Alberto Del Rio - Is He "There" Yet?

[The Crock]

Since first arriving in the WWE, Alberto Del Rio has been on fire. From injuring Christian to winning the Royal Rumble, and getting a World Title shot at WrestleMania, he's done quite a bit, all the while being a heel. With the smile and the wink, the cars, the announcer, he has led the fans to dislike him, but do they hate him? He's been near the top of the WWE, as a heel, but has he truly reached the top? Has he become a great heel just yet? Has he separated himself from the pack and individualized himself as "the one?"

The way I see it, he's still lacking something. He's done a good job as a heel, but he isn't great just yet. He needs to do something to make the fans hate him, to loathe him. Whether it's becoming more of a Ted DiBiase character and paying his way to the top, or whether he needs to become a darker character, he needs to have that one special character moment where it all clicks. He needs to put it all together. Heck, if he wants to stick with his current path, why not do what Ric Flair did? Why not make the fans want what he has, make us care about the fact that he has more money than most of us will ever have. Sure, he's been showing it off, but have we really cared, yet?

So guys, is he "there" yet?

 

[FSWWE]

At first I though that the draft was needed but now, I think that the draft screw everything up...
Alberto Del Rio is becoming stale and boring if they don't make anything relevant out of them, he is a great wrestler and since he went to RAW he only fought two matches, am I right?

He made a big debut, he won cleanly to Rey Mysterio, he even make him tap out...
He injured Rey and Christian, now he injured The Big Show and his Cross Arm Breaker looks very painful and intense (is finisher is used in MMA, so it hurts)
He already had two great feuds with Rey Mysterio and Edge & Christian...

But unfortunately he has nothing to do, which makes me pissed of because he is a great talent and RAW is crowded with heels right now...
However ADR is part of the TOP3 heels from RAW
CM Punk, Miz and ADR (R-Truth is getting there)

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Well if he needs to do something to make the fans hate him, he should probably come out and squash Evan Bourne. That usually does the trick to get the WWE Universe behind you.

The other option is to face him off against Rey again, so the people who only watch Raw and never tune into Smackdown can get a taste for how evil Del Rio can me.

Pairing him up with the Big Show is a waste of ADR talents. The Big Show is a monster blah blah blah, he giant blah blah blah. The Big Show is as exciting as taking a dump, it happens and then its over. Don't get me wrong Big Show has improved in the past few years but he still doesn't bring the excitement to feuds other superstars do.

 

[Da Solo]

However ADR is part of the TOP3 heels from RAW
CM Punk, Miz and ADR (R-Truth is getting there)

Del Rio in the top 3? Nah, not yet. Top 3 is Truth, Miz and Punk. Truth just beat Mysterio, injured JoMo and s getting the push of a lifetime and a title shot and ADR has been cutting some iffy promos after Ric ran over Show.

But ADR isn't there yet. Let him at least be able to say he's had a full year, and then give it to him.

 

[BobbyDigital]

He IS there. He's just on the wrong show. He needs to go back to Smackdown. Its just hard to stand out on Raw when you're competing with CM Punk (best heel) and The Miz (on a roll)

 

[JaylisJayP]

He's being buried on RAW, and it's such a shame. I have NO idea what they're doing with him. He should be feuding with Cena, not R-Truth, who totally sucks. Del Rio is a legitimate top heel in the company and they have him filling a worthless mid-card slot. I honestly couldn't even tell you who he's feuding with...Big Show? What? When was the last time Big Show was relevant...6 years ago?

 

[Maddog Lionheart]

I have to say he's not there yet. He's really close, but he's not there yet. I think he needs to go after some bigger meat. Give him the U.S title, let him hold for a while, lose it, and then make him even more fierce.

Del Rio has what a lot of superstars wish they had: Originality, Mic skills, Great gimmick, Talent, uniqueness, and athleticism. But if they keep on burying him on Raw, Del Rio will not be a name that people will already know.

 

[CitiBoy7]

I always say when you shine on smackdown then get shipped to raw you don't get any more spotlight and that's why I can't understand how raw needs all the big names but only use but so many when half of the new raw guys were getting time every week on smackdown. Also im not hating on cena but raw is a show built around him which smackdown was open for star to shine and if you don't believe then ask yourself why was Miz and Barrett the only stars they made last year when smackdown made Del Rio, Cody, Ziggler, Swagger, and even Christian main eventers.

On smackdown Del Rio was very over but hey who cares about smackdown.

 

[Charismatic_Enigma]

When I look at Rio, I see guys like Sheamus and Swagger, they come in get a massive push to the top and then get knocked back down to mid-carders. Now we have Sheamus at least making an appearance in the title hunt after fighting with the US title. While Swagger was stuck as Cole's lackey and is still a mid-carder.

The difference here is Sheamus, started out as a champion lost it, and then started pretty much went into the US title picture, which is good it gave people more time to get to know his character learn who he really was in the ring. Swagger got the opposite, he got barely any ring exposure and was stuck with the adience wondering who the heck he was and really labeling him as a "Wannabe Kurt Angle".

Rio is in the middle right now of these to, he got a massive push when he started out, did some major damage to make himself look the real deal, got a few title shots and never fully was able to do it.

Is this a bad thing? That depends which path he would have followed if he had won the title and lost it.

Way I see it, he's not there fully there. He's proven he can do what he needs to do in the ring, but he needs to build himself up first, win a title or two have a few reigns get himself noticed.

A good example of this is Miz, he won a few titles got built up and then next thing you know he's standing in the ring WWE Champion and the top heel on Smackdown.

I think it's for Del Rio where he is have a him mid-card for a little while, have him win a championship along the way, have him lose it and then once he becomes recognized have him go for the title.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I can see why someone would ask this question. Del Rio's huge push during his time on Smackdown was something unreal. He had a lengthy feud with Rey Mysterio, he put Christian on the shelf, he won the first ever forty man Royal Rumble, and he wrestled Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania. Del Rio was being pushed as the next big thing, but his push has cooled off on Monday Night Raw. This feud with Big Show is still in the early stages, and it's going to take some time to develop, so we can't critique it too much just yet.

I do think Del Rio has all the tools to become a main event worthy heel. He has tons of charisma, and he plays the snobby rich guy role to perfection. Also, Ricardo is awesome as a sidekick/personal ring announcer, and this is a good bonus for Del Rio.

I think Del Rio has the tools, and I think he is "there", but Raw is pretty stacked. R-Truth is receiving a tremendous push right now, John Cena will ALWAYS receive a good amount of spotlight, especially when he's the WWE Champion, and the obvious upcoming Miz VS Alex Riley feud should take up a good amount of time also. Del Rio might have to wait at the back of the line for a while, because Raw is loaded with material.

 

[JGlass]

Del Rio definitely isn't there yet in terms of character. I think he's about as good as he's going to get in the ring, and he's already put on pretty good matches with Edge, Kofi, and Christian.

In my opinion, Del Rio needs to go darker, MUCH darker. While having Del Rio go the Ric Flair route would definitely be a great tool to get him over, I just don't think he has the charisma that Ric Flair had that got him so over in the first place. Therefore, the only alternative I see is to make Del Rio into an absolutely despicable character.

Have him continue being jolly ol' Alberto for a month or two, have him go on a winning streak, pair him up with a hot valet/girlfriend (Rosa Mendes is available, and if not her they have 4 NXT divas and a handful of Tough Enough divas that could play the part), and give him a title shot.

After he loses the match at the PPV, he'll skid into a cold streak. At first he'll lose to guys like Rey Mysterio, guys that he hates losing to but are still great competitors. After a few weeks he'll wind up losing to a Chris Masters or Evan Bourne type, someone who he should beat. That's when he totally snaps. He'll tell Ricardo Rodriguez that he's going to fire him if Ricardo doesn't beg, and proceeds to make Ricardo humiliate himself in front of the crowd, only to kick him in the face and then brutally beat him down. A few weeks later, he'll slap his valet/girlfriend, thus turning him into a total monster in the eyes of the audience. She can stay or leave, it doesn't really matter, all that matters is that Del Rio loses the smile and wink, the jokes and the laughing. He'll have gone through a total character transformation, and it'll be one that forces him into a lengthy main event stay.

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

I think he's there and has been there since his debut. The only thing I have to complain about is that he shouldn't have been drafted to RAW. He's been lost in the mix for a few weeks, but if what I've been reading is true about him going up against Cena at SummerSlam then I am wrong.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Nah. I don't think he is "there" yet.

For starters, for such a big deal in Mexico, the guy really comes across as someone that the WWE is trying REALLY hard to make seem like a big deal. Elaborate entrance? Check. Ear catching music? Check. Goons to get him heat? Check. Having at least a 10 minute promo every week and in most cases, a match? Check. Rocket strapped to his ass? Oh if that ain't a check..

In the ring, I don't think he is very exciting. He really doesn't do anything that makes me notice what he is doing. He has a nifty enzugri he does and his arm bar has been put over like being shot to the arm, but nothing is really standout imo.

In his promos, he has little to no variation. I am not talking about the actual content (tho I could easily argue that), it is the fact that if you have seen one Del Rio promo, it just feels like the one the week before that. He prattles on for like 10 minutes before physicality stars, in which he is more likely to end with the upper hand.

In his feuds, he has gone through a carousel of "popular" guys: Rey, Kofi, Edge, and now the Big Show. He hasn't even been around for a year and has had that many feuds. =/


I dunno. The guy just doesn't feel like a big deal to me. I feel the same way about the Miz. Like just seems really forced. Like the WWE is going "HEY! BOO THIS MAN!! PLEASE!! JUST BOO!! WE PROMISE HE IS GOOD!!!" but there really isn't much going on. I don't think he has 'loads of charisma' like a lot of other people claim because it has taken him a really long time (compared to his push) to catch on with the fans.. And even if he is getting a reaction is questionable some nights.

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

No, he'll be there when WWE starts flying him around in Jets, giving him private hotels, and has at least a 1million dollar contract.

Quite frankly, I like many others have been bored by him lately... there is a whole slew of guys I'd rather watch than him. But I love me some Ricardo Rodrigeuz.

Del Rio should go through a phase much like Cody Rhodes did... Del Rio could put all his money and cars on the line for a title shot, since it is his destiny... then he should lose and lose everything. Sending him into a different depressed and dark state of mind like Cody Rhodes is in.... He can come out with torn clothes, messy hair, even an old piece of shit car.... Ricardo could start ring announcing for Sin Cara (only til Del Rio rebounded), since Del Rio wouldn't be able to pay Ricardo anymore and it would be just kind of funny. Even have Del Rio go on a bit of a losing streak and a slump...

^^^^^^^ That would defiantly make me a lot more interested in his character. Now eventually he'll win the title and get his money back and become ALBBERRRTTTTTOOOOOO DELLLLL RIIIIOOOOOOOOO again.

Thoughts on my idea?

 

[HorsemenNo4]

Like many people are saying on here, Del Rio isn't 'there yet.'

The move to RAW has really slowed down his push and it's clear they don't know what to do with him. They put him in a feud with Big Show? It's a bizarre move. If Del Rio goes over Big Show, it won't elevate him that much. He'll probably get into the main event picture but still look weak. If Big Show goes over Del Rio, it will seriously hurt his push. I like Big Show and all but I don't like when he's a face feuding with heels.

Del Rio was on his way but WWE clotheslined him and said, not yet.

p.s. I still love Del Rio's segments but it takes 2 to tango. Big Show isn't the person to dance with to put yourself in a better spot.

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

Del Rio was on his way but WWE clotheslined him and said, not yet.

And right fully so... I don't think Del Rio should be World Champ yet... there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many other deserving guys on the roster than him... he's not that great that he should have had a World Title over some of the other guys that are in the company.

Personally he shouldn't have even won the Royal Rumble... I would have been happier if Santino won it.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Heck, if he wants to stick with his current path, why not do what Ric Flair did?

When you come down to it, Ric Flair is exactly who he's doing. A person would be mistaken to think of Del Rio as a New Age performer. Actually, he's old-school, both in gimmick and wrestling style, and that's one of the things I like so much about him.

Guys like Ric Flair and Randy Savage followed the example of their prototype: Gorgeous George. All of them played the flamboyant bad guy, a guy whose mat skills you were forced to admire even though you wanted to see them get the crap beat out of them because of the way they flaunted their stuff.

Del Rio is heir to these men. There's nothing modern about the way he wrestles, and it's only his kayfabe attempts at injuring opponents that makes us "hate" him. That, and his phony friendliness. Instead of the ring robes worn by the other three, Del Rio uses fancy cars, but it's the same thing. He's a classic bad guy and does the role very well.

And yes, I think he's made it. He's doing what he was brought here to do. He is built to be a headliner, but only on an occasional basis. Creative can't constantly keep Del Rio in the forefront; his act would wear thin if he was main eventing every week. But we'll be seeing more of his dastardly deeds..... he's too good to settle for less.

 

[red ass skull muhfukkah]

If he was on SmackDown! still I would say he was "there" but he's not "there" on RAW. If he was still on SD! he would probably be feuding with Orton because there aren't really any other top heels over there. It has Sheamus but I think Del Rio gets more heat and now Christian but I doubt he would have been needed as a heel if Del Rio was there.

But now that he's on RAW where there are 3 other guys who are better heels than him he's relegated to a feud with Show until he's proven he can deliver under RAW's bright lights. But in all honesty his feud with Show could be very good thing in the end. Show is still over with the fans as a face, he's a veteran, and he's still 7 feet 500 pounds. If Del Rio overcomes all of that and comes out on top, it adds another layer of credibility.

The main thing is I think WWE knows they pulled the trigger to early on Del Rio and thought he was ready to be a top heel on RAW just because he was a top heel on SD!, we all know there is a huge difference. I say let this feud with Show go past Capitol Punishment and maybe the PPV after and then put Del Rio in a feud with Rey for Summer Slam. How well he does against Show and Rey should show that he's ready for a Main Event push again.

 

[MKvsDC]

Alberto Del Rio has come a long way, and the fact that he is being built up before he actually gets a main event spot is what I like (unlike Shaemus). I think his time is coming soon, glad to know it's not being rushed. And for those of you who think the Raw draft screwed him up, he's been on Raw television for months before he was officially drafted. To me, he was already a RAW superstar.

 

[Daniel]

Define "there". Is he world championship material? Absolutely. Everyone wouldn't have been so shocked when Christian won at Extreme Rules if he wasn't. He could win the WWE Championship tomorrow and it would seem right. But I understand that he could do with that "something". And I think that that "something" is heat.

When cutting promos (which is all he seems to do recently), he doesn't get a great reaction. He didn't on SmackDown, but it's been worse on Raw. Drafting him to the A-show just wasn't quite right for him. There are already three established heels on Raw who I would rather watch. For a viewer, that means that the heel situation on Raw is awesome. But if you are one of those four Superstars fighting for heel primacy, it's not awesome. Because - as inevitable as being sent explicit images by Anthony Weiner - someone is going to have to draw the short straw and feud with the Big Show. No one wants to do that. It's a long fruitless ordeal where no one comes off looking any better. While drafting him to Raw was bad, having him feud with the Big Show is even worse. We'll see exactly what happened with CM Punk. He gets squashed repeatedly and gains nothing.

So yeah, heat. It's all he needs. But with the way he's going, he's not going to get it any time soon.

 

[Charismatic_Enigma]

When you come down to it, Ric Flair is exactly who he's doing. A person would be mistaken to think of Del Rio as a New Age performer.

I always found he was pushing to be the next JBL, the way he acts, his build, his constant use of the word destiny, the entrances. But then again JBL was sorta playing the part of Ric Flair as well, so there is a connection there.

But you raise a great point, his style in the ring is really old school, even his look has that old school wrestling feel to it.

And another good point about him Main Eventing each week, it's on of the reasons that many other WWE Superstars that have been main eventing week after week after week for years have got old, tired and really stale.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I hate to use the same clichés as him, but his destiny seems to be a world champion. He has the look, can wrestle and can talk, but the fans just haven't quite bought into him yet. The good thing about him being on SmackDown was that the lack of reaction he got could be disguised through canned sound, on RAW he's live and the lack of heat is very noticeable. Del Rio needs to get a way to connect with the RAW audience as a villain and then he will have that spot waiting for him on RAW as the star heel. How he does it is something else. He could turn dark, having him injure people and simply dominating the roster whilst using his influence and power to corrupt and destroy people. Or he could turn into "Million Dollar Man" version 3.0 (assuming we use JBL as 2.0) and simply wheel out some very dastardly deeds such as humiliating people for money. There are a few ways to do it, but they need to give Del Rio something for him to get to that next stage and be the top dog on RAW.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I have to laugh when I hear that moving from Smackdown is what hurt him. There may be some truth to that, but I see it more like he was exposed rather than damaged. The heat he got on Smackdown was all fake. I said that months ago when I went to a Smackdown taping and he got fucking crickets upon his entrance. Him moving to Raw exposed that as it's a live program and now everyone sees what I've been saying for months; despite the IWC's love of everything heel, he is NOT over. No matter how good you think his promos are or how good you think he is in the ring, if the crowd doesn't care, he's not there.

Personally, I just see a upper mid carder in Del Rio anyway. I don't see this superstar everyone else does, I just see another run of the mill heel. His in ring stuff is solid, no doubt about that, but his character is just bland and unoriginal. Seriously, what is he doing that Flair or JBL didn't do 10x better? His only real redeeming quality is his facial expressions which, admittedly, are top notch. But there's more to being a good character than that.

So no, I don't think he's there yet. He needs a lot more character development before he can really get to the top of the card.

 

[Charismatic_Enigma]

I hate to use the same clichés as him, but his destiny seems to be a world champion. He has the look, can wrestle and can talk, but the fans just haven't quite bought into him yet. The good thing about him being on SmackDown was that the lack of reaction he got could be disguised through canned sound, on RAW he's live and the lack of heat is very noticeable. Del Rio needs to get a way to connect with the RAW audience as a villain and then he will have that spot waiting for him on RAW as the star heel. How he does it is something else. He could turn dark, having him injure people and simply dominating the roster whilst using his influence and power to corrupt and destroy people. Or he could turn into "Million Dollar Man" version 3.0 (assuming we use JBL as 2.0) and simply wheel out some very dastardly deeds such as humiliating people for money. There are a few ways to do it, but they need to give Del Rio something for him to get to that next stage and be the top dog on RAW.

I like the dark turning idea that has been brought up quite a bit in this thread. Would be a nice change paying people to do his dirty work for him. Instead of just using Ricardo week after week, because that doesn't seem to get him anywhere if anything, I think Richardo might be holding him back, seems like every title match that Rio goes into, Richardo interferes and then next thing you know he loses, even Brodus Clay couldn't really do very much. If anything have Rio start a stable like JBL "Cabinet" or Edge's "La Familia" both of which worked out very well and helped push both stars as dominate heels.

And I like how you bring up Ted DiBiase Sr., because what about Ted DiBiase Jr.? He has that I'll do anything for money attitude why not let Rio play on that, it would give a decent push to DiBiase, and build up Rio. Then again by doing so that would make him appear way to much like Ted DiBiase Sr., and would remind people too much of him, but I suppose that could be a good and bad thing.

 

[Notorious718]

I'm sure Del Rio will get "there" once his feud with Big Show is done. I initially thought that they were going in the right direction by having Bug Show injured but after that horrible segment Del Rio had on RAW, I'm starting to have second thoughts on his current feud. I'm guessing since Punk is busy with Rey and Truth is busy with Cena, Del Rio has been put on the backburner for now. I think after Capitol Punishment and by Summerslam at the latest, Del Rio can cement himself as RAW's top heel like he was on Smackdown by feuding with the top dog Cena. That's what made him such a big deal on Smackdown, getting the rub from then top dog Edge. Del Rio hasn't quite reached his full potential on RAW yet since he's being overshadowed by R-Truth at the moment (never thought I'd say that) but I'm sure he'll get there at some point during the summer.