10 Times WWE Failed At Forced Emotion

7. Alberto Del Rio's Babyface Title Triumph

Triple H Crying
WWE

Alberto Del Rio is one of several men to have been misused during WWE's creative malaise at the turn of the decade.

His being hot-shotted to the main event bracket wasn't (just) the desperate tactic too typical of the time - it made perfect storyline sense for his character, whose "destiny" it was to win the World Heavyweight Title. His eventual reign - nullified after Edge defeated him handily at WrestleMania XXVII - was something of a failure. In strapping too powerful a rocket to his back, fans naturally became resentful of the man who was somehow booked with too much and too little conviction. It was puzzling and alienating.

Eventually, WWE elected to turn the man face after it became apparent that its premier "Mexican" attraction, Rey Mysterio, was absolutely knackered. They did so in the most transparently jingoistic way possible. To save Ricardo Rodriguez and the Spanish announce team from 3MB, who had zero storyline motivation to torment them, Del Rio suddenly developed a conscience at TLC 2013.

Not the best start. From there, WWE probably should have booked a storied title chase, to give fans time to adjust to and rally behind his change in attitude. They didn't. He defeated Big Show for the World Heavyweight Title under a month later.

It did garner a cheap, surprise pop - but it was all so contrived that it ultimately did the man no favours whatsoever.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!