10 Failed Concepts WWE Needs To Revise And Revisit
9. The 21st Century 1% Heel
Alberto Del Rio worked so damn well on paper. The character was an aloof aristocrat predestined for greatness - the complete antithesis of what drives us to support a pro wrestler. Unfortunately, he was never able to project the personality of spiritual antecedent Ted DiBiase.
The mega-rich heel isn't inimitable; Del Rio was different enough from DiBiase to dissuade accusations of plagiarism. It's also an IRL constant. The gulf between rich and poor is grotesque; this, by definition, is an almost universal feeling worth tapping into. We don't watch pro wrestling to watch dry administrative power plays play out onscreen; we watch it to live vicariously through the lens of our heroes. Austin humiliating McMahon; Batista levelling up to Triple H; CM Punk raging against the WWE machine; Daniel Bryan smashing it. This is the stuff of which legends are made, and the 1% is the target of ire in 2018.
"It's the old adage that you like to hear somebody's doing pretty good, but you don't wanna hear they're doing better than you" - so sayeth Ric Flair during his seminal "golden spoon" promo, a contender for the greatest ever.
EC3 is the next in line to play the role. A bit of a shame that his TakeOver match was so God-awful.