Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialAlberto Del Rio Answers the Call! Is He the Right man to...

Alberto Del Rio Answers the Call! Is He the Right man to Hold the US Title?

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In the days leading up to the HIC PPV, the intrigue about who would answer John Cena’s open challenge ran higher than Lesnar vs. Taker Part III. We heard a number of names including Carlito, MVP, Samoa Joe, Fin Balor and even Daniel Bryan. It turned out that the spoilers were incorrect this time around and WWE had another surprise up their sleeve.

We all knew John Cena was slated to lose his title due to taking time off, but not many were able to predict who it would be. It didn’t take long as Cena came out in typical fashion to throw out his “Open Challenge”, only to have Jack Swagger’s music play and Zeb Colter, who hasn’t been seen in quite some time, come down the ramp. He told Cena it was time for him to lose the U.S. title to a superstar who will do more with it than he ever could, and down came Del Rio.

I have to be honest that I was shocked when it turned out to be former WWE champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio had been released from the company in 2014 after an “unprofessional conduct” incident with an employee and proceeded to test the Indy scene as well as a stint with Lucha Underground. WWE released Del Rio last year when he struck a social media manager for making a racist joke at his expense. He claimed WWE’s racism problem went all the way to the top, and the issues between he and the company were quickly dropped. Del Rio claims that Triple H told him when he was releasing him that WWE wanted to let everything settle down and then they would love to re-sign him.

There has always been the evidence of WWE having a lot of issues trying to connect with the Hispanic audience. In the days of Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and to some extent even Chavo Guerrero they were able to build a solid fanbase. However, with all three of those guys gone, the closest thing they had in that direction since the void left by Del Rio was Sin Cara. When they were at their high point Eddie passed away and Rey was the last real Hispanic star WWE had, but former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio contniued to gain steam during his first WWE run. WWE saw that fans began to love him, so they ended up using him in various ways from winning Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble matches to having him become a multi-time World Champion. In my opinion, he actually was the last selling attraction for SmackDown and its dying audience.

I have always been a huge fan of Del Rio and his style. At 38 years of age, this could be his last shot at a decent payday with WWE. As a mid card talent and eventual challenger for the WWE title, he could serve as a welcomed edition to the creative plans for the future. He certainly isn’t an answer to stopping the ratings plunge, but he will give us a fresh face to beef up the storylines going into Survivor Series.

Does this signal the start of a new stable with Del Rio, Swagger, and Colter? Could a Carlito return still happen? Will his title run serve a legitimate stopgap while John Cena takes time off? Will he be in the World title picture? I’m sure once he grabs the mic on Raw tomorrow night we will figure out where this is all headed.

***Come follow me on Twitter @TCutillo23 and on my sports site fantasysportsaddiction.com and all my editorial articles along with many interesting minds at the eWrestlingnews FB Fan Page…Come join in and let your presence be felt!

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