.jpg) Mantell in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wayne Maurice Keown[4] (1949-11-29)November 29, 1949 (age 75) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | dirtydutchmantell |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Chris Gallagher[1] Dutch Mantel Dutch Mantell Texas Dirt Uncle Zebekiah Wayne Cowen Zeb Colter[2] Zebekiah |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | "Wandering along the roads ofU.S. Route 190" "Oil Trough,Texas"[4] Nashville, Tennessee[3] |
| Debut | 1972 |
| Retired | 2013 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Unit | 25th Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Vietnam Service Medal |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Genre | Professional wrestling |
| Subscribers | 138 thousand[needs update] |
| Views | 38 million |
Wayne Maurice Keown[4][6] (born November 29, 1949) is an Americanprofessional wrestlingmanager,booker and retiredprofessional wrestler, better known by thering nameDutch Mantel (also spelled Dutch Mantell). Since May 2022, Mantell has co-hostedStory Time with Dutch Mantell, hosted by James Romero on the WSI Network.[7][8][9]
Keown debuted in 1972, asWayne Cowan.[10] He achieved fame in theregional andindependent circuits, as well asWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), as "Dirty"Dutch Mantell. Keown also worked with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) asUncle Zebekiah in the mid-1990s, and again in the 2010s asZeb Colter.[3] In the late 1990s, 2000s, and late-2010s, he worked as a booker for theWorld Wrestling Council (WWC),International Wrestling Association, andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as well as Championship Wrestling from Florida.
Keown graduated from Walhalla High School inWalhalla, South Carolina. He attendedClemson University for one year before being drafted into military service, undergoing basic training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. Keown was then assigned to the U.S. Army's25th Infantry Division, and was later awarded theVietnam Service Medal for his service during theVietnam War.[citation needed]
Keown debuted in 1972 as "Wayne Cowan". He then became "Dutch Mantel", and added the "Dirty" nickname in 1980. The Dutch Mantel name was taken by an earlier wrestler namedAlfred Albert Joe de Re la Gardiur.[11] He wrestled for variousSouthernpromotions, and achieved considerable success in theNational Wrestling Alliance.
Mantel was instrumental in the careers of several huge wrestling stars of the nineties, including the Blade Runners, who later went on to achieve fame asSting andThe Ultimate Warrior.The Undertaker andKane both were early recipients of Mantel's astute wrestling knowledge, which served them well in their careers. Mantel also is credited with givingSteve Austin his stage surname, since Austin's real name at the time was Steve Williams (which was currently in use in wrestling by"Dr. Death" Steve Williams). Mantell originally considered giving Austin the stage names of either "Stevie Rage" or "William Stevenson III".[12] At the time, he was abooker forJerry Jarrett's Memphis territory.[12]
Mantel formed several tag teams throughout his career, including The Kansas Jayhawks (withBobby Jaggers), and The Desperados, which lasted only two months. Mantel achieved his greatest notoriety in 1979 when he and then-partner,Cowboy Frankie Laine, as Los Vaqueros Locos, sold out the 16,000-seatHiram Bithorn Stadium inSan Juan, Puerto Rico for an unprecedented nine weeks in a row, a record that still stands. They had a unique gimmick, where they put US$1,000 all in silver dollar coins at stake to the team that could defeat them.
Mantel's other notable achievement was in 1982 when he andJerry "the King" Lawler faced off in a good guy vs. good guy series. Fans were torn between these two stalwarts of the Memphis ring wars. Mantel achieved what no other opponent could do while Lawler was ababyface and that was to get a clear cut win over the King. In 1986, after Lawler lost a"Loser Leaves Town" gimmick match againstBill Dundee, Lawler and Mantell finally mended their ways long enough to face Dundee andBuddy Landel in a Texas Tornado Death Match in Memphis' Mid South Coliseum in front of a sold out red hot Memphis crowd. The match went a record 26 falls, taking one hour and 15 minutes to accomplish. The match saw Dutch Mantell reach his feet before Landell.
In 1990, he worked forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) as a commentator onWCW WorldWide alongsideTony Schiavone and in 1991, WCW created astable known as "the Desperados" consisting of Dutch Mantell,Black Bart andDeadeye Dick. The Desperados were packaged with the gimmick of being three bumbling cowboys looking to meet up withStan Hansen to go to WCW and become a team. Over the course of a few months, they were promoted through a series of vignettes by which they would be beaten up in saloons, searchingghost towns, and riding horses. Hansen reportedly wanted no part of thestoryline and left forJapan, never to return to wrestle in North America. Without Hansen, the group were pushed into service asjobbers and were dissolved as a stable before the end of the year.
When Jim Cornette's independent wrestling promotionSmoky Mountain Wrestling opened in 1991, Mantel, joined byBob Caudle, served as the original color commentator for the television broadcasts, and would give something of a heel perspective. He also hosted a weekly talk segment called "Down and Dirty with Dutch," where he would interview the stars of SMW. He remained with Smoky Mountain until around 1994.
From 1995 to 1996, Mantel appeared in theWorld Wrestling Federation as "Uncle Zebekiah."[12] He was the manager ofThe Blu Brothers until they were released in October 1995 and in January 1996, he returned as just "Zebekiah" and managedJustin "Hawk" Bradshaw until Mantel was released in December 1996.
In 1989, Mantel worked in the Memphis-based promotionUnited States Wrestling Association where he was a well known star for the company. He was the lastUSWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion defeatingJerry Lawler on August 8, 1997, in a Title vs All Body Hair match. Mantel kept his body hair. The title was vacated in November 1997 when the promotion closed its doors.
After departing the WWF, Mantel later joined thePuerto RicanWorld Wrestling Council as a wrestler and booker. Then he went to WWC rival promotionInternational Wrestling Association as a creative consultant, which included writing/producing and booking four hours of original TV programming per week. Mantel remained there until September 22, 2003. Mantel set a record while in Puerto Rico (IWA), in the number of hours that a single writer produced a TV wrestling show as he was responsible for four hours a week, 52 weeks a year, for a total of 208 hours a year for five years straight. His ratings also set records as his shows regularly ranged in the 12 to 15 range, with his highest being an 18.1, with a 55 share of the TV viewing audience while working for WWC in 2000.
In 2003, Mantel began work behind the scenes as a writer/producer/agent for TNATotal Nonstop Action Wrestling and as a full-time member of the booking/creative team. Mantel was instrumental in several successful creations for the company, most notably the TNA Knockouts division that helped to reinvigorate interest in women's wrestling in the United States.
Mantel is credited with bringingAwesome Kong to TNA atBound for Glory 2007, along with her handler/manager,Raisha Saeed.
On July 31, 2009, Mantel was released from TNA due to creative differences. Soon after, he returned to the IWA, once again working as a writer.[13]
In November 2009,Reno Riggins, announced that Dutch would be joiningShowtime All-Star Wrestling promotion out of Nashville as a writer and on air talent. In December 2009, Mantel released his first book, "The World According to Dutch." Mantel wrote the book in around 5 weeks, while sitting on a beach on Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, with assistance from editors Ric Gross and Mark James. In December 2010, Mantel released his second book "Tales From a Dirt Road".
On March 3, 2011, Mantel wrestled in the place of Jamie Dundee at XCW Midwest in Corydon IN. He took on local heel Lone Star, further cementing his semi-active status as a part-time wrestler. On March 22, 2011, Mantel was added to the April 4, 2011WrestleMania morningWrestleReunion event in Atlanta, Georgia. The event honoredBruno Sammartino with several modern and legendary wrestlers includingCarlito,Kamala,Scott Steiner,Tommy Dreamer,Christy Hemme,Bob Orton,Nikolai Volkoff andThe Iron Sheik.
On February 11, 2013, Mantel, under the name of Zeb Colter, returned to WWE as the manager ofJack Swagger. Colter's character was that of aheel caricature of theTea Party movement who strongly advocatedanti-illegal immigrant beliefs.[14][15] On February 19,Fox News and various right-wing commentators includingGlenn Beck claimed that Swagger and Colter's characters were a mockery of the Tea Party movement meant to "demonize" the Tea Party.[16] WWE responded to the criticism by stating that they were incorporating "current events into [their] storylines" to "create compelling and relevant content for [their] audience" and that "this storyline in no way represents WWE’s political point of view".[17] WWE followed by having Swagger and Colter break character during a video to invite Beck to appear onRaw while justifying that the storyline was designed to elicit a crowd response for the protagonist,Alberto Del Rio, and the antagonists, Swagger and Colter. Beck rejected the invitation.[18] On the April 8 episode ofRaw, Colter teamed with Swagger in a Handicap match against Del Rio, though Colter never officially entered the ring, they were defeated by Del Rio by submission on Swagger. On the April 29 episode ofRaw, Colter was involved in a triple-threat match with Rodriguez andBig E Langston (representingDolph Ziggler), with the winner being able to determine the stipulation for theWorld Heavyweight Championship match atExtreme Rules. Colter lost the match after being pinned by Rodriguez.
On the June 17 episode ofRaw, after Jack Swagger suffered a hand injury, Colter aligned himself withAntonio Cesaro. Colter later paired Swagger and Cesaro as "The Real Americans". The Real Americans experienced little success, losing to Los Matadores atHell in a Cell PPV and a Fatal 4-Way tag team match at TLC. Cesaro dumped Colter as his manager on theRaw followingWrestleMania XXX, instead revealing that he was a new client ofPaul Heyman.[19] Colter also started a feud withPaul Heyman, after accusing Heyman of "stealing" Cesaro from him. With The Real Americans dissolved, Swagger and Colter turnedface by confronting Lana andRusev. AtSummerSlam, Colter was attacked by Rusev, leaving him off television for two weeks. On the December 1 episode ofRaw, Colter's leg was broken by Rusev, writing Colter off of television for nearly 11 months.
In a storyline described byRolling Stone as "the wildly unpopular MexAmerica storyline",[20] Colter returned atHell in a Cell 2015, utilizing amobility scooter, where he announced that the returningAlberto Del Rio would answerJohn Cena's Open Challenge for Cena'sUnited States Championship, where Del Rio was victorious.[21] The next night onRaw, Del Rio and Colter began advertising a union between the United States and Mexico as "MexAmerica",[22][23][24][25] leading to several confrontations with Colter's former protege, Jack Swagger. After Colter caused Del Rio to stumble during one of these confrontations on the December 7 episode ofRaw, Del Rio ended his association with Colter.[26] This marked his last appearance in WWE, as he was released from his WWE contract on May 6, 2016.[27]
Following his release from WWE, it was confirmed that Mantel signed to appear at a show co-promoted byGlobal Force Wrestling and WrestlePro on June 11, 2016.[28]
In January 2017, it was announced that Mantel would be working as a creative consultant forImpact Wrestling.[29][30] In February 2017, his role was changed from creative consultant to head of the creative team. Mantel left Impact Wrestling in December 2017 afterDon Callis and Scott D'Amore took over as Executive Vice Presidents.
As of May 2022, Mantell stars in a weekly podcast and YouTube show calledStory Time with Dutch Mantell[9] on the Wrestling Shoot Interviews Network, with producer and creator James Romero as its host. The show sees Mantell and Romero discuss current events and happenings within professional wrestling, as well as Mantell's several decades as a wrestler and manager with various promotions.[7][8]
The duo also produce a second show calledAsk Dutch Anything, in which Mantell answer questions that are submitted by fans of their primary show.[7][8]
Keown regularly appeared as Zeb Colter in the WWEweb seriesThe JBL and Cole Show, until its cancellation in June 2015.
Keown has appeared in twoWWE video games as a manager (as Zeb Colter). He made his in-game debut atWWE 2K15 and appears inWWE 2K16.
In 2019, Keown narrated 5 episodes in season 1 ofDark Side of the Ring.
In August 2012, Keown announced onFacebook that his 16-year-old granddaughter Amelia had died in a car crash. He also said that the driver of the other vehicle, who haddrugs in his system, was onparole, and running from the police at the time, had also died.[31][32][33][34] On June 3, 2014,Tennessee GovernorBill Haslam signed into law Amelia's Law, which requires parolees whose crimes were related to drugs oralcohol to wear a transdermal monitoring device that would test the wearer's blood every 30 minutes. The bill, the first of its kind in the United States, had been pushed by Keown's family and went into effect July 1, 2014.[35] Keown has a surviving granddaughter (Amelia's sister), in addition to their mother, Amanda, his daughter.
In November 2024, aGoFundMe appeal was launched to help Mantel and his family pay for medical bills after he and his wife had a series of stays in hospital due to serious health issues including sepsis.[36][37]
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