead, it's the green rookies who get pushed to the top in WWE, so I'm not getting my hopes up yet for Mantel unless I see noticeable improvements for TNA within 1 or 2 weeks.

[Guest Basswitch]

He sounds like he knows what the fans want, and his resume is impressive. However i heard he thinks TNA needs to lower the amount of X Division matches, and that would suck.

[Guest Dave O'Neill, Journalist]

Hey, if one of his ideas to to keep the damn title on Styles, and not book the shows around Daddy's Boy,m I'm all for it, but i'll be pissed if Russo is shitcanned

[BoboBrazil 0]

Why will you be pissed if Russo is fired?

[Guest Dave O'Neill, Journalist]

Because I believe the guy is the best thing to happen to wrestling, and he's proved that, time and time again.

 

I actually wrote a piece on why i think so, and intended it for the site, but at the same time i got caught up in a Cold Flame War in Misc Promotions, and therefore didnt think it would go down well on general principles

[BoboBrazil 0]

I think Vince Russo has improved TNA's storylines too, but if he left he would probably go back to WWE and help them which would be the best for WWE and TNA. If Vince Russo stayed with WWE and they didn't remove him from power like the day after he came back when Steph and HHH didn't like his ideas they would probably be doing 5.0s now. TNA really doesn't need Russo now that they have Dutch Mantel.

[Silence 0]

I think Vince Russo has improved TNA's storylines too, but if he left he would probably go back to WWE and help them which would be the best for WWE and TNA.

Yeah, TNA needed shit booking like the heel World Heavyweight Champion playing second fiddle to his manager, didn't they?

 

If TNA loses Russo and he goes back to WWE, then I guess we all would LOVE to see those awesome 3-minute main-events and Sable stripping like it's 1998 all over again, now don't we? Screw Benoit, screw Jericho, screw Guerrero, screw Angle, shock TV is where it's at!

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Screw Benoit? What the fuck are you TALKING about? Wasn't Russo all about pushing Benoit in WCW?

[BoboBrazil 0]

I think Vince Russo has improved TNA's storylines too, but if he left he would probably go back to WWE and help them which would be the best for WWE and TNA.

Yeah, TNA needed shit booking like the heel World Heavyweight Champion playing second fiddle to his manager, didn't they?

 

If TNA loses Russo and he goes back to WWE, then I guess we all would LOVE to see those awesome 3-minute main-events and Sable stripping like it's 1998 all over again, now don't we? Screw Benoit, screw Jericho, screw Guerrero, screw Angle, shock TV is where it's at!

Apparently you haven't been watching WWE lately, but we are getting those things you mentioned now. Atleast Russo gave good entertaining storylines and had a purpose for everyone and he has always been the one to push the younger guys.

[Silence 0]

Screw Benoit? What the fuck are you TALKING about? Wasn't Russo all about pushing Benoit in WCW?

Ever heard of sarcasm? You should look it up sometime. However, I never would have guessed that Russo wanted to push Benoit back in WCW, though it would be for bad storyline purposes instead of his wrestling ability, unfortunately.

[Jack_Bauer 0]

Shock TV mixed with amazing wrestling COULD make for some awesome shit man.

 

Mind you, puking in the ring is the ultimate Shock TV Ive seen ever and I guess that Russo didn't plan that

[syxx2001 0]

Yeah. FUCK Russo. That Raven storyline that drew a packed house on April 28th was stupid. Nevermind him actually giving AJ Styles the world title and, gasp, pushing Triple X and America's Most Wanted. What a goddamn loser.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Well, syxx...want some counterpoint?

 

4/28: Most of Raven's angles, as many wrestlers will rightfully admit, are of Raven's own doing. I'm sure Russo gave pointers, but I'm also almost entirely convinced Raven did most of the work (given Raven's track record for good angles involving him, all of which he's had the primary hand in).

 

Styles, NWA World champion: Yes, fuck Russo for giving Styles the belt...and then overshadowing the champion by saying that HE, VINCE FUCKING RUSSO, TOOK THE TITLE FROM JEFF JARRETT. Russo booked himself to make it look like Styles was nothing without him, which did no service to anybody involved (Jarrett lost to a manager, Styles needs Russo to win, and the fans hate Russo because he is interjecting himself into storylines).

 

XXX/AMW: I'll give him this much. But the feud was mostly based around ring work, and it doesn't take a genius booker to say "hey, these guys are putting on some pretty good matches that the fans are eating up, let's have them feud."

[Guest Dave O'Neill, Journalist]

You know, as much as i love Russo to bits, i have to agree with Corey

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Russo is a fine writer when he has both a filter and somebody with an old-school notion of what a wrestling should be about. Then we get the nice blend of CrashTV and old-school wrestling we got during August and September that makes us all happy. But when it's obvious he's going willy-nilly, like during the TNA shows at the beginning of the year (when SEX was everywhere) and that slump after 4/28, the shows suffer, because he really doesn't know what to do about EVERYTHING.

 

Russo can be useful in getting the midcard-and-lower talent over by giving them programs, and has a knack for getting just about any worker over (he got MARK HENRY over, for fuck's sake), but the man needs a filter and somebody that knows WRESTLING.

[Guest Doyo]

Dutch does not have full booking power and Russo has never in TNA either.

Having a group of people booking can be a good thing because you get many

ideas, but at the same time when power struggles are always going on it becomes

a bad thing. They need to give Dutch full booking power.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

"XXX/AMW: I'll give him this much. But the feud was mostly based around ring work, and it doesn't take a genius booker to say "hey, these guys are putting on some pretty good matches that the fans are eating up, let's have them feud." "

 

Then why in the world don't we see it more often?

 

Remeber when the Smackdown 6 were going strong week after week...whenHeyman was writing the show?

 

He was quickly replaced.