Zeb Colter Details His Failed WWE Stint With Alberto Del Rio

Zeb Colter, better known among longtime wrestling fans as "Dirty" Dutch Mantell, is considered by those in the know to have a great mind for the business, something that he confirmed in his autobiography as well as his recent interview with SI.com's Extra Mustard blog.

The former WWE manager delivered the scoop on why his ill-fated pairing with Alberto Del Rio failed to make an impact with the fans.

The two were teamed up as MexAmerica, a gimmick that didn't connect with the audience and made no sense whatsoever from a continuity standpoint, something WWE made no attempt to address, perhaps in hopes that we'd all just forget that Colter and Del Rio had previously been sworn enemies before they were inexplicably united without any thought behind the duo.

"Remember, I hated Alberto Del Rio, and he hated me. So, all of a sudden, I disappeared and came back. But it’s not necessarily the first step in wrestling that is the most important, because it’s the second step that identifies and clarifies the first one. That’s what we didn’t do. There was no chemistry, but there was also no logical explanation as to why I would be with Alberto. I said to the guys in the back, “I’m not getting the story,” but people kept saying, “Just wait.” I’ve walked on enough wrestling floors, and I know if a crowd isn’t getting a certain vibe. The chemistry wasn’t there with me and Alberto."

Colter, Del Rio and the entire audience was aware the unit wasn't working; in fact it seems that WWE creative were the only ones oblivious to the dead end gimmick the two performers had been saddled with. Colter - a seasoned booker himself who has worked all around the globe - attempted to take matters into his own hands by proposing an alternative:

"I suggested that I get back with Jack. What I really wanted to say during my return was, “When I was away, I realized that, instead of building walls, we should be building bridges. Instead of hating on people, I should be loving people.” That was the build-up, but then we’d find out that, while I was away, I was really having a sh*t fit about every son of a b*tch who f*cked me over, and Alberto was one of them. So my plan was to convince Alberto to let Jack join us, and then we’d do the big turn at the end, and that would have helped everybody. They didn’t see it that way, and Del Rio wanted to stay a heel. So I worked six weeks with Alberto, then they went their way and I went mine."

Who's to say if Zeb's idea would have worked any better than what we got? What can't be disputed, however is the gimmick was an abysmal failure, Del Rio is no longer with the company after a disappointing second run, Colter was unceremoniously released and Swagger is in the worst spot he's been in since before he was paired with Cesaro as The Real Americans.

Colter sums things up by echoing the sentiments of so many former WWE performers:

"Sometimes in WWE, if it's not their idea, they don't see the value of the idea you're proposing."