Dutch Mantell sheds light on the pervasive awareness of Vince McMahon’s behavior towards women within the WWE backstage culture.
This revelation comes in the wake of Janel Grant’s accusations of sexual assault and trafficking against McMahon on January 25, leading to the 78-year-old resigning from the board of WWE’s parent company TKO.
Mantell, known as Zeb Colter during his tenure in WWE from 2013 to 2016, discussed McMahon’s interactions with women behind the scenes on Sportskeeda’s Smack Talk with Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III.
Drawing attention to the historical context, Mantell mentioned the 1986 accusation of sexual assault against McMahon by former referee Rita Chatterton.
“The only sad thing about it is that everybody knew it,” Mantell disclosed. “Everybody. It was common knowledge when I was in WWE what was going on. The girls told me what was going on. It started, of course, with Rita Chatterton, was her name, and that was before it was so well known.”
Mantell further delved into the distressing experiences of female wrestlers, recounting instances where they left McMahon’s office in tears after private meetings.
McMahon’s alleged pattern involved pulling them into a room, a practice not limited to women, and having discussions that left a lasting impact.
“He’d pull them in a room and close the door. Of course, he did that with everybody, the guys too (…) He would get them [women] in there, and I guess the term is groom them, I guess. He would get them ready for what might be possibly coming their way, and they would leave the room with tears in their eyes. Some of them, not all of them. He would upset them that badly.”
Mantell, who managed several wrestlers during his recent WWE stint, including Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro, and Jack Swagger, shared that some female wrestlers chose to remain silent about their interactions with McMahon, possibly due to directives to keep it discreet.
Despite his inquiries about their well-being, they would respond cryptically, leaving much to the imagination.
Janel Grant’s accusations have brought to light a broader conversation within WWE, with John Laurinaitis also facing allegations of sexual assault. However, Laurinaitis’s lawyer contends that his client was a “victim” rather than a “predator” in the context of McMahon’s actions.
