WWE veteran expected Zack Ryder to win; stunned by SmackDown booking twist

Former WWE manager Dutch Mantel recently discussed Zack Ryder's surprise appearance on SmackDown. The 40-year-old star was a surprise entrant in the Last Time is Now Tournament.

Last week, the WWE Universe in Albany, New York, was greeted with 'Woo Woo Woo' as Ryder became the latest entrant in the Last Time is Now Tournament. He faced off against LA Knight in a first-round match. The fans were excited to see the "Indy God" back in WWE and gave him a stellar reception.

On the latest episode of Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the veteran manager admitted that he felt Ryder was winning the match. Mantell pointed out that WWE has put LA Knight through a start-stop booking, and it seemed like The Megastar was losing once again. However, he was surprised to see Knight take the win. Dutch appreciated both stars and felt Ryder did a remarkable job during his return.

"When I saw him out there, and I'm sure I'm not the only person watching, that expected a different result. I saw he was against LA Knight. And LA Knight is one of those talents that they got behind for a while, then got off the train, and then they put the train back on the track, and they now tried to go again. So when I saw that Zack Ryder was back against LA Knight, I naturally assumed that LA Knight is gonna get beat." He continued, "But he won the match, which I really appreciated. I also thought that Zack Ryder did a great job in a losing effort."

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Zack Ryder merchandise is available on the WWE Shop

After the heartstopping return on SmackDown, Ryder noted that it was a one-time deal. However, he was open to exploring something bigger in the future.

WWE is monetizing the returns of Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder with merchandising deals. Both stars have their t-shirts for sale on the WWE Shop.

It will be interesting to see if the stars get more merch like action figures, collectibles, and Topps cards.

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While using quotes from this article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcript.