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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Feb 3, 2016 11:46:03 GMT -5
So I was watching lots of Rumbles to get hyped (AND STAY HYPED oh god why did I do this to myself) for the Rumble this year and rewatched Royal Rumble 2013 in full.
Man of the people Del Rio was a good gimmick, and it was reasonably over, and his wrestling is noticeably better when he's a babyface too.
Rumours of Del Rio's total lack of overness have been exaggerated - he is just yet another guy who is appallingly used.
I know he became a wisecracking asshole soon after this (and the double turn with him and Ziggler is one of my favourite storytelling matches ever) but when he was just a hero to the Hispanic masses, I think Del Rio's gimmick was working pretty damn well.
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Post by A Platypus Rave is Correct on Feb 3, 2016 11:51:55 GMT -5
He was definitely over as a face... they put him against Ziggler which was a mistake if they wanted to keep him as one though.
Personally, my favorite thing Del Rio ever did lasted about a week when he was a deluded champion of the people heel... before dropping it and started talking about his destiny for some reason.
Really the only time Del Rio doesn't get any reaction is when they stick him with Aggressive Destiny stuff... which they LOVE going back to.
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Post by JTG Fan on Feb 3, 2016 11:53:33 GMT -5
The face turn worked well, the problem is that WWE couldn't help themselves and turned him into the prototype Cena babyface who won a match every single week, a lot of them coming against Dolph Ziggler. Del Rio just ran right through everybody and it burned his babyface run out.
I still remember though that he and Ziggler had a WrestleMania quality match on Main Event.
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gr1990
Don Corleone
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Post by gr1990 on Feb 3, 2016 14:08:00 GMT -5
Alberto Del Rio is a really talented performer who can get reactions in just about any role EXCEPT the one they continually insist on putting him in. So sad, and even sadder that he seems to be blamed personally for it by a lot of people.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2016 14:34:30 GMT -5
The face turn worked well at first, but then they stripped away all of his flashy elements, added that stupid bucket, and had him start being some weird uncomfortable John Cena / Eddie Guerrero hybrid that didn't work at all. And, "Born in Mexico, made in America," is about the exact thing you should say if you desire to alienate the demographic he was aimed at.
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Post by A Platypus Rave is Correct on Feb 3, 2016 14:38:36 GMT -5
I thought he started the spit bucket when he was still a heel.
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Post by Mid-Carder on Feb 3, 2016 14:52:22 GMT -5
Del Rio is great. One of my favourite guys to watch. It's not his fault he's been booked erratically from day one and had his legs cut from under him at Mania 27.
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Post by A Platypus Rave is Correct on Feb 3, 2016 14:55:48 GMT -5
had his legs cut from under him at Mania 27. I do agree with that last bit he was the most hated man at the smackdown I was at immediately following him winning the rumble, pretty much when he started ranting about his Destiny... then Mania happened he lost. Christian beat him and the Randy Orton Incident happened. And Del Rio instead of changing what he said after the Christian loss basically cut the same promo for about a year. |
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Post by CATCH_US IS the Conversation on Feb 3, 2016 14:58:46 GMT -5
Del Rio's face run was pretty great imo. He was over and getting cheered, and it was nice that he even embraced the Si! chants that people were previously only chanting at him ironically. Hell, even against Ziggler, I'd say he still got his fair share of cheers. The double turn really only happened because of Ziggler getting concussed. If not for the sympathy behind Dolph coming back from that injury, Del Rio would probably still be a face.
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Post by -Lithium- on Feb 3, 2016 16:28:12 GMT -5
Not totally related, but its crazy how big the difference between the IWC and Del Rio in 2011. People online LOVED Del Rio and were absolutely ecstatic when he won the Rumble.
It's kind of the same with Kennedy. Not as much as Del Rio, but I remember everyone on this forum loving him from 05-07. People wanted him to win the title at Rumble 07...
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Post by thegame415 on Feb 3, 2016 18:01:24 GMT -5
They wanted him to be Eddie Guerrero. He needed to be Alberto Del Rio.
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Post by Starshine on Feb 3, 2016 18:25:04 GMT -5
He seemed a lot more comfortable at that time as a face. It's not all that surprising since I believe he'd basically been a face his whole career before WWE.
That double turn with Ziggler though... How they blew that whole thing, I'll never understand.
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on Feb 3, 2016 19:13:18 GMT -5
I honestly think the Swagger feud was what derailed the face run.
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543Y2J
Patti Mayonnaise
Seventh level .gif Master
Posts: 38,794
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Post by 543Y2J on Feb 3, 2016 19:27:52 GMT -5
The initial month of it is the most I have ever liked ADR. Him busting out moonsaults and actually trying to change the story/pacing of each match was refreshing to see. I will always see ADR as a midcarder/upper midcarder at best, pushed way beyond his capabilities of story telling during matches/promos, and crowd connection that he doesn't have and his face run didn't change that idea of him for me (same with Sheamus. But I will at least say he was tolerable and good during the initial stage of that face run and his Last Man Standing match with Big Show on SD/RR were great, which is a revelation considering he was the one guiding the story/pace/moves of those matches. So to me that is a massive compliment I can give to him, if nothing else after all these years and money that they have spent on him.
Was this around the time that those tacky little Mexican flags on the turnbuckles started appearing? Lol because that was a good idea...
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trollrogue
Hank Scorpio
Nashville City of Music!!
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Post by trollrogue on Feb 3, 2016 19:52:57 GMT -5
I think had Kalisto not taken off so much in popularity Del Rio could've redebuted as a face against Cena when he won the US title. They should've known the 'Si' chants would be huge when he had his surprise return at a PPV. How anyone would think that horrible Zeb Coulter Mexamerican gimmick would work is beyond me, it seems like a hasty backup plan.
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