For the past week, speculation has run wild about who would answer John Cenas United States Championship open challenge. Originally, people figured Dolph Ziggler would do so and turn heel in the process. The rumor mill churned with NXT stars like Samoa Joe and Finn Balor getting mentioned, and even Daniel Bryans name surfaced as a possible opponent. Regardless of the rumors, WWE built up the situation where the company absolutely had to deliver a home run in terms of an unexpected/welcome opponent. And they did just that when they pulled the trigger on bringing Alberto Del Rio back into the fold. The Mexican aristocrat was fired from WWE in August 2014 for striking another employee. Del Rios return was a legitimate shock to many although he was rumored to return to WWE in the near future, his name really wasnt making the rounds as a likely challenger for the U.S. title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU8Jol05Gy8 What made things even better was that Del Rio won the title from Cena clean, in the center of the ring, without any controversy. If youre going to take the title off Cena, then this was the right way to do it, which makes this moment even better. WWE could have booked a cheap victory for Alberto, which would have lessened the impact of his return. Instead, Del Rio looked strong, like returning conqueror and a worthy successor.
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.
