ThoughtWorthy III ~ Alberto Del Rio {WWE}

[ShinChan]

Alberto Del Rio {WWE}​

Alberto Del Rio joined WWE in 2009 and had his stint until 2014 when he was fired. He made a surprise return after just more than an year defeating John Cena of all people for the United States Championship and then had his last match in August 2016, thus ending his second stint in WWE.

Let's get his accomplishments first:

• WWE Championship ×2
• World Heavyweight Championship ×2
• WWE United States Championship ×2
• Money In The Bank (2011)
• Royal Rumble (2011)

He's the first wrestler to win Royal Rumble and Money In The Bank briefcase in the same year. As far as accomplishments are concerned, he achieved some big accolades by winning the ultimate title of each brand.

I personally liked him more in his first stint rather than the second where he was involved in the stable League Of Nations. I have always liked him as a face and he was a face in WWE for just 6 months before a double turn took place with Dolph Ziggler.

I think that he could have been a more successful wrestler if he was a face rather than being a heel for so long. He's quite good in the ring but on mic, he always needed a good mouthpiece.

Question: Your thoughts about Alberto Del Rio's both stints in WWE?​

 

[The Perfect Max]

I'm not really sure where it went wrong for Alberto Del Rio.

I always enjoyed Alberto. I enjoyed his character, and to be honest, I never thought he needed another mouthpiece. Him and Ricardo Rodriguez mouthing off together was enough for me, it entertained me. A Mexican Aristocrat who in many cases looked a bit of a coward, but in the end brought it in the ring and was one of the best on the roster in his time.

Ultimately, I think they burned the character out. The Royal Rumble win amounted to nothing, and when he did cash in Money in the Bank, it was on CM Punk at the worst possible time. I'm not sure if that turned people off. Then the feud with Ziggler happened and everyone was so behind Ziggler at the time. If you think of it that way, I suppose nothing really quite worked out for him the way the WWE maybe anticipated. I don't know.

I hope he doesn't come back to the WWE. Not because I don't enjoy his presence, but because they don't seem to know how to work with him. The second stint was memorable because he beat John Cena for the US title on his return match. Oh and he dates Paige now. That's literally it. Such a shame.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Good technical wrestler. Unfortunately he has charisma of a frying pan. He was given one of the most easiest gimmicks in the world- rich obnoxious heel. And still didnt get over even though he was pushed to the moon. And only reason he was pushed was because they needed to find substitute for Rey Mysterio because of catering to spanish audience. So if you ask me, he got a lot more then he really deserved.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

I have mixed emotions about Del Rio. I see him as someone who was good, but not great.

I enjoyed his earlier feuds on Smackdown with Christian, Matt Hardy, Edge, and most notably Rey Mysterio. Then he was drafted to Raw where wwe began to overexpose him, imo. They tried to push him as the foil for Cm Punk and John Cena, but he wasn't on their level. It also didn't help while winning MITB, the wwe championship, and the Royal Rumble , he was being booked as an afterthought throughout.

Del Rio had a great look/character and he was great in the ring, but his lack of charisma pretty much killed everything else for fans. WWE had potential in Del Rio, but they ruined him by forcing it.

 

[Navi]

When Del Rio first debuted he used to come out in the fancy expensive cars, had is own personal ring announcer and the gimmick was special. Not only that the guy could go in the ring. As time went on though and his real personality began to show through, which as someone else said was the equivalent of a "frying pan", he didn't seem so special anymore. It was all smoke and mirrors.

When he came back after the racist remark fiasco, he didn't have all the dog and pony show with the cars and whatnot, he began to fizzle for me. It was pretty obvious he was brought in to replace Rey Mysterio but he didn't have the charisma and wasn't kid friendly like Mysterio had been. He was this upper crust Latino with a chip on his shoulder, his actions off screen didn't help him much either.

Don't get me wrong the guy is a good technical wrestler but he did nothing for the US title after winning it off Cena, I could have done more for it and I don't wrestle. Did anyone really care that he left again, I didn't, and now he's TNA's problem.

 

[Spencesc11]

I completely agree. He was a solid heel but not one that was as over as most of the top guys. However when he returned there was some potential.

Winning US Title from Cena clean (that was great)
Pairing him with Zeb Colter (that was dumb)
Losing the US Title to Kalisto (that was dumb)

He should have remained unbeaten in singles until Cena returned setting up the big rematch. That would've made more sense. Also think the League of Nations should've been more dominant. They were portrayed pretty weak at times and with a collection of Sheamus, Del Rio, Rusev, and Barrett that was pretty stupid. At one point they should've had Barrett & Rusev win tag gold so they all had straps. That would've made sense in building your dominant heel faction.

 

[ShinChan]

I completely agree. He was a solid heel but not one that was as over as most of the top guys. However when he returned there was some potential.

Winning US Title from Cena clean (that was great)
Pairing him with Zeb Colter (that was dumb)
Losing the US Title to Kalisto (that was dumb)

He should have remained unbeaten in singles until Cena returned setting up the big rematch. That would've made more sense. Also think the League of Nations should've been more dominant. They were portrayed pretty weak at times and with a collection of Sheamus, Del Rio, Rusev, and Barrett that was pretty stupid. At one point they should've had Barrett & Rusev win tag gold so they all had straps. That would've made sense in building your dominant heel faction.

League Of Nations should've been dominant. At least for me. But the main motive of making this pointless stable was to get bunch of cheers from the audience towards Roman Reigns which of course couldn't happen. Roman Reigns was cheered heavily when he was on destroyer mode. But then he became the same person and the audience gave him the same boos. The thing that backfired here was that League Of Nations didn't get any significant heat. It was just a pointless stable with pointless booking.

 

[OYDK]

How do you screw up the League of Nations? Seriously, thinking back that group should have done incredible things with the make-up of talent that they had there. Barrett, Sheamus, Rusev, and Del Rio, all good hands and all strong in their own way, working together as a well-oiled machine. I honestly don't remember much of them but I remember that they were lame as hell, which again, is shocking considering the potential that was in that group.

As for Del Rio, the guy was good. He was good enough to be a World champion and an upper-card mainstay. He wasn't good enough however, to be a multiple time World champion, a RR winner, and somebody that was ultimately put over as one of the best of his era. I don't think there was anything wrong with ADR, but there was definitely something missing. The guy just couldn't seem to evolve from what he came in as and eventually, he got boring... like really, really boring.

I mean, sure he was good in the ring, but every match was the same. Every promo was the same. For 4 years. As Kapu mentioned, maybe a face turn would have freshened things up but I honestly don't think he could have pulled it off very well. His first face run was pretty standard. All in all, he was a solid wrestler who grossly overachieved.

 

[enviousdominous]

Alberto Del Rio came in as a guy who thought he was great, and to prove this he would finish his matches with an armbar.

It was Mr. Kennedy all over again for me, it was another person who was all "Look at me, I'm awesome!" only to turn out to be a wet blanket.

Victimizing Rey Mysterio, at that point, wasn't much of a way to get the crowd to hate you. Del Rio segments were a great time to grab some snacks and use the bathroom, they most certainly weren't interesting or a means of furthering an interesting storyline. He was all "Destiny!" this and "Pero!" that. Maybe it was a lack of endearing faces to match up with him, but he was never even slightly interesting while he was in the WWE.

Alberto's Royal Rumble win was meh. It was one of those Royal Rumble wins that weren't climactic or mandated by storylines, it just happened and it was the least memorable thing in regard to that Royal Rumble. His Money in the Bank cash-in was forgettable as well, especially considering he had already attempted and failed to cash-in once before then.

He's neat when he gets a mean look in his eyes, but his potential to excite me stops when the bell rings. I don't want him to not succeed, but he's nowhere near as big with me as he's made out to be by the bookers.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Where do I even begin with this one? Another example of the lost generation of 2010-11.

I think the main problem with Del Rio was that he was pushed way to high on the card, way too soon, plus his booking and gimmick were terrible..

Strike A) Wins the Rumble out of the blue. He debuts in Summer of 2010. Has a nice feud with Rey Mysterio. Then really does nothting of importance. Then, wins the Rumble all of a sudden.

Strike B) Opens Wrestlemania. Maybe it became a notion that the WH title became a joke during the next years, but at that time, the WH title was still considered equal to the WWE Championship. Which means that a WH title match, opening Wrestlemania was unreal. But it happened..

Strike C) His title win gets sacrificed for Edge and Christian. WWE gives Alberto that big push, then they never go the full way, due to Edge's sudden retirement. Now Edge has to win, even though he's retiring. That was acceptable. But Christian also beating Del Rio in order to win the WH Championship because of Edge only to lose it 2 days later to Randy Orton was not. Del Rio looked like a freaking joke and from a main eventer he instantly became a midcarder.

Strike D) Punk's summer. That guy's luck is unreal. He goes from Smackdown and a real life event (Edge's retirement) that cost him his main event title spot to RAW and another real life event that cost him his main event title spot (CM Punk).
Del Rio looked like a bitch at Money In The Bank. Then he wins the title at Summerslam, in a cash in, with a freaking interference as well and then LOSES TO JOHN CENA.

To put it simply. WWE used Del Rio's name for the mexican audience but they never intended to make him equal to their own stars. That's why Vince McMahon is an asshole. Del Rio lost to Edge, Christian, Cena and Punk in every match that mattered in his most important year. And I really don't want to break down his following years. Horrible treatment for Del Rio. Horrible. His stale gimmick was the least of the problems. Guys with worst gimmicks had gotten more over.

Del Rio for WWE was simply, a safe investment. WWE had Mexico through Del Rio, plus WWE knew that Del Rio wasn't going to last long because Del Rio had stated that he planned on retiring at 37 (back in 2011), so WWE decided to use Del Rio's name to put over their own stars and also hold the mexican demographic.

No real effort was ever put into Del Rio by the bookers. That's also why they took Ricardo away from him. That's also why Del Rio never really defeated any real main eventer during his time with the company. And the only reason Del Rio held all those titles was because WWE liked to present a mexican star as a champion. That's the real story.

Gotta give the guy credit though. He had one of the biggest contracts and nowhere near the level of work guys with his kind of contract have.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I liked Del Rio at first. The rich jerk gimmick, the obsenely expensive cars and his own ring announcer. He played the role good and damn if he wasn't technically sound in that ring. I was impressed.....

....fast forward to half a year later.

I'm getting physically ill when his entrance music plays. He does the same crap over and over and I've completely lost interest in him. I don't know what it was. Maybe he should've just come out once a month to keep him from getting stale. But DAMN he got stale. Week after week after week, boring as shit promo, somehow even more boring wrestling match.

They even tried him as a face. Nobody cheered. At all. No wait, I vaguely remember one guy in the back jump up and cheer. That was it. One guy cheered for face Del Rio.

 

[Navi]

Well he has announced that he and Paige are getting married this week, today in fact, don't now if that's just to put the wind up Vince McMahon's back or not, but he has pretty much burned any bridges he had left. He's been bad mouthing the WWE for awhile now, and in the marriage announcement called them basically a bunch of wankers.

Pretty safe to say we'll not see him back in a WWE ring for a long time, if ever.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When look at Alberto Del Rio's time in WWE, I can't exactly say that I feel sorry for the guy because from my perspective, he's got got a whole lot to complain about. Inside the ring, I really enjoyed Del Rio. I thought he was a really good technician who could brawl when called for and could do it easily. I mean, the guy's about 6'4" or 6'5" and weighs about 235, 240 lbs. so he's not really someone that can do all the various flips & flops and suicide dive variations that we've come to expect from most Hispanic wrestlers so that did make him stand out a bit.

On the mic, he got pretty old after a few months because all his promos were essentially the same as he'd talk about "destiny" or calling someone a "perro" or what have you. His gimmick with Ricardo Rodriquez was fun and even though it was essentially a cross between JBL and Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Man gimmick, it was still enjoyable overall.

During his first run, Del Rio was a 4 time World Champion, won the largest Royal Rumble match in history and was Mr. MITB. He was consistently in a headlining position even though about halfway or so through his run, I'd say, a lot of people just didn't really buy into him all that much as a main eventer. During his second run, I still can't say I was overly sympathetic because here's a guy that for about 1 year had a downside guarantee of well over $1 million and ultimately left because he was pissed about not being in the main event spot.

If Del Rio has hard feelings towards WWE, then I'm of the opinion that it's due to his own making. When he was released the first time, he assaulted another company employee. I forget his name and what he did exactly, but the guy wasn't a wrestler and he did so because Del Rio said he made a racist comment/joke towards him; Del Rio is the only one who heard this, so WWE's hands were tied. If true, then the guy deserved to get the taste slapped out of his mouth but at the same time, in the real world, you can't just go around physically assaulting people and companies can't permit it to happen. In the United States, you can sue over damn near anything in the first place so WWE either takes action or they get sued by this guy who got pasted. They eventually did fire this guy, as I remember, after investigating him as it turns out that he had a history of making such comments and jokes but it's not like WWE could just fire the guy right then and there without finding out all this.

I've read that Del Rio was "promised" a main event run but other guys in the past have made similar claims. It sucks sometimes, but pro wrestling can be a fluid business where you sometimes have to go with the flow. In Del Rio's case, in my opinion, he wasn't all that interesting as a main eventer and he'd had lots of opportunity before and I don't think I was the only one who had that opinion based on fan response. The whole Mexican-America thing felt awkward from the beginning, I think WWE sensed that but kept it going for a bit in the hopes that he and Colter would find their groove, but it just felt strange; doubtless it was one of those ideas that seemed good on paper but didn't pan out in execution. Also, as I mentioned, Del Rio reportedly had a downside guarantee of well over $1 million and, to top things off, he became involved with this cute, British 22 year old, at the time, who seems to think the sun rises and sets on him.

So yeah, all in all, I think Del Rio's issues with WWE are more along the lines of his ego being bruised than anything else because he had a lot of high profile things going on, met his current wife and made a shitload of money in the process. I'm not gonna be shedding any tears for the guy, I'll tell you that.

 

[MWRedskins]

i will forget all about his second run in WWE because his second run in WWE was pretty much like i just typed....forgotten and it wasnt all his fault, it's booking.

really that's Alberto's WWE career problems. they booked him to the top heel way too soon, then had him put Edge and Christian over...then he gets shipped to RAW and wins the WWE Championship via cash in with the help of Kevin Nash in a very odd story. he then loses the title a month later to Cena only to regain it and lose it again to a red hot CM Punk. losing to Punk at that time had to happen because of how hot the iron for Punk was, however, losing to Cena did him harm and his gimmick also was changed a bit when he moved to RAW. on Smackdown, he was better as a rich Mexican wrestler who put others down and had his own ring announcer...however, on RAW he talked a bit more and because his promos werent great, Punk was easily able to put him down.

honestly, they should've either 1) kept him on Smackdown and eventually beat Christian or 2) never pushed him at the rumble and have him win the US or IC title and have him carry that championship then move him to the top heel push.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I liked Alberto Del Rio's first WWE run. I remember first thinking I would hate the guy when I saw the hype video promos for his debut. He quickly proved me wrong with his in-ring skill and his promos. I can see why some might have gotten tired of the "destiny" promos, they did get a little repetitive I suppose. He made up for it in the ring. I also liked when he had things that stood out about him like the cars, the pyro waterfall, and having Ricardo Rodriguez as his announcer. His short-lived face turn should have lasted far longer than it did. Then there's the long list of accomplishments he had.... WWE Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, Money In The Bank winner, Royal Rumble winner. Not bad for a first 3 years in the company at all.

And then there was his second run. He came back in a surprising way winning against Cena in a US Championship Open Challenge.... but then they started that stupid "MexAmerica" storyline. His alliance with Zeb made NO sense whatsoever and the whole angle was just bizarre. Then he was in the League Of Nations and did basically nothing until he was drafted to Smackdown when the Brand Extension returned and did literally nothing and then he was gone. That second run sucked. I really enjoyed his first one though and he is underrated overall. Call him boring if you want, though I was a big fan.