What do you do with someone like Del Rio?

[tomorugby20]

I think he is a solid worker....just lacks any sort of connection and I think that has alot to do with the fact that he did come in and go straight into world title territory without really proving himself or establishing himself as a top guy.

You know a guy is lacking when his ring announcer is more over than he is

I think he should be in the mid-card, IC/US title picture.

 

[indianfanboy]

I say that he is the perfect feud for Big E. right now. Gets you a good heel to compete with a potential top babyface. It will also make for a good feud and will add a truckload of prestige to the IC title.

But after that is run its course, the guy should be treated like how The Miz was. Pushed to the mid-card so bad that people forget he was ever in the main event picture.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't really understand a lot of the hate Del Rio gets. He's not that great on the mic, I do agree with that. However, the guy very much shines inside the ring. There's always use for someone who can wrestle inside the ring as well as Del Rio can. With that being said, I don't believe that Del Rio should be anywhere near the main event anymore. He's had four runs as either WWE or World Heavyweight Champion and the guy's just not gotten over to anywhere near the degree to justify such a spot.

I could easily see Del Rio as part of a tag team or as a competitor for either the US or IC titles. IF WWE ultimately plans to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship at some point over the next 6 months, then I think it's like to see Del Rio in the mid to upper mid-card range. But his time as a main eventer should be up, in my opinion. He's had multiple opportunities to show that he should be there and I simply don't believe he should be.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

I'd say it's a case that he is just unwatchable. Nothing about me interests me, I feel like he could have been better but ever since the feud with CM Punk/John Cena and the whole rushed title reign, I would say that destroyed his character. The face turn did not help thing because his character was never one to fit a babyface (hence the reason he did not get over). I have tried to like Del Rio but no matter how much I try, he just keeps proving me right. He is awful on the mic (better than some) but still pretty shockingly bad. His matches are boring but not the worst.

He is a glorified mid carder at best IMO.

 

[tru_overdose]

i think i have the key to fix del rio in a 6 month program. and its hilarious nobody mentioned he should be a face, i guess that make/keep everyone heel lives on with the IWC...

anyways, you make Del Rio a FORCED face. how? You make him poor. I mean to the point where he drives cars to the ring again, but progressively worse vehicles. To the point where he rides a 1970's moped to the ring. Put him in a storyline where he has to win to win money, and that progressively increases with every clean victory. Have him constantly lose until he discovers that fan support is the key to him winning and gaining back his riches. Put him back with Ricardo shortly after his face turn.

It is tough because people hate him in general now, but a rags to riches story generally always brings fan support.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Good topic. I don't hate ADR, and I think he actually has potential to be a long term sustainable main eventer. The problem is, he needs to really refine his current heel gimmick or he needs a repackage.

On the repackage - Repackages are always risky, IMO. Fans these days won't tolerate a bad repackage and will soon turn against the guy, calling him by his old name. If they were to do a repackage, they'd really need to think about it and take ADR off TV for awhile. Look at Bray Wyatt. He was a joke as Husky Harris, then he wasn't heard from for awhile and then he comes back with an awesome gimmick. The problem with ADR is I just don't know what they could repackage him as.

Refining heel character - This I think is the route to go. I think though, they need to go back towards his "aristocratic" heel character. Maybe make him into like a Mexican Million Dollar Man. Go back to having the fancy cars, have him "pay" jobbers just to get beat up by him. Maybe even align him with JBL or something as too rich guys who don't give a fuck about anyone but themselves (I'm saying JBL should be more like a manager/advisor, not a tag team partner).

ADR is not bad in the ring, IMO but right now he's just kinda floundering and they are giving him chance after chance after chance.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

The WWE seems to be forever in denial about ADR. I think they tried to do just give him the WWE title in 2011 because of the way they (kinda) screwed him over at that years Wrestlemania after finding that Edge was going to retire due to his recurring neck injuries. Then they found that all of the acclaim in 2010 about him was truly due to the props. The spark waterfall, the personal ring announcer, the cars, the scarfs, the outlandish theme music etc. He was packaged quite perfectly but he's unable to match his gimmick on the microphone. After giving him the WWE title and watching him fail, they felt the need to justify their decision to push him as a top heel by pushing him back into "the other" main event scene for the WHC. Quickly, people grew bored of him as usual.

He's not easy to understand with a thick accent and he never says anything of interest. Heels have to say and do things that make the audience think "That's f**ked up." or "Daaaaaamn, that was harsh." or "Holy crap! I can't believe they let him say that about ________!!" The audience sees through the facade of all of the props (probably why they did away with them) so now it's virtually impossible for the guy to get over unless he magically becomes easy to understand on the mic. Or unless delivers believable/meaningful speeches where he finally learns to come up with something scathing about the face character whom he's antagonizing. I wouldn't hold my breath on either of those happening. I think what's more likely is that the creative team will finally have to bite the bullet of ADR becoming the most decorated WWE character that no one cares about. Their project with him has long failed and they should have thrown him to the wolves long ago.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He's main event level in ability and ring performance, but his persona is too old-style for the tastes of many modern fans of pro wrestling. In the 1950's, this guy would have been launched to the stars because back then, promos and outside-the-ring matters weren't as important as they are today. People would sit for 30 minutes to watch a master in the ring, working a match rather than bringing cheap heat.

That was then.....this is now. What to do with Del Rio?

I'd go back to the style we saw in his initial promos with WWE; the ones we watched weeks and weeks before we saw him in the ring. He was the imperious, aristocratic owner of a huge, luxurious hacienda......an Old World bully who ruled with a soft voice and an iron hand. I'd go with that; let him rule his roost with a bunch of henchmen to do his dirty work for him; people more like the Shield than Ricardo Rodriguez. That's not to say the Shield should be working for him.....but a Mexican vigilante force under his control might bring greater response from the crowd than ADR is getting now.

He's supposed to be rich? Fine, let's show how rich he is.

 

[SuperTaco]

I concur with others here. I try so hard to find something to enjoy about Del Rio, but he lacks that 'something', that special quality.

Here you have a guy that is capable of a lot of things in the ring. He doesn't make mistakes. he pulls off potentially dangerous moves like the Superkick and top rope Reverse Suplex with ease. His finisher can be used on anyone of any shape or size which is a benefit.

When he was a face earlier in the year, he was at least partially over. This was largely due to Ricardo Rodriguez and the "Si" chant, but it was also due to Del Rio showing a bit more personality on the mic than he did as a heel. A great example of it is when he interrupted Zeb Colters speech, told him to shut up, and gave his own speech about Mexico. That was the moment where I thought Del Rio was on the right track.

Then what happened? He stopped showing depth to his character, and regressed back to what he usually is/is now. Towards the end of his face run his promos became similar to his heel promos, and crowd reaction dwindled back down. I believe the double turn of Del Rio/Ziggler happened because of those things.

Alberto has the ring skills, he has the look, he has the background.

He just doesn't have the personality.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

I've never had a problem with Del Rio as a top guy, I think he's better than most of the people WWE chooses to push these days. But right now, I think the perfect thing for him to do is to decisively and easily beat Big E Langston for the Intercontinental Championship. Langston is a nobody and useless in the ring, a guy like Del Rio could restore interest and use to the title.

E gets more reaction in the 2 months push he has got than Del Rio in his 3 years of dream pushes. E has a better look than Del Rio and is really fast for a guy his size. He can work with everyone and he is funny on the mic.


Del Rio just doesn't cut it for me. I tried so many times to get into him, to cheer his attempts to seem like a big guy etc, but I just can't. I remember when Punk was a heel and I cheered for him because he was interesting. I tried to do this with Del Rio, give him a chance, most recently against his match with Cena on SS. I sat down just to see how good he can be. He is solid in the ring, can work a good match with anyone, but his gimmick just doesn't float. Him not being as good in the english language as other people is certainly a big barrier too.

Personally, given the rise of the tag team division lately, I'd pair him with another Mexican Superstar who can talk or something. I think with that other guy being able to get a reaction along with Del Rio's in ring skills, he could get some reaction going for him too. Being stuck by himself in the mid card is not the best option for me. I mean, this is where his overall ability's level should be, but if people are just not interested in him, he will devalue / make uninteresting the possible titles he might win. Therefore, tag teams with someone who can create a reaction is probably the best choice. Another one could be being on the upper mid card and having feuds with guys on this equal stage. He might win a mid card title here and there to be seen credible at times and can work as a strong jobber against people who are getting the main event push.

 

[kumarjtk]

i am not a big fan del rio. But my thought about him to repackage as a mid card level and make him as a good heel.

 

[The Perfect Max]

I have been a fan of Alberto Del Rio since his debut. He has a good gimmick, is easy to listen to on the microphone, and is a solid in-ring worker. Why the hate? He has had no opportunities to expand his gimmick. The whole destiny thing was good, but that failed when he didn't win the World Heavyweight Championship versus Edge at WrestleMania XXVII. To me, he needed to debut a month or two earlier, feud with Rey Mysterio and proclaim that his destiny was to win the title. Get another good feud going before the Royal Rumble, then go as it went. I would change some of that title match build, and then he should have won it. The moment he lost, you could tell, people lost interest. What does he need? A time machine to do things differently. Hindsight is a great thing, but for him to be able to say he beat Edge in his last match, also for the World Heavyweight Championship, and at s WrestleMania, would have been huge.

To me, he needs time off. And by that, I mean past WrestleMania XXX. Hell, the Raw after WrestleMania XXX. It gives the WWE some time to come up with something good. A good character switch-up, a good feud. He really does need it. Plus, the return reaction from the crowd would give an indication to actually how much people care for Alberto Del Rio.

In all honesty, I enjoyed his early days and feud with Rey Mysterio, and his run the World Heavyweight Championship in early 2013 was fun, but, I see him as a future solid Intercontinental Champion. Like JBL, he could easily go from the world championship picture to the midcard. With the right guys, he can have good feuds and put on good matches. Then, and only then, should he be considered for a run with either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship again.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

He's main event level in ability and ring performance, but his persona is too old-style for the tastes of many modern fans of pro wrestling. In the 1950's, this guy would have been launched to the stars because back then, promos and outside-the-ring matters weren't as important as they are today. People would sit for 30 minutes to watch a master in the ring, working a match rather than bringing cheap heat.

That was then.....this is now. What to do with Del Rio?

I'd go back to the style we saw in his initial promos with WWE; the ones we watched weeks and weeks before we saw him in the ring. He was the imperious, aristocratic owner of a huge, luxurious hacienda......an Old World bully who ruled with a soft voice and an iron hand. I'd go with that; let him rule his roost with a bunch of henchmen to do his dirty work for him; people more like the Shield than Ricardo Rodriguez. That's not to say the Shield should be working for him.....but a Mexican vigilante force under his control might bring greater response from the crowd than ADR is getting now.

He's supposed to be rich? Fine, let's show how rich he is.

Completely agree here. This is what I think they need to go back to with ADR. I think when they had the "mexican aristocrat" gimmick, they didn't take it far enough. How about having a younger wrestler as his "servant" that he pays to go into the ring and take beatings and do his dirty work? That would help a younger guy get over AND it would also make his gimmick better. It would be the equivalent of The Virgil for the Million Dollar Man. Have him throw money in the guy's face and then make him go into the ring and take a beating.

 

[cleissonsg]

The problem: He was poorly booked. Even as a champion, he jobbed to Sheamus and Cena far too often, making his character look weak.

Del Rio is very talented, and WWE needs a main guy with the "Rich Heel" gimmick. In my opinion, his character should be booked as a hybrid between the classic Ted Dibiase and "La Familia" Edge, a rich and protected guy who cheats his way to the top.

He needs:

- Ricardo Rodriguez. Having a personal rig announcer makes him look arrogant, and that's good for his character.

- Bodyguards. Let's use Ryback and Ezekiel Jackson. Del Rio can simple hire them to protect him.

- Vickie, she can make him get booed, and she can protect him.

(Also, it would give direction to characters who have no storylines nowadays: Jackson is inactive since forever, Ricardo is jobbing as El Local, and Vickie is irrelevant on her current position in the Authority storyline)

- And the most important thing, he needs to WIN against the top guys, like CM Punk and John Cena. He doesn't need to win cleanly. Jackson and Ryback can interfere and Vickie can help with the stipulation. But he needs to win, that's for sure.

 

[klunderbunker]

How about giving him a character?

I've complained about this for the better part of a year now. There's nothing at all that makes Del Rio stand out. He used to be rich, but that hasn't been mentioned in months now. He doesn't have the car, he doesn't have Ricardo, he doesn't buy anything. At the moment, he's just Alberto Del Rio: Mexican Heel. Seriously there's nothing more to him than he's from Mexico.

Give him ANYTHING and his in ring work will make up for the rest of it. Make him be poor, give him a personal feud, give him anything unique instead of the same stuff he's been doing for months now.

 

[justinsayne]

Have him go back to being rich & throwing his money around to get what he wants (kinda like a Mexican Million Dollar Man), then have him hire Camacho & Huncio as his thugs to do his dirty for him, & maybe put a valet or two on his arm. They should then have somebody work with him on promos too, cause right now he sucks at it, either put him ith somebody that can do most of the talking for him or teach him how to cut a promo with out it sound like he's reading from the damn script.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

ADR is my favourite performer in the ring. He is so goddamn good and crisp in that ring its amazing. I have watched his career (as all of us) quite closely and really there are two ways you can go with him.

1) Get him away from the straps. Good god has this man had a personal feud? Except that Mysterio one you'd be hard-pressed to find one that lasted for a substantial amount of time. No more belts, give him a kayfabe angle that sells his emotion. Coz he maybe average at promos, but his expressions and in ring gestures are very good.

2) As KB mentioned, he is rich right. Do this: Make an angle where he buys WWE stock so much so that he actually gains pull making matches on Raw. So much so, that he starts bothering the McMahons and starts bringing in some Mexican talent; starts giving them spots on the card replacing regular mid-carders. Make a whole foreign angle with this.


One more:

I cringed when JBL and even Micheal fucking Cole made fun of ADR's gringo phrase on Raw a few weeks ago. Go with it. Make the announcers, superstars, everyone mock him so much so that he finally stops talking. And one of those Raws, he snaps and annihilates someone beloved. Then on, get a GOOD mouthpiece, get fucking Heyman for this man and have Lesnar vouch for the guy as well bringing up his Pan-American and MMA participation and make him that submission monster.

An ADR/Lesnar/ Heyman stable would have great traction if done right.

 

[Da Solo]

Send him to the midcard. I've always felt that was the problem with ADR: overexposure to the ME scene. He debuted against a main event player (Rey), got a title shot in only a few months, immediately won a Rumble, got a briefcase and inserted himself into the middle of the Summer of Punk, where he had no business being. He started getting stale a long time ago, and he needs to have a personal feud with someone he can actually can hold a feud with.

That's why I liked his first and second feuds with Big Show. They started in spite of a title (the first time he ran over Show, the second time Show bullied Ricardo), and from there spiraled into whatever happened afterwards. I even liked him as a face moreso than a heel simply because it spared us the constant droning promos. But now that they went with the double turn, he's been excellent in ring as always, but boring otherwise. If it were me, I'd put Ricardo under the El Local mask and let him keep interfering with ADR for the time being, attacking him seemingly randomly until they have a match and its exposed as Ricardo seeking revenge.

 

[Sundar]

I actually like Del Rio. Ever since I first saw him I've always liked his look and the way he works in the ring. I really enjoy his moveset, intensity and psychology. I loved his face turn and have always believed he is a natural babyface. He just comes across as a very likable guy to me and I think he should be pushed as a face submission machine who doesn't talk much, very much like Chris Benoit was.

I think WWE realized that the WHC wasn't needed anymore well over a year ago but they did not want to do the unification until around WM30 since it's a landmark WM. So they put the belt on Del Rio and gave him random feuds throughout the year with very little buildup and then had him lose twice to a guy with 1 hand. In WWE's eyes, this has allowed them to keep the WHC somewhat relevant while still pleasing the Mexican audience by letting Del Rio stay as world champion for a significant period. I think this has only hurt him and devalued the title even more. He could have had some personal feuds this year.

He has also lost cleanly on so many occasions to top guys like Cena and only ever seems to win against midcarders and part timers. This has made him look weak as a world champion.

I say turn him face slowly, maybe have the Wyatts attack Mysterio and then Del Rio runs outside and attacks them and then drops the Cross Armbreaker on Rowan or Harper. Or have him feud with Lesnar and win. A long, hard fought win against Lesnar would let people take him more seriously. From a purely wrestling point of view, Lesnar vs Del Rio would be a far better match then Lesnar vs Taker.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

The problem: He was poorly booked. Even as a champion, he jobbed to Sheamus and Cena far too often, making his character look weak.

I'm sorry but give me ONE instance where he was jobbing to Sheamus while he was champion. That's just a total lie. I don't remember him EVER jobbing to Sheamus while being champ. Hell, I don't think he ever FEUDED with Sheamus while being champ. This is absurd.

 

[Sundar]

Well with his loss to Sin Cara this week in a random match I guess it's pretty clear that WWE have lost hope in him and have relegated him like Ziggler and Axel.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well with his loss to Sin Cara this week in a random match I guess it's pretty clear that WWE have lost hope in him and have relegated him like Ziggler and Axel.

That can't be determined by the results of one match, but it sure was a downer to see Del Rio beaten by a lower mid-card flunky who can't keep himself healthy enough to stay on the active list. I'm rarely very surprised by match results, but that one was really a shocker.

For Sin Cara, the victory means that we're going to see a lot more of him, with his telegraphed, improbable flying moves that require his opponent to run to the appropriate spot in the ring to receive the maneuver. It's not easy to wrestle him, but I thought ADR did a fine job accommodating the little shit.

For Del Rio, I think this might be an anomaly; a one-time departure from what we're used to seeing from him. I can't believe he's been demoted to the mid-card. In fact, this might be a precursor to a new program .....one that involves other people to do his bidding, like Ricardo Rodriguez, but more dangerous.

Still......Alberto Del Rio losing cleanly to Sin Cara?

Yuck.