8 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Oct 26th)

4. Del Rio Strong In Raw Return

Want to know the secret of how to make a (re-)debuting wrestler look strong, especially as a champion? Have them win matches, fairly and convincingly. That€™s exactly what€™s happened with a returning Alberto Del Rio, who toppled U.S. champ John Cena at Hell in a Cell Sunday and bested Neville on Raw Monday night. What has made Del Rio€™s return somewhat interesting (besides his odd pairing with Zeb Colter) is that he€™s won both of his matches with different moves, and neither was his signature cross-armbreaker. Alberto beat Cena with a Backstabber/low superkick combo, while a top rope stomp to a Tree of Woe-hanging Neville got the three count Monday. It made Del Rio look like a legit threat who can win a match multiple ways. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9w_xMJgWVw Sure, Del Rio failed to win the fatal fourway bout for the number one contender€™s spot, but he looked strong in that match and didn€™t take the pinfall. While it€™s fair to be skeptical of the €œMex-America€ idea, you can€™t question how he€™s been booked in the ring so far.
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.