Possible Face Turn For Del Rio

[Jack-Hammer]

Reportedly, there's some talk in WWE of turning Alberto Del Rio face at some point in the near future. Vince is said to really want a strong hispanic babyface and he's a fan of Del Rio overall. Sin Cara simply isn't ready and Mysterio's time is probably numbered due to injuries or the heat between himself and WWE officials.

I just don't see this working for Del Rio without a complete overhaul of his character. He's spent roughly 3 years as this arrogant, Mexican rich guy. I just don't think Del Rio has what it takes to be a babyface. It's just not something that I can see him being able to pull off.

 

[klunderbunker]

The guy has talent but this character has killed him. There's just NOTHING there as he's given no one a reason to care about him at all. His entire character can be summed up in three words: Money, armbreaker, destiny. Seriously, that's everything you need to know about Del Rio. Scratch that. That's all there is to know about him. Think about it. The guy has been around for YEARS now and we know nothing else about him. It's been the same promos and the same (good) matches over and over and over. Why should I care about this guy in the slightest? Turning him face could work, but they're going to have to change A LOT about him. Also he just comes off as a natural heel, not a face.

 

[Wrestling101]

Holy crap, please no.....it would never fit for him.

I thought about the following idea for the first time a few days ago, and since then have really grown to love the idea. If WWE wants him to be relevant and something other than a character bore, give him a small stable. What's the one thing rich 'bad guys' do? They act as if they can buy anything and everything they want. Let him be this generation's DiBiase (or JBL to a smaller extent).....he pays people to be his bodyguard and to help him with whatever he needs. Eventually, it'll lead to a world title run. He doesn't have to come off as a chickenshit heel just because he has back-up. He just comes off as someone with money and uses it to do his dirty work. The more I think about it, the more it just makes sense.

A face turn....I just don't see that working. I mean, if WWE goes through with it, I can see them properly booking it enough to make some fans 'care' about him initially, for at least his first feud or two, but long term, no.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Del Rio is definitely better off as a heel. I don't see a face counterpart of his current persona as something that could work. His promos about his "destiny" work a lot better for a heel and he just comes off as the type who are gifted at being a villain rather than a good character. Perhaps if he got a new character for his face turn, but even then I doubt they would be able to come up with something that he could pull off. I'd rather he stay just the way he is quite honestly. There are a few ideas for a direction to take him in, although nearly all of them would be a bigger deal if he remained a heel. A face turn should only be done for wrestlers who would benefit from it and do well in the role.

Alberto's current persona is fine, it's his booking that is the problem. They made him do all of the promos about his "destiny". He won the Royal Rumble. He got a Money In the Bank briefcase. He held the WWE Championship. Looking back on that list for someone's FIRST YEAR in the WWE, you'd think they would be booked to remain dominant after winning a world title. That obviously didn't happen. It's WWE's booking team's own fault for ruining Del Rio. I'm open to giving a face Alberto a chance but it has a rather large risk involved of not working and he'd then be even worse off. It would be better to just make him be booked better and work his way back up to the top, only to stay there this time.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I hope it turns out his father is the World's Most Interesting Man (alright this probably won't work since WWE has discussed his legacy before).

Sounds good. Probably leads him in to a feud with Cesaro, Rhodes, and Sandow. I just hope the turn is interesting and entertaining. At this point we don't know if Del Rio cares about anything beyond money and his cars. Maybe we'll see he has a soft spot for Rosa or possibly Ricardo, or maybe some Mexican tradition like defending Sin Cara and Rey if someone tries to steal their masks.

If he changes his hair, it could be a clue.

 

[LeviCook]

I really dislike the idea of turning Del Rio face. I think it would horribly fail and no one would take it serious. Although he doesn't get the biggest reaction, the fans still dislike him. A face needs to be someone who can win over the crowd. They do need to change something about him though. The whole idea of turning him face kind of gave me an idea to add to his character. Maybe they could have him claim that he's a good guy. That sounds pretty basic, but i mean constantly smear it fan's faces. He can try to portray this good guy image while still cheating and acting disrespectful, that making the fans boo him. In my head the whole idea would make him seem like a politician. Kind of how every politician wants to make themselves look good but most are bad people, kind of like that. I think that is something that would get under people's skin, and he has the look to pull it off.

 

[Wrestling101]

I hope it turns out his father is the World's Most Interesting Man (alright this probably won't work since WWE has discussed his legacy before).

Sounds good. Probably leads him in to a feud with Cesaro, Rhodes, and Sandow. I just hope the turn is interesting and entertaining. At this point we don't know if Del Rio cares about anything beyond money and his cars. Maybe we'll see he has a soft spot for Rosa or possibly Ricardo, or maybe some Mexican tradition like defending Sin Cara and Rey if someone tries to steal their masks.

If he changes his hair, it could be a clue.

Of course 'the turn' will be interesting and entertaining.....it's everything that comes afterwards that's the problem. WWE is great at creating those surprise, entertaining moments. What they lack is the booking creativity to for the continuation of the angle.

 

[SuperKick36]

The only way I can see this working is if WWE ran an angle where Del Rio started losing things... like if he's with Rosa and then she dumps him for someone else when ADR did nothing to deserve it. Start building sympathy for his character. Then, maybe run an angle where Ricardo sues him for his money, or Ricardo betrays him (maybe even for Rosa), the whole "best friend screws him over" idea. Then cut out his ties to money. Have him become a nobody in the economic world, a regular guy. Then, through sympathy with the audience, and then through a sudden "enlightenment" of his persona, he could POSSIBLY turn face, IF his character is given the time on TV and HE pulls it off... which I just don't see.

You can't make a rich a**hole gimmick into a full-fledged face in the current times, it would just be too difficult. Unless you got cheap-pops by having him "give away" money or something, but that's been done before and doesn't build an actual BOND with the audience.

Essentially, like Jack-Hammer said, you need to have a complete overhaul of Del Rio's character to have him turn face. I'm not seeing this happen, at least not successfuly.

 

[Diet Soda]

I think it could work if Del Rio can play up as a face as much as he can being a heel. Right now, his character and the according traits would not transit well from heel to face as well as, for example, the Miz has done. Therefore, some additions and augmentations to his character are necessary, and not a moment too soon. I really want to like Del Rio, but I just can't. He's just too dull and one-dimensional.

I'd be entertained if he took on a sort of 'useless Casanova' persona. A guy who spends his time (and money) hopelessly clamouring after the affection of various Divas, never quite hitting the mark; the lonely rich man. Kind of like the antithesis to Eddie Guerrero's 'Latino Heat'. This creation of a sympathetic character may give audiences a chance to relate to Del Rio, and it could also give the potential for comedic segments (something the Miz has used to get himself very over as a face).

 

[DX Mols]

They've got no chance.....no chance in hell....of a face turn for Del Rio. He's one of the blandest heels of all time and to be a face you have to be charismatic, engaging, and someone the fans can cheer for.

Del Rio is none of these things. I mean he sucks on the microphone and he's about as bland as can be.

If anything he needs to focus on becoming a better heel.

 

[Wrestling101]

I'll add this....What Del Rio needs isn't a face turn, he needs to be a more 'evil' heel. It seems like WWE over the years has gotten away from bringing the fans into the fold more, up until recently when Sandow started the apprentice thing.....bring that back a little. I'm not purposely trying to have ADR rip off DiBiase, but when you have a gimmick that's been out of wrestling for so long and it was successful way back then, and considering all gimmicks are somewhat of a copycat from something previously seen, it should be brought back. Have him bring a fan into the ring and he can make them do embarassing things for a $100 bill. He can laugh and point, his bodyguards (relating to what I proposed earlier about his stable he pays off) can also laugh at the fan.....all these things would make him more interesting, a better heel, and can give him something fresh to do and get away from his staleness.

 

[D-Man]

It really cracks me up how everyone is speculating that Del Rio is "better as a heel." I guess my natural reaction would be, where does your comparison come from? He's never been a heel. So how the hell would you know?

I echo KB who said Del Rio has a lot of talent but this character has sucked the life out of anything entertaining about him. Back when he debuted and was just being a conceited heel that winked at everyone, he was awesome. Once his Royal Rumble win happenend, the Road to Wrestlemania began, and he started barking about destiny, he lost just about everyone. An overhaul is needed here. Whether that involves a face turn or not remains to be seen. But I can't see how it would hurt his current status at all.

Normally, when the internet fans see a character getting "stale" (another overused word) they start clamoring about heel/face turns. But many of you are already speculating how a face turn wouldn't benefit him. All of you need to make up your minds... or open them a little bit.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The problem is that Ricardo is clearly the more likeable of the two and more likely to work as a face... Yes it'd be a re-run of DiBiase and Virgil, but it could work if suddenly it came out that Ricardo is Del Rio's older brother and thus in line for all the money... Suddenly the roles are reversed and Ricardo slowly turns more nasty while Del Rio gains more sympathy as he realises he made Ricardo into this monster by his own actions.

Del Rio isn't stale, it's just that "money" characters are generally one dimensional, DiBiase was never "evil" just rich and arrogant, it's hard to be rich, evil and arrogant as a wrestler because an evil rich man would never get in the ring yourself to face your consequences, you'd pay someone else to do it for you or to ensure it doesn't come to that but an arrogant one would want to prove he can do it... it's too contradictory to work in the wrestling environment.

In ADR's case they threw too much at the wall and not enough stuck to make it work, the money, destiny, Ricardo and his "excellence" in the ring and Dos Caras Jr. doesn't have the mic skills to make it all work as a package in the way DiBiase did.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I just don't see this working for Del Rio without a complete overhaul of his character.

That's about it, isn't it? At the beginning, his promos showed him in the hacienda, flaunting his wealth and making it clear he was better than the rest of us. Everything he's done since has fortified that notion. How do you change him to a good guy?

As to many people being "bored" with his character, I'll say they've done everything they can to make him interesting. He still radiates a superior attitude, yet his actions have been rougher and tougher than before. Always a terrific ring technician, he now takes harder bumps (that drop through a table he took backstage from Randy Orton made me cringe) and seems more willing to mix it up with more dangerous tactics than previously. I've always enjoyed his ringmanship and wonderful ability to work a match, but many people apparently don't like the old-style wrestling.

In all, I don't know how you make him a face. Usually, just coming to the aid of another good guy in trouble can set you on the path, but it might take more than that to get fans to trust ADR. He's just so bad!

Of course, I didn't think there was any way on Earth to get us rooting for Sheamus, yet look what happened. If the company feels ADR is never going to catch on under his present persona, a face turn might be the next thing they try.

 

[BaconBits]

It's not going to be all that hard or all the complicated to turn him if they desire. He doesn't even have to change his character. All he has to do is start beating on heels or come out to save another face like Cena or Ryback. People will then cheer for him and he will be a face. His promos can also remain almost exactly the same, just the names he's cutting them on will change.

And Ricardo would end up ridiculously over if ADR went face.

 

[6timehitta]

I guess no one thought The Miz would be a good face either? He hasn't been this over since he started the whole "Really?"

Anyways as far as Del Rio goes could he be a goof babyface, Yes. Will he, that is the question, and to me it's a resounding NO. He is just too smarmy. Del Rio could feud with Cara or Rey, if he gets his shit together until one of them is ready.

I look at the other people that had a "Del Rio Like Gimmick": JBL and Ted DiBiase. Now would any of you guys take JBL or DiBiase as a babyface? I sure as hell wouldn't.

Again, Del Rio could possibly feud with Cara or Rey, but for a last ditch effort they could bring up someone from FCW. I know they signed Averno from the same place they signed Cara and Del Rio, and I 'm intrested to see if they could bring him up to feud with Del Rio, or if he could be that babyface Vince wants.

 

[Leveller]

As some one has already said the only way I could see this working is if ADR stands up for say the likes of Mysterio or Sin Cara or even Mexican heritage.

His character works as a heel but as everyone keeps saying his promos are bland and repitive so maybe its time for a character change. The face turn could help him but Im not sure as to how they could go about it.
I would have him lose all his money and work from the bottom up. Have ADR become the underdog. Maybe even make him loses Ricardo so that he can see what "the real world" is.

 

[pita323]

I think with the Shield involved in WWE now, you can almost turn anyone face as part of the story line with the Shield.

The Shield could attack ADR as there is an injustice that his money and cars make him state he is better than everyone else.

There could be many reasons in the story line that could work to turn ADR (or most others) face.

 

[duckbutter]

No one has mentioned that ADR worked his entire career in Mexico until 2009 as a babyface, so he's had experience getting over that way.

Either way, they need to do something. There hasn't been an ADR match (regardless of who else was in it) that I haven't fast-forwarded through in the last five months. I just couldn't give two craps about his current character.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

»» Alberto Del Rio is an interesting subject... really interesting. He's one of the guys that I see that has a lot of potential, a lot of talent but by some reason he does not work as a rich guy. He's there for almost three years now, and he didn't change while being a relevant guy that we all saw every single week whether on Raw or SmackDown and in big time feuds. They build him to be a more aggressive wrestler, they build his submission finisher to one of the most devastating moves in pro-wrestling but they didn't actually make him win anything and when the right time came, they dropped it from out of nowhere.

I believe that Sheamus vs. Del Rio was one of the worst feuds in 2012 just by the fact that no one gained anything from that rivalry, in fact they both lost a lot of momentum that ended by putting Del Rio as a punchbag for Orton and Ryback and by taking the Heavyweight Championship away from Sheamus. That single feud killed Del Rio in a way that the only thing that can make him interesting is probably move him down the ladder and book him like a midcarder. He is one of the guys that I would love to see feuding over the Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston, that pair can be a good thing because first and foremost Kingston would gain a lot by feuding with a guy that was "relevant" throughout 2012 and Alberto Del Rio would be interesting because he would probably end up becoming the champion in a nice balanced midcard rivalry with limited TV time.

Another thing, he is rich he has a lot of money and the only way to show it is by his cars? Why don't we see Del Rio buying of a referee? Bribing a lowcard wrestler? Get personal security? There is a lot of things that money can buy, but Del Rio just doesn't buy anything, he's just rich on paper.

So with that said I believe that the face turn is the wrong move, it can give him a new dynamic if he just aligns himself with the likes of Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio but it can also be a total failure because WWE didn't explored him as a heel. They never gave us a hint that he has kindness in his heart, in fact they didn't gave us anything new since that video promos of his debut. He needs a new start, he needs to exploit his character and he needs to actually win a rivalry.

 

[Ming]

Ha!

Why on Earth would they destroy his character when he's being a great heel!? Vickie Guerrero and CM Punk could only envy the spite the WWE audiences hold for this gigantic heat magnet!



I'm thinking that they should just sack the bland, boring bastard. But if Vincent insists on maintaining this waste of space on Monday Night Raw then by all means, do whatever the fuck you can to try and make this man interesting. Because right now, he is far from it. Nobody gives the slightest amount of attention to this repetitive greaseball, nor should they. If he's going to recycle garbage that doesn't work when he's on the microphone, then they should just ignore him. And save themselves from hearing the same noise, over and over and over and over again. He's so boring and lacks so much depth, he makes Ricardo Rodriguez seem about as interesting as Johnathan Goldsmith.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I've pitched this before and I don't think many have been on my side, but...

I think the easiest way they could start a transition toward babyface with Del Rio is to force him to where a mask.

I would propose that he loses a Luchas de Apuestas de Mascaras match against either Rey or Mistico(or both), but instead of him putting his hair or some other random possesion on the line, Del Rio's losing would result in him having to wear a mask.

I think this does several things... One, the biggest obstacle with turning Del Rio is his the way the audience currently sees him. His face is just so smarmy and smug that combined with his character I believe people have just grown to hate the mere sight of him. A mask helps to cushion that blow. Next, it could bring on some entertainment- he could start forcing Ricardo to where a mask as well, they could build some comedy out of that do to the fact that Ricardo has already gotten over as a comic relief presence to Alberto. Then they can make it effect his personality, Del Rio could feel humiliated, garnering him a more human appeal than the aristocrat character can ever gain. It could humble him, and eventually he could build a sympathetic rapport with the fanbase. He could then begin to embrace the mask, as well as his heritage as a completion of the transformation.

Also I would attach this to a slight change in the way he works. He could start to use his moonsault more for example and incorporate other familiar aspects of Lucha-oriented offense moreso than he does currently. It is much more natural for the young fans to support a masked luchador than it is for them to boo him. Hell, most of the kids would likely quickly forget the old Alberto and grow fond of the new version.

If the reasoning for a turn is that Vince really wants to embrace a Mexican star, the mask is such an integral part of the mexican wrestling heritage, and it will allow Vince to keep capitolizing on the kind of merchandising windfall that has always drove Rey's pushes with the company.

Apart from following the strategy I laid out, I think it will be hard to turn Del Rio with great success. I believe to much of the fanbase has just been irreversably conditioned to "hate his face".

 

[Boourns]

I think Del Rio could make a good face, he's got the media grin, he's got nice cars and a comical ring announcer friend. All he needs to do is have a reason to be face and change from being the rich guy that everyone hates to being someone who is rich but, is about pride and honor in a good subtle way.The fact is, is that his wealth and heritage is currently the main focus of his gimmick really and that makes him almost a de facto heel but, on the other hand we know all the top guys are rich and there's a lot of rich guest stars that have been seen as faces and it's because their talent and character is focused on instead of their possessions etc. All he really has to do to become a face is have a short break from TV and confront a cocky heel and say how he's matured and seen the errors of his ways etc. It wouldn't be too hard. Look at the Miz's face turn (that could have used a few more weeks to make it more organic but, whatever...) The point is, is that no matter how long someone has been a heel or face if Vince wants it and creative wants it, they can be turned.

 

[mral82]

Here's how they can do it have Ted DiBiase, Jr be feuding w/ Del Rio at first to help out both of them. During that feud say Teddy is fighting somebody like Orton, Show, Punk or any other heel and they keep on beating him down. Alberto shows up and we all think he's gonna attack Teddy but saves him instead and they form a Stable and recruit Joe Hennig/Michael McGillicutty to join them to become the Fortunate 1's who try to go against what their Daddy's Money and Style was all about and become the next big face stable and recruit The Uso's to the fold. Del Rio, Teddy, Hennig-World/HW/US/IC, The Uso's Tag, Rosa or bring up Charlotte for the Diva.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

The guy was given everything. He had easyly hated gimmick(rich arogant guy), won RR, won Money in the Bank, good feuds and he still cant get over and get people to care for him. He is technicly very good wrestler but he misses something to be mainevent guy and that is that "It" factor or you could called it charisma. He doesnt have it and thats why people really dont care. I just dont see in him something better then midcard.

It could be good for him to change his character but I dont think that is an easy task. It could bring him fresh feuds but as i said, I dont think that its a problem in this one. Problem is: He just doesnt have "It"...