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Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently discussed the World Cup matchup between Braun Strowman and the returning Jinder Mahal.
The Modern Day Maharaja's SmackDown return didn't go as planned after Strowman appeared as his opponent during the World Cup. Mahal got in some shots in the early going but was soon neutralized.
The Monster of All Monsters finally planted his adversary with the Powerbomb for the win. In another World Cup match, Santos Escobar defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to advance to the next round.
On this week's SmackTalk, Mantell detailed that Strowman needed to make Mahal look strong. He reasoned that if Braun would have squashed Jinder, fans would feel that he did not work for the win. The wrestling veteran mentioned that since Braun withstood some offence at the beginning, the win carried even more weight.
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"Well, that was a textbook win because what Braun Strowman had to do was he had to make Jinder look like he belonged. So if he just went and started beating up from the beginning, the fans would say, 'Oh hell, he didn't beat anybody.' But now that Jinder got a good amount of offense on him, now when he beat him, he beat somebody." [From 40:33 - 41:01]
You can watch the full episode here:
You can catch the full results of SmackDown here.
Dutch Mantell also made his predictions for next week's matches in the WWE World Cup
On next week's episode of SmackDown, Sami Zayn will face off against The Brawling Brutes member, Butch. In another match, Ricochet will face off against RAW Superstar Mustafa Ali. During the show, Mantell also spoke about the matches lined up for next week.
"I think Ricochet goes over. I think Sami Zayn goes over." [From 40:20 - 40:25]
All the matches of the WWE World Cup have high stakes involved since the winner of the tournament will get the chance to challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship.
Who do you think will win the WWE World Cup? Let us know your predictions in the comments section below.
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Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
