10 Radical Ideas For WWE To Save Alberto Del Rio
Is he a Mexican or a Mexican't?
Lets just get this out of the way: by rights, this shouldnt be a conversation that anyone needs to have. José Alberto Rodríguez is a seriously gifted athlete and professional wrestler, a legit six foot two with matinee idol looks and a pedigree that pretty much makes him wrestling royalty. He was a star in Mexico as Dos Caras Jnr, and had a pretty decent MMA record before joining WWE developmental in Florida Championship Wrestling back in 2008. Properly booked, this is not a man that the crowd should find boring... but they do. So what's gone wrong with Alberto Del Rio? He debuted in 2010 under a gimmick not dissimilar to JBLs: an arrogant, elitist heel who bullied and belittled others from a position of privilege. In this case, Rodríguez would play the role of a Mexican aristocrat who believed that reaching the dizzy heights of the WWE Championship (or the World Heavyweight Championship, depending on which brand he was on) was his destiny. He had his own tuxedoed ring announcer for a heel sidekick, and kerbcrawled to the ring every week in one of a selection of luxury/prestige cars which (it was implied) were all a part of his personal fleet of vehicles. He also wore a scarf... because as props go, I reckon scarves always imply the inherent corruption of wealth and privilege, right? So far, so upper midcard, and Alberto Del Rio was never booked as anything but a midcarder with pretensions to the main event: but José Rodríguez was and is a genuine talent, possessing timing and athleticism that most wrestlers never acquire. He was always far more effective as a heel: when Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara were both out with injuries, WWE stepped up to turn Del Rio babyface, with largely unsuccessful results. But here's the thing, and the reason why WWE rehired him last month to take John Cena's US title, after having released him in August 2014 over a physical altercation with a member of their office staff: WWEs Latino/Hispanic audience is sizeable, and the feeling has always been that the company need ethnic characters to properly capitalise on that fanbase. However, since his surprise return, defeating John Cena on his first night back at Hell In A Cell last month to win the United States Championship, Alberto Del Rios stock with fans has plummeted even further than it had by the lukewarm end of his last run with the company. Why is this? I mean, the mans got killer heel instincts, a great look and talent to spare. Why is Alberto Del Rio, so great everywhere else, considered to be so dull as a WWE superstar? Lets have a look and see if we can fix it.