Is Alberto Del Rio the new Eddie Guerrero?

[CM Steel]

We were due for this thread ever since the WWE has been looking for the next hispanic superstar to be the next top draw.

And they have chosen Alberto Del Rio as their new top WWE superstar of latin descent. Smackdown has a large hispanic demographic as we all know. But does race really play a part in who watch's WWE Smackdown little alone any WWE show? Post the brand-split Alberto Del Rio is the top superstar on the Smackdown brand. Kind of like another wrestler of latin decent, the late great Eddie Guerrero.

From 2004 to his death "latino heat" Eddie Guerrero was a top name not only on the Smackdown brand but in the WWE period. He passed away on top of his legendary wrestling career spanning over twenty years at that time. Both Eddie Guerrero and Alberto Del Rio are second-generation wrestling stars from two legendary wrestling families. But it looks if Alberto Del Rio has gotten the bigger push between the two in the WWE.

There is no comparing these two next generation stars don't get me wrong! But do you think that Alberto Del Rio is the new or next Eddie Guerrero? Because not just anybody can replace the late great latino legend, may he rest in peace.

 

[Broski_of_the_week]

No hes not. Like you just said at the end of your post 'there is no comparing these two' but then you ask if ADR is the new or next Eddie?

In todays WWE, everybody has to be 'the new' somebody else, I think if this was honestly the only way Vince and co saw things then they may as well just show re-runs of the attitude era instead of filming hours upon hours of new material each week. In regard to ADR and Eddie, Yes ADR is from Mexico, Yes WWE like to have a marketable character from that region high up on the roster because of mexicos wrestling history, but no that doesnt mean that they are all the next eddie guerrero.

The only reason you seem to raise for saying that hes the new Eddie is because hes Latin and on Smackdown. I may be wrong here cause Im not from America or Mexico but isnt Smackdown proven to be the more watched WWE show in the Latin American communities? Pretty sure Ive seen that before, so this is why both big latin stars have been put on that show. Doesnt mean they are similar characters or wrestlers or anything apart from two mexicans from the same tv show.

 

[TheBadGuy92]

Heres my theory, When Eddie was on smackdown, smackdown was televised on local television. Most mexican families couldnt afford cable. So they were forced to watch only smackdown and you know a mexican will only root for another mexican. Now smackdown is on cable and Del Rio is having trouble getting over. Coincidence? I think not.

 

[mrfantastic111]

If you watched Raw and Smackdown this week you can tell that they're turning ADR into Eddie 2.0. He attacked Show in his hotel room comedically with a fire extinguisher, he was telling mexican food jokes etc, and then on Smackdown he stole the wheels from Shows tour bus and threw paint onto him. They're giving him a Mexican trouble maker gimmick. It's definitely not exactly the same as Eddie's gimmick, but they're trying to get as close as possible. Honestly I think that it works though, his new character changes have made his feud with Show really entertaining so far.

 

[I Heart Cena]

Heres my theory, When Eddie was on smackdown, smackdown was televised on local television. Most mexican families couldnt afford cable. So they were forced to watch only smackdown and you know a mexican will only root for another mexican. Now smackdown is on cable and Del Rio is having trouble getting over. Coincidence? I think not.

The percentage of Mexican families with cable is roughly equal to that of white families with cable. So your theory is wrong.

There is potential for Albert The River's. I doubt he will surpass Eddie, but who knows. It is worth it to tune in to find out.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I liked Guerrero but I do believe that his greatness has been blown out of proportion. Whenever a wrestler from the 70s through the 00s passes away or whenever a modern wrestler is compared to any of those wrestlers, a lot of the IWC comes out of the woodwork to kiss the ass of the old school wrestler & scorn the comparison to the younger guy.

As I said, I was a fan of Eddie Guerrero but he was never really the big Latino draw that some have retroactively made him out to be. He was great to watch in the ring and his promos, sometimes, had their moments when he wasn't behaving like an outdated Mexican stereotype. Del Rio is someone that's had his moments as well. Most people would probably say that he's not as good as Guerrero. From an overall perspective, I don't believe he was, but Guerrero wasn't so far & above Del Rio in talent that a comparison is silly.

Does race play a role in television shows? Sure, to some degree. For instance, why do you think there's a network called BET, Black Entertainment Television, that caters almost entirely to black audiences? The network features movies starring black actors or actresses or the cast is predominantly black. They feature television shows in which the cast is mostly or entirely black, award ceremonies like the NAACP awards, etc. And, surprise surprise, BET has the largest demographic of black viewers of any other network on television. WWE has its television programs airing in Latin countries like Mexico, so it's natural for them to want to feature Mexican wrestlers in prominent places on the roster as a means of helping draw more Mexican viewers.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The only similarity between Alberto Del Rio and Eddie Guerrero is nationality. Outside that, Eddie displayed the same personal characteristics whether playing a good guy or bad guy. The "lie, cheat, steal" stuff transcended everything in his act. In fact, those three negatives made him more lovable as a face than a heel, which is quite a trick, when you think about it. When he morphed from bad to good, he didn't change his wrestling style one bit; it's just that he was cheered instead of booed, largely because he was matched against heels, rather than faces.

Del Rio changed personality overnight, an illogical occurrence if there ever was one. And, unlike Eddie, when ADR became a good guy, every-damn-thing about him changed, too......except his in-ring repertoire. He started treating everyone better; the fans, his tag team partners, Ricardo Rodriguez. Suddenly, ADR was a paragon of virtue.....and we never knew what in hell caused it.

I've enjoyed ADR's tenure in WWE, but in no way does it make him like Eddie Guerrero.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

I have been really impresed with Del Rios recent face work but he is not and would never be Eddie. Eddie had charisma, Del Rio couldnt go over with one of the most simple gimmick in wrestling(rich guy). He is in-ring good but he had chance after chance and still not get that over...

As for Spanish demographics, it is really important to WWE. If it isnt we wouldnt have Spanish announce table. So they always try to build some "latino" that would be draw.

 

[Cvaldezjr04]

Heres my theory, When Eddie was on smackdown, smackdown was televised on local television. Most mexican families couldnt afford cable. So they were forced to watch only smackdown and you know a mexican will only root for another mexican. Now smackdown is on cable and Del Rio is having trouble getting over. Coincidence? I think not.

Wow really? Mexicans can't afford cable? Are you an idiot! I bet more Mexicans can afford cable than white folk, the few who work and the millions of white people that depend on the government to feed them and pay their rent. We work for what we have I don't know where you got that stupid theory. I have a ton of Mexicans friends and family and they all have cable, cars newer than 2008, paying their own houses. So please elaborate on how we can't afford cable dipsh¡t. Otherwise you're coming off as an unintelligent pissed off redneck.

So now to answer the OP. no, adr is not the next Eddie. He's the first adr and he's doing well.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

Ummmm, no. ADR will have to be around for a while before any comparison could be brought up.

Eddie's impact in wrestling is glamorized. He was a mid-card guy that got very weak push as champ. Face facts, they booked it so that it took Goldberg for him to beat Brock, and he rarely won clean. He was Honky Tonk Man with a better move set. People remember Eddie far more fondly than the reality was.

I don't think Eddie ever got a top bill match on PPV, and I don't think he deserved it even if he had. He made for a feel good story, yes. Him and Benoit hugging at the end of Mania was a great moment.

The potential for ADR, I believe, is much greater given the landscape of the E right now than Eddie's was.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

JESUS fuck!! Bestill my beating heart. My captain crunch is ALL OVER THE GODDAMN FLOOR now because of you, I hope you are fucking happy.

Alberto Del Rio and his paint by numbers matches and floppy dick nose couldnt get people t care about him they way they cared about Eddie Guerrero if he was the only man capable of flying a battle space ship to fight off an alien invasion of earth.... Like, in real life.(fuck, the way WWE books him, I wouldnt be surpirsed if that was his next big angle. Making the space aliens all tap out to the cross armbreaker lock in under three minutes)

In the future, I would suggest you say no to drugs.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

I don't know why people are so taken aback by Alberto Del Rio being good as a face... He spent the vast majority of his career in Mexico working as a babyface. But Eddie Guerrero he is not. He doesn't have the charisma, wrestling psychology, or lineage that Eddie had. Del Rio has still dug out a decent niche for himself with the Mexican-American crowds but aside from being from Mexico and driving a car to the ring as a heel there are no similarities between the two.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Heres my theory, When Eddie was on smackdown, smackdown was televised on local television. Most mexican families couldnt afford cable. So they were forced to watch only smackdown and you know a mexican will only root for another mexican. Now smackdown is on cable and Del Rio is having trouble getting over. Coincidence? I think not.

Intended or not, the blatant racism in this comment made me laugh.

Now for the topic...
Yes both are mexican legends from Mexico's two most famous wrestling families, and both made the upper-card for the WWE, beyond that I see few other reasons to compare them.

To be fair Eddie did at times drive a car to the ring, but it was a lowrider. Eddie's gimmick was a very southern California, Mexican-machismo, lowrider, latin-lover stereotype.

Alberto as a heel was also a stereotype, but not one that we have seen used for a Mexican star. The rich aristocrat character was an outside-the-box gimmick for a luchador in the WWE.

Since the face turn, Del Rio's gimmick has become far less defined. It may take time to see where the WWE goes with it, but I doubt he regresses into the type of stereotypical Mex-American character that Eddie portrayed.

I will say that watching face Alberto work a match is far more enjoyable than watching heel Alberto work. So far I am more sold on the face version of Alberto than I ever suspected I would be, and I do think that he is starting to get over pretty well. It will be interesting to see how he and creative decide to advance his character going forward.

 

[The Crock]

Not even close. Del Rio's not even the top Hispanic draw -- Rey Mysterio still holds that mantle, regardless of the fact that he's nowhere near the level he was at his peak. Del Rio isn't bad, his face turn has done wonders in terms of making him more watchable, but he's still not scratching the level that Mysterio's on, or the late, great Eddie Guerrero was on. Sure, Del Rio's good in the ring -- he's crisp and clean -- but he doesn't have the charisma to be a top draw (admittedly, he's been better as a face, but his promos still aren't great), even to the Hispanic demographic. It's not as if he makes up for what he lacks in charisma with excitement in the ring either; he's formulaic and solid, but he's not blowing you away with any of that. There's nothing wrong with it -- even the greats have a repertoire that they stick to -- but I'm not going to care about Del Rio until he develops something that makes him stand out.

So, no -- he's not the "new Eddie Guerrero" and never will be, in all likelihood. Eddie was brilliant in the ring, fun on the mic, and genuinely drew you in as a viewer; Eddie had what very few performers have ever had and will ever had. Honestly, it's unfair to Del Rio to compare him to Eddie. Del Rio's good, but let's not thrust him to this level until he earns it.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Heres my theory, When Eddie was on smackdown, smackdown was televised on local television. Most mexican families couldnt afford cable. So they were forced to watch only smackdown and you know a mexican will only root for another mexican. Now smackdown is on cable and Del Rio is having trouble getting over. Coincidence? I think not.

It's not just Mexicans and Latinos cheering for Eddie Guerrero. He was way over despite your ethnicity. Simply because Guerrero was a great talent and a veteran that could work a great match and delivery some great promos.

The real reason Del Rio is not that over as a face yet is because simply is not yet over, give him a good program to work as a face and he will get over as a face. Problem is there isn't a top heel on Smackdown or RAW that Del Rio could work with. Maybe a heel Mysterio? Or how about a Heel Orton. Also he needs to work double time on his mic work his character is a rich Mexican aristocrat he needs to find a way to convince fans to cheer for him with a usually heelish gimmick.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Oh boy, didn't take long for the casual racism cos ADR got a face push...

You're trying to compare two different workers from different eras with two different stories and shoehorning them into the tiniest band of "They're both Latino/Mexican, so that audience has to love them and that's why they're important..."

Forget WWE Champ Eddie... that was 18 months out of a 20 year career. Hard to do as that's the iconic and tragic image that went into the HOF. The Eddie you should be comparing was the face/heel Eddie of WCW, a lucha wrestler coming over to the US.

By the time Eddie got his main event push, he had been on the US scene exclusively for the best part of 10 years, adapting to gimmicks, the style of working and for much of that time, he didn't have a "character" other than being a member of the Guerrero family who had been over in Mexico due to his more TexMex roots making him a heel, teaming with Art Barr as Los Gringos Locos. Once he came to the US he was used by ECW and WCW as a "Star Cruiserweight" based on the name rather than using any charisma he had.

It was only when the LWO/Filthy Animals gimmick came that he really got his first "gimmick" per se and began to develop the charisma side of his game in the US. He was a "good hand" and had enough talent to gain push but was never intended in WCW to be pushed past the mid card, he would regularly hold a belt but US title was seen as his limit. He didn't have the marketability to deserve that World run they eventually gave to Benoit as a desperation move to keep him, and while many remember The Radicalz departure as being a watershed moment, in to WCW and Bischoff it was one "major loss" and three "money off the wage bill" releases.

Now, what Eddie (or more likely JR) did do well was sell to Vince ... I would have pitched the idea that the 4 hadn't been used right, that WCW hadn't used the latent charisma that was there from the early days of Los Gringos Locos in Eddies case, which had now matured with several more years experience in the ring and they would be getting, not a main eventer but a great mid-card talent with the experience to work with 90% of the roster off the bat. We'll never know what happened to make Vince say "ok" to Eddie, either as part of the gang or as an individual but it was not in his mind he'd ever headline Wrestlemania, nor that he would "be our route into the Latino fanbase".. indeed it was unlikely that he even thought Benoit would headline Mania either...

Indeed the best thing that ever happened to Eddie in some ways was that dislocated elbow in the first match. It forced creative to come up with another path rather than "just being a Radical" and Beniot's #2... They came up with the Latino Heat stuff and it went from there. Eddie was not a planned success, he was a fluke of the highest order. Had that elbow not gone, he would have been another Saturn-esque flop, had he not got into a car and gotten himself arrested, he wouldn't have sorted himself out long enough to get to anywhere near where he did but for many... his potential WAS met long before he won that World title - he was a classic case of a title being a reward rather than based on any market forces. A lot of people don't like to admit that cos the guy died tragically but compare him to even a Brian Pillman, who could have done more in the business as a whole and has been recognised less and Eddie doesn't come out as a "game changer" or even an "impact player", more a seasoned vet who had a great deal of good fortune and used what he had to make him more than he ever though he could or should have been.


Dos Caras Jr/ADR is a different type of animal and a different type of hire for WWE. Trips takes the credit but it was a no-brainer to know that ADR was not only insanely popular but also the closest of the lucha stars to the WWE mould. But more than that the man under the mask was fighting MMA (albiet not very successfully) thus had excellent technical wrestling skills and and ability to talk that few MMA and Lucha guys have - basically a total package, out of the box with only the "Titan Training" aspect of working with WWE and the right gimmick needed.

They hired ADR to be a main eventer, to headline shows like Wrestlemania within 2 years of his hire...and he did... the character they chose wasn't mind-blowing but it was enough to showcase not only the in-ring prowess but use his charisma in a realistic way. By using Ricardo as well it added an aura that ADR was never going to be "just a cruiser" or going for the lower belts. He was always on that World title path.

He is now in the situation where he gets to develop in the way Eddie did, but from the comfort of knowing that he is in the top 5 in the company and that he is not being seen as "a latino star for a specific audience" but as one of the elite stars that WWE is pushing around the world. WWE wants the whole world to love ADR, not just the latino audience and this is the early stages of that.

At the end of the day, Eddie was Eddie and ADR is ADR - now, there might well be another ADR somewhere down the line, indeed El Generico, Adrian Neville, there are a few who have clearly been hired on the same lines as ADR - ADR could easily be the new template for WWE's hiring policy when it comes to main event talent, and Eddie was never that, even at Wrestlemania 20...

 

[fenderjapan]

They are/were both hispanic main eventers on smackdown. Thats where the comparisons end.

Eddie was a 5'8" cruiserweight. Del Rio is 6'5".

Eddie was an underdog no one expected to be World Champ. Del Rio is a prototypical world champ...aside from the hispanic part. He is the exact size and build of guys that WWE pushes.

 

[UltimateHitman]

Wow really? Mexicans can't afford cable? Are you an idiot! I bet more Mexicans can afford cable than white folk, the few who work and the millions of white people that depend on the government to feed them and pay their rent. We work for what we have I don't know where you got that stupid theory. I have a ton of Mexicans friends and family and they all have cable, cars newer than 2008, paying their own houses. So please elaborate on how we can't afford cable dipsh¡t. Otherwise you're coming off as an unintelligent pissed off redneck.

So now to answer the OP. no, adr is not the next Eddie. He's the first adr and he's doing well.

Responding to racism with racism. Really f'n brilliant. That' why the country is in such a shit mess. News flash, all races suck and milk the government tit, so get off your fucking high horse.

Now, on to the actual subject. I really don't think you can compare the two as of yet, considering you're trying to compare one Latino WWE superstar who was in his prime after finding his niche and becoming beloved by the fans to another Latino superstar who hasn't been in WWE nearly as long and just recently turned face.

Those two elements cannot be compared. The comparison of two Mexican superstars who are/were placed in similar positions in the same company isn't such a far fetched comparison idea, but the level at which they're being compared is. It's like comparing a freshly signed rookie to Babe Ruth simply based on the fact they're both a bit pudgy and were born in Baltimore.

Fact is, we can't be comparing the two individual's careers yet because one of those individual's WWE career is still relatively in the beginning stage.

As far as gimmicks go, though, I don't think that just because Del Rio is doing one or two things that could be considered similar to what Eddie has done in the past that his character is like Eddie's. They are two different animals and, I believe, should be viewed as such in that regard.

 

[wrestlingfan]

The only similarity between Alberto Del Rio and Eddie Guerrero is nationality. Outside that, Eddie displayed the same personal characteristics whether playing a good guy or bad guy. The "lie, cheat, steal" stuff transcended everything in his act. In fact, those three negatives made him more lovable as a face than a heel, which is quite a trick, when you think about it. When he morphed from bad to good, he didn't change his wrestling style one bit; it's just that he was cheered instead of booed, largely because he was matched against heels, rather than faces.

Del Rio changed personality overnight, an illogical occurrence if there ever was one. And, unlike Eddie, when ADR became a good guy, every-damn-thing about him changed, too......except his in-ring repertoire. He started treating everyone better; the fans, his tag team partners, Ricardo Rodriguez. Suddenly, ADR was a paragon of virtue.....and we never knew what in hell caused it.

I've enjoyed ADR's tenure in WWE, but in no way does it make him like Eddie Guerrero.

This. The only person that I feel could've possibly been the new Eddie Guerrero is Carlito, and guy didn't have the booking or the passion to reach the levels Eddie had.

 

[Kylewait89]

With the antics he has gone on recently and the fact that he probably won't win as dirty as Eddie did. That was the appeal to him, he did things the wrong way but always to the bad guys until that feud with Rey where they had him turn into a bad guy.

Alberto is a big guy who can move a bit but he really would have to do something about his overall move set to keep up his level of being pushed. His antics are cute now but the IWC will get sick of it and complain after awhile.

 

[Kong]

No he is not. And so what if he was? The 10yr olds have never seen Eddie , so it would be new to them. I think if we all look back in the past, the time we fell in love with wrestling is when we were 10. For me it was 1984 and Hulk Hogan.

 

[GameOver]

other then they are both Mexican, and both drive cars to the ring, no.
Eddie was hilarious and far more talented in ring. Del Rio is a ground and pound player who can do a coupe of holds.

 

[lowandmighty]

No I don't think he's the new Eddie Guerrero. There will never be another Eddie, he was unique and for the record was a great character well before he was ever in wwe.

Alberto Del Rio is his own man and quite a refreshing character on the roster in my opinion. Although he cheated to beat Big Show I don't know if he will always go the cheating route, I mean how the fuck else do you beat Big Show?

Del Rio seems to be going for the hard workers hero persona and trying to come off as what they used to call a "wet back".
He didn't get a very good response from the crowd a few weeks ago so I'm worried that the fans won't give him a chance because of racism or whatever the reason but I hope they do because I'm liking Alberto more than I have any other wrestler for a long time. Whether he's heel or face, he's funny, charismatic, big and an ok in ring performer. All the things a proper star needs. I say good luck to him.

 

[GSM]

I find these kind of discussions silly simply because there can't be a new (Insert Name Here).

There have been people that emulate, imitate, copy or get inspired by certain wrestlers but that does make them a new version of that person.

But let's just presume that is possible, Alberto Del Rio is a Mexican wrestler who comes out with a car... that is the only resemblence I can see. Their moveset is as similar as any other luchadore's and they don't look alike.

 

[D-Man]

JESUS fuck!! Bestill my beating heart. My captain crunch is ALL OVER THE GODDAMN FLOOR now because of you, I hope you are fucking happy.

Alberto Del Rio and his paint by numbers matches and floppy dick nose couldnt get people t care about him they way they cared about Eddie Guerrero if he was the only man capable of flying a battle space ship to fight off an alien invasion of earth.... Like, in real life.(fuck, the way WWE books him, I wouldnt be surpirsed if that was his next big angle. Making the space aliens all tap out to the cross armbreaker lock in under three minutes)

In the future, I would suggest you say no to drugs.

My fellow NJX member has made me piss myself in laughter and probably covered my thought process on this but I'm going to add to it, anyway.

Mack, I'm not even going to read whatever asinine and ******ed explanation you have for a comparison between Del Rio and Eddie Guerrero. The only thing I thought of when I read your thread title was "Oh, suuuuuure... because they're both fucking Mexican, right?"

When posters on this forum create threads as stupid and meaningless as this abomination, I want to punch babies... like, in the face.

Dolph Ziggler is the next Shawn Michaels.
CM Punk is the next Stone Cold.
Hornswoggle is the next Haiti Kid.

SHADDAP ALREADY!!!

Alberto Del Rio and Eddie Guerrero are two completely different wrestlers with completely different styles! They look nothing alike. They wrestle nothing alike. They cut promos nothing alike. BUT THEY'RE BOTH FUCKING MEXICANS AND HAVE ENTRANCES IN CARS!!! LULZ

My God... can some of you posters get your heads out of your asses and think up some originality with your thread ideas?!?