Grade The Wrestler a Year Later: Alberto Del Rio

[Midnite Express 2009]

Hi everyone. This is my 2nd installment on "Grade The Wrestler". Today I'm talking about Alberto Del Rio and asking everyone to grade his overall performance since he's arrived in WWE a little over a year ago.

Since arriving in the company on the June 25, 2010 edition of SmackDown via video promos, Alberto has been a fixture on both SmackDown and Raw, initiating a feud to begin his WWE career with Rey Mysterio, which is still off and on a year later. Alberto was red hot when he first arrived, coming out in his fancy cars and trademark scarfs to the ring by the announcing of Ricardo Rodriguez. In his first match in the company, he made Rey Mysterio tap out to his Cross Armbar Submission and went onto have a very successful string of victories under his belt leading up to his representing Team SmackDown against Raw at Bragging Rights in October. His team would go on to lose against Team Raw, headed by C.M. Punk, but before he was eliminated Del Rio attacked Rey, keeping their feud going. Again he was able to be captain of a team, this time his own, at Survivor Series facing off against Rey Mysterio's team. His team lost once again, even though Del Rio himself never was actually eliminated from the match, instead he was knocked out by The Big Show and was carried out that way.

Fast forward to The Royal Rumble where he was one of the odds on favorites to win, which he did, choosing to face Edge at WrestleMania XXVII for the World Heavyweight Championship. Surprisingly he did not win, nor did he win the title against Christian at Extreme Rules the following month in a Ladder Match. Alberto was moved to Raw on April 25 during the Draft Lottery where he's been in a current feud with The Big Show after running over his leg with his car. Alberto is still in the title picture, recently winning a Number One Contender's Match last week on Raw against Mysterio and R-Truth, however with the lifted suspension of Punk, it's up in the air on whether or not Alberto Del Rio will get his title shot sooner rather than later.

Del Rio is one of the best wrestlers to not have held a single title in the company as of yet. Does this say something about the way he's being booked, or are the company brass just waiting for him to get the big title? Do you think Alberto has lived up to the hype, has he stalled off, or is he at the same level he was when he first arrived? And would you say his chances are good or bad on seeing Alberto as either the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion at some point before the end of the year? Give a letter grade & tell me why. Thanks.

 

[Mindshatter]

B

The reason I wouldn't give him an A is because with the Big Show feud he has kind of been thrown into the wilderness as of late. He will get the title eventually but at the moment he has to wait for people like Truth and Punk to get out of the way.

 

[amazing_blue]

C

If you ask me, he was a lot more interesting when he made his debut and feuded with Rey Mysterio. Then he became even better when he won the Royal Rumble and had his feuds with Edge and Christian. But having him lose to Edge in the opening match of Wrestlemania really killed his momentum. He was surpassed by R-Truth not long after.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I agree with amazing_blue that it was really a horrible thing to have him lose a World title match in the opening bout of WrestleMania. I give him a B- because to me, there's just something about him overall. I mean I like him & all, but he's just not getting over as I think he should. I think they could do much better work with him.

 

[iwinulose]

i wouldnt give del rio that much credit, when he came he got lots of heat, yes he beat ray lots of times (not legit btw). i admit he did do good at the royal rumble but he lost to both edge and christain, with edge, the feud was unfortantly cut short with the ending of edges career. yes he had a decent feud with christain but i feel it could have went on for longer and that del rio could have done better. he beat big show and kane a couple times but only because mark henry went on a rampage, even more heat gone. yes he did become # 1 contender for cenas title, but that was short lived because punk was reinstated. honestly no i dont like del rio though i give him props for doing alot since he debuted. but i feel that he could be doing better, and that the wwe is ripping him off as of late.

 

[Blue Chipper]

A. I mean, since his arrival, he won Royal Rumble, got an important title shot at WM, and was involved in a plethora of moments. How much more can you ask of a young star? Just being in a title match at WM means a lot. That night, Jerry Lawler was in his first WM match, and he's been there for years. ADR got a title match that night.

He's been a serviceable heel so far, and has had quality matches. I'm sure he will be a main eventer one day.

His performance thus far deserves an A, considering how young he is.

 

[matthewchamilliard]

B-
I give him a B- because he had amazing momentum since his debut but then it came to a sudden stop now he's in a fued with big show yet he needs to be in a fued with john cena. I don't think he's gonna win the raw MITB because next month is summer slam and I think he needs to be in the wwe title match not holding a breifcase i would rather see R-Truth or The Miz win the MITB and have Alberto in the title picture for a couple months

 

[Peep]

B

He's had some ups and downs. Right now, he feels down.

In retrospect, I question whether or not sending him to Raw was the smart move.

If he was still on SD!, him and Orton would be the main event right now. Christian probably wouldn't have turned and he'd be in a mid card feud with someone like Sheamus at the moment.

Del Rio's biggest problem on Raw is that there is no one to compliment him. Yes there's Rey, but that pairing has been beaten to death. The next best thing is the Big Show. The lack of another major face to feud with is killing him right now. But as things stand, he'll be the next #1 contender once Punk really does walk out the door.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprise to see him bring down the red case in Chicago and cash in on either Cena or Punk to end the Money In The Bank PPV.

 

[Vincent Michaels]

Truthfully, when his vignettes started airing I thought he was just gonna end up as a cheap midcarder that would have a fued or two and be gone within six months. I was sick of them after a few weeks, and I mean REALLY sick. My thoughts were "just debut this guy already so he can end up as the next Eric Escobar." But then he debuted and targeted one of SmackDown's top main eventers in Rey Mysterio. I still didn't like him though apart from his look and thought his first match would be a quick workout for Rey. But then the match happened, he showed what he could bring to the table, got a clean win over Rey, and I was really hooked as a fan.

Over the next few months he kept fueding with Rey and a few other midcarders before fully reigniting his fued with Rey and entering his first World Title match at TLC, during which he was actually my darkhorse to win. Now of course he had little to no chance, but hey, anything can happen. He ends his fued with Rey, starting his whole "Destiny" thing about winning The Rumble, and my only thoughts were either he would win it or pull a Santino and end up getting dumped in a few seconds. Of course he won which was a great step up for him and he stayed in the midcard a little more before feuding full time with Edge & Christian in the main event, which included a few great matches with each of them before ultimately moving to Raw after failing to beat either of them for The World Title, which I will admit has slowed down his momentum quite a bit, but he's still having good matches so I'm confident he'll be heading up on the card sooner than later.

So overall, I'd have to give somewhere in the range from a B+ to an A-.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Del Rio had a quick rise to the top after having only been in the WWE for a year. He immediately was put into feuds with Rey and Christian who put him over. I enjoyed seeing him climb up the card so fast. Then he won the so called "biggest oyal Rumble ever" to earn the right to job to Edge in the opening match of Wrestlemania. He then lost to Christian in a world title feud, got sent to Raw, and has done next to nothing. I still have high hopes for Del Rio and WWE likely do too. Even though there were some moments of disappointment, I give him a grade of a B+ because he had a great first year full of high profile feuds and is already a main event level heel. That first world title should be right around the corner.


B+

 

[Schwing]

Yes, I agree with most of what has been said already. I agree somewhat with Vincent Michaels as I too thought Del Rio would hover around the upper Mid Card, having feuds with the likes of Cody, Bryan and The Corre before capturing the IC/US title. From there, I'd have expected him to perhaps have a ME push toward the end of this year or the start of next year. For him to have a push almost immediately has to earn him a somewhat high mark.

Winning the Rumble, Main Eventing Wrestlemania and Extreme Rules have certainly pushed him up there as one of the WWE's top hot properties right now. I personally like his look, his gimmick. He is confident and comfortable on the mic and I really love his catchphrases being just spoken rather than playing the sing along with the crowd catchphrases like most guys do. It reminds me of Jericho's latest heel persona; he too would rhyme off catchphrases like calling fans Tapeworms, or The Best in the World... He just fit them in. In fact, it's nothing like that... it has similarities. I know what I'm trying to say.

What lets him down in my opinion is he just isn't memorable. Sure, he's entertaining enough to watch. I really like the Armbar as a finishing move but he's not done anything I can see myself watching back on Youtube in 5 - 10 years time. As comfortable as he is on the Mic, I don't think he's capable of hitting a promo that makes us sit, watch and listen like Jericho, Triple H, The Rock, Foley, Cena, Austin, The Miz and, of course, CM Punk can do. His storylines so far have been dull and predictable. His biggest, most shocking thing of merit has to be running over Big Show and I'm sad to say that anything to do with the Big Show in the last 4 years has been completely forgotten within weeks of it happening.

I don't know what the future holds for Del Rio. I know I like him and will pay attention to see what he can achieve in the next 12 months but I don't think he's the right man to win MITB. It cheapens his Destiny schtick. A win via a MITB cash in automatically makes their first 2-3 title defences all about proving he's not a fluke, paper champion. They did it with Miz and Swagger last year. They did it with Edge and Punk and RVD all the other times. It's bland and not something Del Rio needs.

For this year, I'll give Del Rio a B+. He didn't do anything wrong but he needs to work on going that extra mile.

 

[TheCrusher]

B
This is a guy who has been very serviceable, but needs a defining moment. Like Schwing just said, what has he done that we'll want to revisit 5-10 years from now?
I'd really like to see him get in a feud with someone like Christian. Weird and creative stuff happens around Christian, and ADR could play a straight-faced heel while Christian does his classical bag of tricks to him. Just watching ADR get more and more frustrated as this crazy man haunts him could be a lot of fun, and could provide him with his memorable moment he needs to get over. I think the refined ADR character could--Caddyshack reference coming, become Judge Smails to Christian's Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield character.)
Plus, the Christian/Orton stuff is about ready to blow off and I'm not sure if they are going with a Christian/Sheamus feud or not. The thing about Christian/Orton/Sheamus is there all pretty crazy characters on their own, the former being violent psychos and the latter being a trickster. They don't need to put all three crazies together long term.

 

[H33LTurn]

C+

He was really promising when he came in and dont get me wrong, he still is. The thing is that a guy who was in a world title match at Wrestlemania and before that, terrorized the entire WWE roster, is now practically doing nothing. Hes just came off losing a rivalry to Big Show, something that cant really help Show since he's still over with the crowd anyway. If WWE knew he was going to lose so much steam the they should've kept him on SD. He was already a big star, he could've easily taken Edge's spot. He could've continued his program with Christian, a program people actually cared about unlike the Orton/Christian one going on now.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

C+

He was really promising when he came in and dont get me wrong, he still is. The thing is that a guy who was in a world title match at Wrestlemania and before that, terrorized the entire WWE roster, is now practically doing nothing. Hes just came off losing a rivalry to Big Show, something that cant really help Show since he's still over with the crowd anyway. If WWE knew he was going to lose so much steam the they should've kept him on SD. He was already a big star, he could've easily taken Edge's spot. He could've continued his program with Christian, a program people actually cared about unlike the Orton/Christian one going on now.

Explain to me how exactly did he lose that rivalry to the Big Show. Alberto got the win when Big Show couldn't hold up with that injured knee at Capitol Punishment and interference from Henry allowed Del Rio to win that cage match. That isn't "losing" to me.

Alberto Del Rio is good in the ring but that's about it for me. His feud with Edge was lackluster as are most things considering Edge and I wish he would do more with his gimmick as being a rich Mexican aristocrat. His mic work isn't something to marvel about either. Overall, I'll give him a C.

 

[Sully]

Remember Jack Swagger? He was loved by the IWC, he got a push from the WWE, won the MITB, had a world title reign. Where is he at now? Oh yeah, the mid card where he belongs. Swagger's character consists of nothing but an Oklahoma homeboy with a lisp. Plus, I just dislike his body style and move-set, they seem too clumsy and in the way.

As for Del Rio, I'll admit, he has a little more potential than Swagger, but I still think he'll end up in the same place, the mid card graveyard. WWE will try to push him, and the will most likely fail, resulting in Del Rio dropping off the face of the earth. I don't understand why WWE pushes guys like this so fast, Del Rio's Rumble win did nothing but ruin his chances of becoming a main event, and that fantastic ten minute match he competed at Wrestlemania in, proved that.

Although I do feel Alberto Del Rio does have a lot of potential, given the good gimmick, background story, and move set, Del Rio has the potential to actually do something with his character, and he could be world champion by next year, I wouldn't like it because I'm a mark and don't like his character, but I feel WWE will not fail this time while pushing Del Rio, or at least not too soon.

I give Del Rio a.....B-

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Nothing he does stands out. In the ring, he is forgettable and really only has one move that is built up with any importance (the arm bar thingy). He hasn't had any really memorable matches, and the ones people list are ones that were a result of his push (aka title matches). On the mic, he comes across as uncharismatic and repetitive. All of his promos blend together because all he does is prattle on about destiny. His character is just the run of the mill "Money Bags" gimmick, but he hasn't done much to own it as good as other people on the roster has owned their generic gimmicks. The worst part is that they actually have pushed him like he is interesting and innovative. The fans didn't care a year ago and they barely care now.

Guess I will be the combo breaker and give this guy a D.

 

[StraightEdgeRevenge]

When he debuted I hated everything about the guy. Are we really supposed to buy into him being a spanish aristocrat who wants to wrestle for WWE? lame. Spanish aristrocrat vs the working class hero? Super lame. Now we are supposed to believe that rey mysterio works a normal job like the rest of us and doesn't have bucket loads of cash. Lame. My name....is..albert del RIOOOOOOOOOOOO. Screaming that at people and then going but you already know that...is Awesome. i give him an A-. He's good the wwe writers are just so so lame.

 

[The Future Rises]

I'd give him a B+

He's talented alright, and he's.. well good on the mic, but his problem is that I don't think he's over with the crowd just yet, and his gimmick is.. well not complete and we've seen it done much better in the past to be honest.. he needs more to it, so with his two flaws I'll go with a B+.