As a final part of the babyface turn and transformation of his character, WWE needs to incorporate the finishing touches of a superstar makeover. At a key juncture, Del Rio needs to unveil both new music and a new finishing move to the crowd. The former is a bit of a no-brainer, Im afraid. Del Rios had the same music for five years, and every bar of it is associated with the past: with his stale, boring heel character, with his failed babyface run, and with a José Rodríguez that couldnt draw money with a green pen and tracing paper. He needs a musical facelift, something a little more dramatic, but none of your generic Yankee rock music. John Alicastro and Mike Lauri have been doing a cracking job producing pretty much all of WWEs in-house music under the name of CFO$ since 2012 - give them a crack at it. As for his finishing move - Im not suggesting that he retires the cross armbreaker, not when he and WWE have spent so long getting it over, and not when hes so bloody good at applying it. But its a heelish submission the way he works it, and a babyface should reserve it for high stakes matches or serious grudges. The problem is that the foot stomp in the tree of woe is a terrible, terrible finish (although Foot Stomp In The Tree Of Woe is a brilliant name for a band). It requires so long to set up and is so contrived that it has no credibility whatsoever. Its also even more of a heel move than the cross armbar. No, this new Del Rio would need a finish that would seem definitive in the context of the match, while getting the crowd worked up. My vote goes to the standing moonsault side slam. If youre wondering where youve heard of it before - well, John Morrison used to use it as a transitional move in WWE, and Paul Burchill (remember him? Big English guy who sidestepped an incest gimmick only to run right into a pirate gimmick?) used it as a finish, calling it the C4. It looks fantastic, requires a level of athleticism that Del Rios capable of, and it can be worked into the finish as a dramatic, theatrical set-up on a punchdrunk opponent while playing to the crowd, or as a quick outta nowhere finish when ducking a charging opponents clothesline or punch. Give it a catchy, cool-as-hell name that an announcer can shout at the top of his lungs and youre good to go.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
