The collected wrestling fan consciousness ranged from mass confusion to mild intrigue this week after Dutch Mantell revealed via tweet that WWE could be sold to "ESPN and Fox" as early as "mid-May". An atomic bomb-sized piece of news if it came corroborated or confirmed with timelines and paperwork and stockholder remarks, this was instead a telegram-telephone-tell a wrestler for the modern age that ended, as many now do, with 280 characters on the matter.
Mantell's a legendary figure within the industry and hugely respected for his wealth of contributions over an outstanding career either side of the camera, but he's neither Dave Meltzer, nor John Pollock nor even WWE.com when it comes to the dropping an update tweet that leaves you trying to pick up your jaw for the rest of the day. This was a story.
But the story was the story in this story.
Little has been added to Mantell's original missive from anybody else since his original remarks. That's not to say he wasn't bang on - others could just have been doing a better job of keeping schtum during these seismic events - but this "pics or gtfo" tale would be the biggest news of this or any the last few decades if it actually came to pass.
WWE outside of McMahon controlling ownership looks and feels impossible. But as Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it is done.” Google reckons Bruce Wayne got in on that too, but there's no way some DC pr*ck will get a look in if the company ends up moving to Disney+.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
