Dutch Mantell Explains Why He Preferred Wrestling Stiff Opponents
Dutch Mantell says he always preferred working with wrestlers who laid their shots in because he knew exactly where they were in the ring.
Speaking on Story Time, Mantell was asked whether Manny Fernandez was stiff, which led him to explain why he never minded working with hard-hitting opponents and share a memorable story involving Bill Dundee.
“No, I like to work stiff anyway. So, are people stiff? I didn’t notice it because that’s the way you’ve been in a match with me and Steve Keirn.
Steve Keirn is stiffer than hell anyway. But he told me before we went in the ring one time, he said, ‘Hey, I’m a little stiff.’
I said, ‘Well, I am too.’
He said, ‘Well, good. We’ll fit together then.’
I first started working with him in Florida and yeah, he was a little stiff, but I never minded that because I minded when guys were too loose because I didn’t know where they were.
The guy who was a little bit stiff, you could tell where he was at all times.
Bill was a little lackadaisical because he’d throw it out there and he’d try to get it and sometimes it would connect.
He hit me one time right in the eye. The first time was okay. The second time was the same spot, back-to-back.
I said, ‘You no good mother…’
When I lost my temper and went after Dundee, he was a babyface, but he wasn’t above running from the heel.
He ran from me out of the ring and said, ‘Hey mate. Hey mate. Sorry mate. Sorry mate.’
He knew what he’d done.
So he got back in there and we locked up and I said, ‘Don’t ever hit me like that again.’
He said, ‘I’m sorry, mate. I’m sorry.’”
Mantell said that experience never changed his outlook, insisting he’d still rather wrestle someone who worked a little stiff than someone who was too loose.
“Yeah, he was a little stiff with that stuff too. But, you know, I never minded that because I always knew where those guys were.”
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the Story Time podcast with a h/t to WrestlingHeadlines.com for the transcription.
