The Royal Ramble: The Failure Of Alberto Del Rio
The Royal Ramble
On paper it sounded promising: a mix of Tito Santana, Rick Martel and JBL. He had the potential to become a top Mexican star like Rey Mysterio. Yet, one year later, it seems as if Alberto Del Rio is a WWE mega-push failure. He just lost his title to John Cena at WWE Night of Champions and after a year of unprecedented feats, his career in the WWE seems to have fizzled out.
It may seem premature to predict his downfall now, but several factors contributed to this. In a few months, fans will be saying "Alberto Del Who?" when he could have been a top WWE performer for years to come.
The Super Push
After an initial feud with Rey Mysterio on "Friday Night Smackdown," Del Rio found himself quickly in the title scene for the "Tables, Ladders and Chairs" pay per view event. Even though he didn't win the World Heavyweight Championship, this was just the beginning of his super push. Del Rio received a push comparable of past WWE stars Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.
His personal announcer provided a Ken Kennedy-esque opening, but it has quickly grown stale with audiences. The cars he comes in out in every night only delays his time to the ring and by the time he gets to the ring, I'm ready for the next segment.
Not only did Rio win the first-ever 40-man Royal Rumble, he would main event Wrestlemania, win the Money in the Bank ladder match and claim his first WWE Title at the Summerslam event. The rookie was a part of the four main WWE pay per views and fans barley knew him in early 2011 unless they watched the "Smackdown" brand.
The shock of the Rumble win was a great way to swerve WWE audiences, but it quickly wore off and the Edge-Del Rio feud opened the Wrestlemania event when it should of been one of the final matches. With all of these featured events and wins, Del Rio should be the biggest heel on WWE Raw, but The Miz, R-Truth and even Michael Cole could get more heat than him.
The Raw Draft
Shortly after Wrestlemania, Alberto Del Rio was drafted to the WWE Raw brand and this was a mistake for the character. "WWE Raw" is filled with a more prominent roster and competition. On "Smackdown," Del Rio's character could have grown more and expanded with feuds while still occasionally appearing on Raw. Until the Money in the Bank pay per view, he was barley featured on the show and his feud with the Big Show was pushed aside to start Mark Henry's feud.
John Cena Feud
The final straw in the Del Rio push came with his John Cena WWE Title feud. John Cena was just coming up an epic two month with CM Punk and now suddenly that was dropped for the Del Rio/Cena title match. There was little to their story except "I don't like you" and even though the match featured good wrestling, it missed the drama and build-up that it needed.
John Cena's easy win over Del Rio did not help things much. It proved that he was nothing more than a transitional champion and who knows if Del Rio will earn the title again. Adding him to the mix at "Hell in the Cell" should provide some good in-ring spots, but the highlight is seeing CM Punk and John Cena going at it again.
If all those reasons weren't enough, it was Del Rio who uttered the words "Vince McMahon" and potentially burying himself in the process. Alberto Del Rio has officially become the Mexican "All-American" Lex Luger, a WWE in-your-face super push and ultimate failure.