Del Rio vs Rusev feud?

[Sundar]

I have always liked Del Rio and in my opinion he is one of the best in-ring performers they have right now. He is also very well liked and respected among his peers. Brodus Clay said he loved working with Del Rio and a couple of guys (including Ziggler) recently said Del Rio was their favorite guy to work with. It pains me to see Del Rio jobbing to the likes of Sheamus.

Unfortunately, the only problem with Del Rio is that he has failed to get over with the audience for whatever reason. I think it is because of the way he has been booked but most people think it is because he's a charisma vacuum. One thing we all agree on is that he never had a long personal feud with anyone. Why not have him feud with Rusev and turn him babyface in the process? It's pretty obvious that Rusev is going to go over Swagger considering how he just injured BNB. Have Rusev attack Ricardo during an interview or backstage and have Del Rio come to his defense and reunite with him. Lana can continue cutting anti-US promos only to have Del Rio and Ricardo interrupt her and defend America, causing her to bash Mexico as well.

If done right I think this will be an interesting feud and finally get Del Rio over. Rusev would also gain a lot from this feud considering how Del Rio always puts on good/great matches and Del Rio's a former MMA fighter and multiple time world champion as well so losing to him wouldn't hurt Rusev at all.

 

[Tyrant25]

It could work, but there are some definite kinks that need to be fixed.

For one, Del Rio has the personality of a brick. I respect his in-ring work, which is typically great, but his microphone ability is really bad and he doesn't really identify with the audience because of his lack of a set gimmick/personality. Rekindling with Ricardo Rodriguez could do wonders, but not even Rodriguez was a top-notch microphone worker and he seems to be enjoying his seat at the Spanish announce table.

Another problem is that neither of them speak clear English. Lana is actually American but of course, she pulls off the Russian accent, Rusev is legitimately Bulgarian and has the accent (and he usually speaks the language) and Del Rio, while his accent isn't as prominent, barely knows English (or, at least, hasn't shown enough potential on the microphone to show for it). It'll leave me, personally, confused and frankly bored hearing foreign banter that I can't understand.

One more problem is that Rusev and Lana bashing Mexicans doesn't really have an effect on Americans. WWE certainly isn't going to do any shows in Mexico, unless it's live events, for the sake of this feud, so who cares if they make fun of another country? It's not the United States.

I think the wrestling match would be phenomenal, but I just don't see the storyline working out as well as it could.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Unfortunately, the only problem with Del Rio is that he has failed to get over with the audience for whatever reason.

I continue to say the "reason" is that while many folks claim to be wrestling purists......they aren't, nor is the vast majority of the crowds in the arena that the cameras give us multiple shots of during the whole damn program.

I love watching Del Rio work a match and imagine the reason so many in the locker room enjoy sharing the ring with him is because he's the consummate professional between the ropes. His ring repertoire doesn't simply feature hitting a few high-impact spots; rather, his routine is a series of interrelated, technically executed moves that tell a story.....often coaxing a less talented opponent into a better match than he might have had without Del Rio in there with him.

Granted, this isn't something many of today's wrestling fans consider entertaining. I'd like to think a performer could "get over" on the strength of his ring work alone.....but that ain't the way it works, not today.

Rusev? While I'd like to see him in a feud with Del Rio, I don't think it will happen.....if they fight, I believe Rusev will roll over ADR the same way he disposed of Rob Van Dam last night.....just another body on the way to whatever destination management has Rusev headed.

 

[J.J.]

I personally thought the RVD/Rusev match was decent. I like they are showing he can be taken down so he isn't getting that Ryback treatment as being untouchable.

Unless I missed it, I'm curious as to why Jack Swagger wasn't on Raw.

I'd only favor a Del Rio/Rusev feud only if they traded some victories.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Del Rio has consistently delivered excellent quality inside the ring. I've always enjoyed watching him wrestle as he's always brought a high quality level of work into his matches. I'm still a fan of Del Rio, though not as much as I was for the first 6 months or so of his arrival in WWE because I saw how limited he was on the mic. In some ways, I think the Mexican aristocratic character suited him, but one problem was that people generally saw him as a Mexican version of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Man character with a dash of JBL added to the mix. Del Rio's wasn't as cartoonish as DiBiase's, he'd usually wear a some sort of gaudy colored pull away tuxedo like some male stripper with dollar signs all over it after all, but Del Rio doesn't have DiBiase's charisma or his ability to connect with the audience. Because of that, there's only so far that he can climb. Del Rio's a strong in-ring talent and that's NEVER going to be a bad asset for any professional wrestler, but he's gone as far as he's going if he can't forge that all important connection with fans. He's had 4 runs as World Champion in WWE, but he hasn't gotten over at the level one needs to justify it. With all those chances, it's unlikely he'll get another one.

As for a feud with Rusev, I don't see anyone giving a crap. Del Rio's so ingrained as the Mexican Million Dollar Man that it's hard to see him as anything else. If he was repackaged into something completely different, left out all the "greatest of the great" and "destiny" stuff, it MIGHT work. WWE tried to make Del Rio a face and it just wasn't there. Rusev's program is working with Swagger right now because they've managed to entice people with the old USA vs. Russia angle.

"Unless I missed it, I'm curious as to why Jack Swagger wasn't on Raw."

I'm guessing they kept him off because the focus of his program with Rusev is the USA vs. Russia motif, which is normally all well and good, but they were in Quebec, Canada last night. Zeb & Swagger are "Real Americans" who're defending the honor of the USA from the big bad commie sympathizer in Rusev and I don't think that'd just connect with Canadian fans. I don't imagine a big "USA" chant would break out right in the middle of Montreal.

 

[sanefan_har]

Please, for the love of God, stop with the country vs country thing. It's high time we got something fresh for a foreign heel. Like others have mentioned, a Mexico vs Russia feud won't work in the USA, this isn't the Brazil World Cup,

And if we're going to see what we've been seeing in the past 2 years, the crowds will end up cheering Rusev (aka Lana) against Del Rio.

 

[Tyrant25]

I personally thought the RVD/Rusev match was decent. I like they are showing he can be taken down so he isn't getting that Ryback treatment as being untouchable.

Unless I missed it, I'm curious as to why Jack Swagger wasn't on Raw.

I'd only favor a Del Rio/Rusev feud only if they traded some victories.

It could be for the sake of the storyline, but I don't think Swagger is allowed across the border. That's just a guess.