High Road/Low Road 09.03.10: Alberto Del Rio
Posted by Chad Nevett on 09.03.2010
In this week's edition of the High Road/Low Road, we look at Alberto Del Rio. Did the WWE decide to make the right decision in pushing Alberto Del Rio or will it turn out to be a huge mistake? Find out what we think inside...
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!
A brief explanation of the column: Sat takes the High Road (positive view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related "stuff" while Chad Nevett takes the Low Road (negative view).
ALBERTO DEL RIO
High Road:
We have been hearing for awhile now that the WWE has been looking for another Mexican star because of the fear that Rey Mysterio could be finished at anytime because of all of his injuries. It makes sense for the WWE to have a backup plan set rather than trying to scramble at the last minute.
Low Road:
Is building a heel the right move if that's the motive? If the reason to push Del Rio is that he's Mexican, it would make more sense to push him as a face, as a natural successor to Mysterio than as an antagonist. Building him this way could mean that the fans won't accept him as they have Mysterio.
High Road:
When a new wrestler appears, it is a given that the wrestler will win their first match. The biggest impact is made when the new wrestler beats a guy who is a main event star and that is what he did when he beat Rey Mysterio. Alberto Del Rio is different than all of the others who have debuted because he won a huge first match.
Low Road:
The WWE is in a tough position now if they feel he isn't working out. By starting him off so big, a demotion in the card could be fatal when all he may require is some fine-tuning or time in the midcard before being pushed back up again. If he starts at a level where he beats Rey Mysterio, that extra time could result in him looking like a joke.
High Road:
The biggest impact that Alberto Del Rio made was when he made Rey Mysterio tap out in his debut match. Rey Mysterio has had a great year and I can't recall the last time that he tapped out. For Alberto Del Rio to make Rey Mysterio tap out was huge for him. Another huge thing that happened for Alberto Del Rio is that his finisher instantly became a legitimate one because he made a guy who never taps out tap out. Making Rey Mysterio tap out showed that the WWE is going all out to try to make Alberto Del Rio a huge star.
Low Road:
I didn't like the tap out, at least not from such a simple submission move. That may make Del Rio look impressive, but it automatically makes every other submission move that Mysterio has managed to withstand look worse. Since it was just an armbar, it lacked that punch and seemed kind of silly when put into the larger context. A submission tap out is big, but the way they did it wasn't the best.
High Road:
Alberto Del Rio has shown that he has some potential in the ring, but so far we have not discussed his entrance. Coming out in a car really is not something because we have seen that before. I do like that he has a different specialty car though. The one thing that should definitely help is him having his own ring announcer; it just makes him out to be a bigger deal. His entrance is definitely unique and should get him noticed.
Low Road:
Do you remember JBL? Because Del Rio's entrance is pretty much that plus the special ring announcer. Which is fine and different from what's currently being done, but it's not that original or impressive.
High Road:
A minor high road here. Most of the new talent appearing in the WWE has basically been on NXT. Not appearing on NXT shows that the WWE does not want him to be lost in the shuffle in NXT and they feel that he does not need the show to be successful.
Low Road:
And everyone on NXT looks worse. Since they introduced NXT, that's been the road to the WWE and having a new wrestler bypass it makes the already looked down upon show look even worse.
High Road:
There have been rumors that Alberto Del Rio has been a problem backstage. I don't really believe it though. I think that most likely something minor probably happened and it was blown out of proportion. I think if it had been something major then the WWE would have stopped his massive push.
Low Road:
I don't know. I guess that depends on who was offended/annoyed/whatever and who is high on Del Rio. If Del Rio has the backing of the right people, it doesn't matter what others think. Plenty of guys have been disliked backstage, but still gotten pushes because an influential person was high on them.
High Road:
The vignettes shown for Alberto Del Rio were not the greatest, but they definitely did a good job in showing his character. The vignettes showed a character who was high class and that is basically what we got. Also, some would say that the vignettes were not worthwhile because they were shown sometimes twice a show and were too long. I would say that was because he was paying for the vignettes and a rich man can definitely afford it. The quality of the vignettes could definitely have been better, but they got the point across.
Low Road:
Vignettes are usually the kiss of death of a new wrestler. While getting across the character is important, doing so through regular promos and matches is ideal. The cold, sterile vignettes just make the character annoying. Some wrestlers have survived vignettes, but most don't. The WWE giving Del Rio a big win against Mysterio was how far they had to go to make sure the vignettes didn't hurt him in the long run. If he debuted regularly, he wouldn't have needed such a big victory, but the vignettes demanded it or he'd be another Kizarny.
Simply write "High Road", "Low Road", or "Both Roads" in the comment section.
Results for TNA World Title Tournament:
High Road: 21%
Low Road: 67%
Both Roads: 12%
Sat: A definite low road. TNA should have done some better planning because they should have known about RVD's work dates. Second, stretching the tournament over two pay per views seems like a bit much.
Chad Nevett: Low Road. Tournaments are good in theory, but TNA just keeps going back to this well. Plus, stretching it out is an awful idea. Something that didn't come up last week, but was something that annoyed me: because of his suspension, the lack of Samoa Joe. Since he's not in there, I wish they would have had the tournament finish at No Surrender and build to Joe/Angle at Bound for Glory with Joe saying that Angle didn't get past him.
E-Mails:
These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.
Freddy Neuwendyke Writes:
I agree with Chad, TNA does far too many tournaments. And usually these tournaments are the result of Dusty Finishes. So naturally it leaves a bad taste in some people's mouth as usual TNA bullshit. What's more while it may have been new and original at one time it's old and stale now. It all follows the same pattern. After a long and heated feud a title match is set, Shenanigans happen at the pay per view usually the stale ass cliche ref bump or outside interference, So at the weekly show some authority figure hits the reset button and Says "let's do a tournament." Thus nothing is resolved and the viewers have to fork over yet another 40 bucks.
This is why TNA's pay per view buys are in the crapper. When you plunk down money for a pay per view you expect some kind of conclusion to what is happening or at the very least the story to move in some kind of direction forward. JR likes the analogy about selling the sizzle before the steak. Well TNA likes throwing the steak on the floor just before it gets to the table.
Sat: The other main problem is that TNA uses the pay per views to build towards the TV tapings.
Chad Nevett: I found it interesting that the guy who was feuding with the champ, Abyss, didn't even get into the tournament. That added a level of disconnect to the whole thing as well.
Comments:
Below are the comments for last week's columns and our responses. Every comment will not be included because it makes our lives a lot easier. The comments section was last looked at on Sunday Night Pacific Time.
JAK Writes:
Low Road: TNA has too many tournaments for vacant straps, and then they have more tournaments for no. 1 contenders. RVD was an excellent champion with exciting potential match-ups, instead we have a tournament final that will probably be a rehashed match-up from the TNA past instead of RVD vs Kurt Angle (fresh to TNA). Add to that two PPV's to do the tournament (relegating No Surrender to a transitional event rather than a serious attempt to get buys). Finally I really don't look forward to a BFG headlined by Mr. Anderson, the John 'Super' Cena of TNA.
Sat: TNA does way too many tournaments, so that definitely hurts this tournament.
Chad Nevett: I was somewhat amazed that they aren't building to Angle/Hardy out of the possibilities since Angle has had recent matches/feuds with both Anderson and the Pope.
Guest#6148 Writes:
Low Road.
They've spent months building up Angle going through the top 10 challengers for nothing now that's he's in the tournament on equal terms with the other guys. He should have worked his way through the top 10 then it should have culminated with him v RVD at Bound For Glory.
We all know the likes of RVD, Jeff Hardy and many others are not committed to TNA and are only there for the light work schedule but for your World Champion to take time off 2 months before your biggest show of the year shows you what kind of operation TNA is. WWE would never allow this (unless they were injured, which RVD is not), and rightfully so.
Sat: The WWE definitely would not have allowed a top star to take time off.
Chad Nevett: While I understand TNA signing performers to a specific number of dates rather than paying out huge contracts, I do wish they'd plan their booking better to reflect the nature of those performers' terms of employment. Maybe pushing a guy limited to a specific number of appearances as a long-term world champion isn't the smartest decision. Maybe those guys are better used for short-term feuds where they help long-term performers get over. Maybe?
ROH Commish Writes:
Low Road.
Fact is, RVD should have never won the belt. But he did and you can't have him wasted as champ when you put his title win over huge. RVD should still be champ and TNA should have paid him extra for a few months to avoid this no buys tournament.
TNA is gonna head into their biggest PPV of the year without a title feud. There is no heat and intensity in the world title picture. The idea that the spirit of competition and being the best is what the wrestlers are wrestling for does not work. It is predetermined and everyone knows.
I think Angle vs Anderson is the likely title match at BFG so they can play off of their history earlier this year. Angle will win with another ankle lock grapevine and no one will be elevated.
Sat: I don't know, but I see Anderson winning the title. Seems like TNA is building towards something with him.
Chad Nevett: I can't see Angle not winning based on the current story. Anderson winning the belt otherwise makes sense since TNA has been very high on him despite him rarely winning or looking good.
Rick Writes:
I'm going to say Both Roads.
I'm leaning more towards the low road though. The preliminary matches were far too short, and TNA didn't make it seem very meaningful. The outcome is quite predictable with Angle's "lose and I retire" statement. But predictable isn't always a bad thing. The fact that it's playing second fiddle to EV2.0 vs. Fortune and whatever the old guys are arguing about...and the non-stop ass kissing for Dixie Carter (what's up with that?!) - also brings it down a notch. Add all this to the fact that there are no heels, and all 4 guys made their name in WWE - not TNA - makes this a low road.
However, Angle and Dinero are quite good in the ring, and Hardy and Anderson (...Anderson) are no slouches either. So there is the potential for some great wrestling matches. And I can't give it solely a low road due to potential alone.
Sat: The opening round matches were way too short, but what can you say about TNA.
Chad Nevett: Hardy is good when he's motivated, which hasn't been a lot of the time in TNA. His match with Rob Terry was flat-out awful. The other openers were a little short, but I liked the Angle/Williams and Morgan/Dinero matches.
JLAJRC Writes:
Low Road
Wrestling tournaments have always been one of those things that seem good in theory and on paper, but for some reason watching them is kind of a chore. Wrestlemania 4, anyone? Also, while some memorable stuff did happen at the various King of the Ring PPV's, can you honestly say they were good? There's a reason the WWE got rid of them.
Sat: It's hard for there to be perfect tournaments. All you can ask for is a good end result and a few good matches.
Chad Nevett: I think tournaments could be good, especially when you're doing it over a few shows rather than just in one night. But, that does require focusing on the tournament over everything else, and neither TNA nor the WWE seem ready to do that.
JWestmoreland Writes:
High Road
I don't get the hatred of this idea. Yes, I know people would have liked someone to go clean over RVD, but it's not like they did this for no reason. They have used up RVD's dates, so they had to do something (would you have rather had them put the belt on Abyss?)
That being said, I think that maybe this tournament is a little too spread out. Maybe they should have teased an announcement at No Surrender (Have Abyss think they are going to award him the title) and then do the tournament where the new champ would have to win two matches in one night at BFG. But, I think the tournament is a good idea.
Sat: I think Abyss getting the title would have been a bad idea. One complaint would be that they should have gotten a new champion at No Surrender.
Chad Nevett: The RVD argument is a negative for me. TNA knew what sort of deal they had signed him to and should have planned accordingly. To say that their hands were tied recognizes that they had no idea what the hell they were doing, which is a bigtime Low Road for me.
JR Writes:
Low Road. TNA has backed themselves into a corner with Angle's "Win or retire" stipulation. Also, the fact that the final four in this tournament are known more for their WWE success than in TNA speaks volumes. No homegrown stars are left.
Finally, where are the dominant heels gunning for the World Title?
Sat: Isn't the win or retire thing gone now? And yeah, there is no dominant heel out there right now for TNA.
Chad Nevett: The win or retire thing is still here, I believe, until he wins the title. Maybe then they'll drop it, but it wouldn't make sense before then.
Guest#6031 Writes:
Low road.
Couldn't they just sign RVD to a contract guaranteeing he'll be at Bound For Glory to drop the title and then you wouldn't have to go through all this? You could even call it a one shot deal.
Sat: Doing that would tell the fans that there is a definite title change coming. This way we do not know what is going to happen.
Chad Nevett: Yeah, that would telegraph things a bit too much.
s1rude Writes:
Low Road - as with most things in TNA that don't involve just letting guys under 40 wrestle, this tournament is a result of booking themselves into a corner and not any kind of long or mid-range planning. It will also most likely lead to another feud or angle that is nonsensical, an abrupt change of pace or directly contradicts some of what has come before. Oh, and that incorporates a "shocking" turn. Pass.
Sat: Long term plans can be screwed up. The WWE always manages to work around it, but TNA always does something stupid.
Chad Nevett: TNA is far too short-sighted in its thinking. It keeps trying new things in the hopes that it will affect ratings, but they rarely follow through, wanting to try something new too soon. Long-term planning is risky, but TNA needs to learn short-term planning, because they're not even thinking that far ahead it seems.
Guest#9849 Writes:
LOW ROAD
Number 1: If RVD's number of matches to his contract was coming due, they should have booked him to drop the title. Stripping RVD of the title does nothing to elevated anybody not to mention does damage to the credibility of the title.
Number 2: The guys who advanced are all former WWE wrestlers. This is one of many things TNA has been criticized for. Favoring former WWE talent over their own stars/
Number 3: One of the former WWE guys to advance was Jeff Hardy. I know he sell merchandise wherever he goes, but the man is still facing a court case and possibly jail time after being arrested for 5 different drug felonies. I have said this before and I will say this again, TNA NEVER should have signed Hardy knowing of his legal problems and the fact that TNA not only signed him but are pushing him should say something about TNA. And the fact that they are pushing a possibly soon to be jail bird over their own more deserving talent should also say something about TNA.
However it could be worse. This tournament could have been like WCW's 32 man World Title tournament. What a farce that tournament was. And don't get me started on WCW's Lethal Lottery Tag Team Title tournament which was just as bad and confusing at the WCW World Title tournament.
Sat: That WCW World Title tournament was a disaster. Sure, there are WWE rejects in it, but two of them never won a world title in the WWE.
Chad Nevett: In one of those cases, it was injuries that stopped it from happening. Not a ringing endorsement. Despite my joking about it in the 4Rs, I don't consider Kurt Angle a ‘WWE guy' at this point. The other three, though...
Guest#0773 Writes:
Low Road
While his reign was lacklustre RVD was picking up steam as he continued to win. The same could definitely be said for Kurt Angle as he went through the top 10. A clash between these two could have at least felt like long-term booking with a payoff. It would have even worked with Abyss taking the title from RVD as he's been consistently pushed. As it is it just seems like TNA is panicking and grasping at straws.
Sat: There is no denying that Angle/RVD would have been a great main event for Bound for Glory.
Chad Nevett: That would have been the logical payoff to RVD as champion and a good place for a title change, yes.
Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at satuncletrunx@gmail.com or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week's column.
High Road x 10. Del Rio has made a huge impact in a short amount of time and it's very warranted. He has a pedigree, wrestling as Dos Caras Jr for some time, has experience in Mexico, Japan, and even MMA, not to mention was slated to be on the Mexican Olympic team in 2000 (which fell through due to insufficient funding for the team).
Beyond the resume, he has "the look" and has already developed a great, nuanced character. His facial expressions are unique and go a long way in both a match and character context. His ring work is very solid so far, and is probably better than he's shown in this short time. The ring announcer is a great touch. And SmackDown is the perfect place for him, as they try to maintain interest in Latino community. So far, everything has worked to near-perfection with del Rio and they ought to push him to the moon at the point when it makes storyline sense to do so.
Posted By: HBK's Smile (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 10:26 AM
Both Roads.
Since Del Rio is rich and privileged, it makes sense for him avoiding NXT.
The vignettes were horrible and overplayed. However, he has shown great facial expression in the ring and on promos. He carries himself like a star and you can tell he is working hard. The mask would have hurt his ability to get over.
His gimmick may be a retread but it still works.
Del Rio will slowly climb the top by taking out some low level competition and retiring a few roster cuts like JTG. I see a Sheamus-like push.
Posted By: ROH Commish (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Both Road.He has an upside but then again he could be another Carlito.Time will tell I guess.
Posted By: The Gold Standard (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 12:07 PM
Absolute high road...Del Rio has been gold so far, and has shown that he can both work and talk - which puts him above most WWE newcomers. We're going to be hearing about him for a long time to come.
Posted By: Nick M. (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 12:42 PM
I love it when Low Road has to try so hard to make stuff up come up stuff to be contrary. It's (one of) the biggest problems with this column.
Rather than actually having a conversation about the points, it's just a guy being excited about something and Debbie Downer jumping in for the whaa whaa whaaaaaaa.
Trying to find a negative to Del Rio winning his first match over Rey Mysterio and making him look like a big deal when they guy is clearly polished on the mic, in the ring and an instant heat machine is laughable. So is trying to contend that his debut and follow-up has made NXT look bad. Nobody is comparing them, especially when he so clearly is heads and toes above 90% of the roster upon arrival.
A problem with him showing up as a heel and that he won't be able to draw Mexican fans because of it? That's right, because nobody has ever successfully turned face after debuting and/or making their first significant main event run as a heel. It's not like Randy Orton, John Cena, HHH, Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels or anybody at that level has ever had any success as a face draw after being a heel.
JBL wasn't the first guy to ride a car into the arena. Before and while he was doing it, Eddie Guerrero made the same entrance. Undertaker used to ride a motorcycle into the arena. It's not original, but nothing in wrestling is completely original. Nobody else is doing it right now and it makes him stand out - thus its effective.
Finally, I love how the IWC whines about their not being enough submission based wrestling, and then we have one come along and they say its not good enough. Look, the Cattle Mutilation is one of the dumbest, most contrived looking submissions I've ever seen. Since when is the Ankle Lock that vicious looking of a submission hold? Why wouldn't the wrestler just rollover to reduce the pain. The Figure Four is great, but we are supposed to believe that turning over "reverses the pressure." False, it just becomes a sharpshooter and would still hurt like hell. Del Rio does a nice step-over roll into trapping the arm, it's capable of bring busted out of nowhere in the middle of a match for sudden finishes and near-falls.
Edge uses a spear as a finisher. Shawn Michaels used a super kick. John Cena uses a fireman's carry slam. Big Show freaking punches people in the face. The impact of a finisher is based on how well its executed, built to and thus sold by the recipient. Mysterio made the armbar look like the greatest pain he's every felt, and therefore the move got over.
As you can probably guess. High Road from me.
Posted By: Guest#6735 (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 01:21 PM
Del Rio is fucking awesome, plain and simple.
Posted By: Truth (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 01:50 PM
high road
Posted By: Joe Schmoe (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 02:27 PM
Both Roads
I havent seen much of him, but what I HAVE seen sucks. That said, im chalking it up to WWE attempting to force a gimmick instead of just giving a guy some character points and allowing him to make the character his own. Im choosing both roads to allow him some time to settle into things. Just doing vingettes is MUCH different to working a crowd AND a match with another guy. Time will tell but Ill stay optomistic.
Posted By: CM Wolf (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 03:12 PM
High road. This man makes you give a crap about wrestling. He gets heat like no other man.
Posted By: LOL (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 03:15 PM
High Road
Del Rio has quickly become one of my top favorite wrestlers in WWE. He reminds me of a mexican JBL, and I love JBL.
Im not totally sold on submission finishers, but other people say they love it.
Posted By: Guest#3462 (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 03:20 PM
High Road.
Love Del Rio's spin on the "snobby rich man/royalty" gimmick. The low roads were pretty lame this time. He makes NXT look bad? Nevett, nobody on NXT needs his help for that, they're sucking fine by themselves.
As for the mega-push, that may backfire. He has a far more difficult road than Mysterio ever had. To myself, and I'm assuming many fans that watch WWE, Mysterio doesn't scream "Mexican" to me. Latino fans know he is, but others don't immediately identify him as so because he's very light-skinned, wears a mask, doesn't really have an accent and the focus on him is always his size and his flashy moves. Del Rio is very dark-skinned, has a thick accent, doesn't have Mysterio's one-of-a-kind moves and his whole gimmick plays up his Latino heritage. Del Rio will bring out the prejudices of the White/Black/Asian/whatever fans more (which makes sense why he's heel) but it might end up being "bad" heat. We all know how racist wrestling fans can be.
Posted By: ThePants (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 03:31 PM
Low Road:
Vignettes are usually the kiss of death of a new wrestler. While getting across the character is important, doing so through regular promos and matches is ideal. The cold, sterile vignettes just make the character annoying. Some wrestlers have survived vignettes, but most don't.
Really? How about Razor Ramon? The Smoking Gunns? Mr. Perfect? Mankind? Didn't Kurt Angle do a few vignettes before he arrived? Sid Justice got a few. Shit man, name me a few that were a bust. Look, these vignettes can very effectively establish an interesting character and add some intrigue for their arrival. I would even venture to say that, more often than not, these vignettes are prepared for somebody they are high on and are willing to put some time and effort into before seeing how a live audience takes to them. The only real drawback is if the vignettes suck, the anticipation for his debut won't be as strong. Razor Ramon's are still my all-time favorites.
Posted By: Jay (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 04:12 PM
Finally, I love how the IWC whines about their not being enough submission based wrestling, and then we have one come along and they say its not good enough. Look, the Cattle Mutilation is one of the dumbest, most contrived looking submissions I've ever seen. Since when is the Ankle Lock that vicious looking of a submission hold? Why wouldn't the wrestler just rollover to reduce the pain. The Figure Four is great, but we are supposed to believe that turning over "reverses the pressure." False, it just becomes a sharpshooter and would still hurt like hell. Del Rio does a nice step-over roll into trapping the arm, it's capable of bring busted out of nowhere in the middle of a match for sudden finishes and near-falls.
Posted By: Guest#6735 (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 01:21 PM
lol, clearly you were never a kid and actually tried this stuff on a friend. Cattle Mutilation actually does hurt, in all sense of wrestling being put in the ankle lock after 10 mins of wrestling and just rolling through is going to be tough and plus when kurt does it he locks the other guy down now. And yes the turning over of the figure 4 does hurt. Honestly pretty much any submission they use in wrestling actually hurts if done correctly. But yeah your point is correct how you sell it is a big part of the move. The sleeper hold which would really knock people out but in wrestling is a rest hold, has become an effective weapon for Dolph Ziggler because they have built it up that way.
But I'm on a high road for Del Rio also, so whatever.
Posted By: Guest#4462 (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 04:47 PM
Both roads, leaning very high. The guy has "it". He knows how to go in the ring. There are a ton of wrestlers he can have matches with. The "facials" are perfect. Also, I like the WWE's plan for him.(push him all the way, as a heel, then turn him face and have him be the top latin star in the company) The only problem I've had with him was that I didn't buy him beating Rey clean in his debut match. It should've been either a fluke or cheating. In fact, they could've had him lose and still get noticed. Cena lost in his debut, yet people remembered him.
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 05:16 PM
Gonna say high road here.
I'm digging his character, he appears to be solid in the ring, and he is great on the mic. This guy is gonna go places. WWE needs more guys like Del Rio right now.
Added bonus is that hearing him speak in Spanish sometimes helps me practice my Spanish. He's a heel so he doesn't pander to the kiddos like Mysterio. His entrance is fun.
The only possible negative I can think of for him is that if his finisher is gonna be an armbar, that is pretty lame.
Posted By: Urquell (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 05:44 PM
"Look, the Cattle Mutilation is one of the dumbest, most contrived looking submissions I've ever seen."
^^^We have a winner. That is one of the lamest looking moves I've ever seen
Posted By: SS87 (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 06:29 PM
High Road:
He's over as hell. He's a damn good wrestler. Imagine him in proper matches against Kaval, Christian, Jericho, and when he comes back Mysterio. And that damn grin. Damn that grin.
Posted By: Dr. MagicPants (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 07:34 PM
Definite high road. Del Rio staring out as a heel makes perfect sense as that is the easiest way to earn the fans attention; starting off as a face really doesn't give the fans any reason to cre about them; Steve Austin, The Rock (not Rocky Maivia), Kurt Angle, The Undertaker and Triple H are perfect examples. Del Rio has been able to draw heat that Sheamus and Swagger (and I'm a Swagger fan)could only dream of after only a couple of television appearances. Del Rio has the size, a great look, a fine entrance, superb mic skills and his wrestling ability has only just been teased so far; in short, this guy has all the tools to become a major superstar despite his ethnicity, not because of it. The fans have been afforded the opportunity to actually savour the talents of a new superstar and most of us are enjoying every morsel. Unlike many new performers, Del Rio has ran away with the opportunity that he has been afforded, and the company will be all the better for it not only in the short-term, but hopefully in the long-term as well.
The last time that I felt this confident about a wrestler after so few appearances was Kurt Angle, and look who he turned out to be; arguably the greatest in-ring performer of all time.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 Royal Rumble winner, Alberto Del Rio.
Posted By: Guest#6498 (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 10:46 PM
High Road. Gimmicks get recycled and it's the little things that differentiate them. So far the wink works for me. If He and the writers do their job well, the horribly annoying video vignettes will be relegated to the IWC and diehard fans' memories.
The interesting part of the discussion for me this week is the issue of debuting and/or creating faces. It's a pro wrestling chestnut that it's easier to get over as a heel, right? Is there a formula for debuting a face any more? Smackdown seems to desperately need a few. In the post-Attitude era, are we destined to have so many Austin-esque anti-heros (Orton) or superheros marketing to the PG/kid market (Cena, Mysterio, Taker)? I wonder if we'll even get the kind of face that Anderson is doing for TNA again in the 'E - that DX or Rock kind of cocky, smart ass face that Cena might have been when he was first turned before they cleaned up his schtick to make him Mr. White Bread Marine guy?
Posted By: s1rude (Guest) on September 03, 2010 at 11:49 PM
Low Road: Cro Cop needs to kick his fucking head off (again)
Posted By: Guest#9154 (Guest) on September 04, 2010 at 12:43 AM
Who picks these topics?
Good god! Judging the dude's career after two weeks? High road (thus far.
As another post said, the problem with this column is being negative JUST to be negative or vice versa. Pick a good neutral topic and have at it!
Posted By: Nixon (Guest) on September 04, 2010 at 01:30 AM
High road
Posted By: Dwayne (Guest) on September 04, 2010 at 01:51 AM
High road. Jericho was just talking about people not being well traveled enough before they get into the WWE. Del Rio has been around and done some things prior to the WWE. Just seeing him so far, I hope he does well in his career in the WWE.
His facial expressions are very good, his entrance is quite awesome, the announcers seem to know how to talk about him the right way, and he did a great german suplex last week.
Posted By: midcard (Guest) on September 04, 2010 at 03:04 AM
High Road
Posted By: BPN (Guest) on September 04, 2010 at 06:44 AM
As of right now Alberto Del Rio is all High road. Now if for some stupid reason WWE stops pushing him then I'll say other wise.
He had a dream debut. He came in looked great against Mysterio and has looked strong since. Another good thing is that he can be an upper card guy without winning a World title for a while so he DOESN'T have to get a Sheamus or Jack Swagger push where he gets a title out of nowhere. I really see a lot of great stuff coming out of Del Rio since he's been wrestling for like 10 years so he's experienced, has a great chracter and a pretty good move set. though I admit I think his submission is a tad unimpressive, if he or his opponent can sell it as a brutal arm bar then fine. But it just comes off as a regular submission IMO
Posted By: Jesuszilla son of Godzilla (Guest) on September 04, 2010 at 10:24 PM
I'm going to go with the high road for Del Rio. Mainly because of his great start and Rey putting him over. They say first impressions are everything, and his couldn't have been better. In that light, Del Rio's entrance, finisher, and attitude can evolve during his tenure in the WWE, so the most important thing was to establish him as a threat from the very beginning which has been accomplished.
Posted By: Jordan (Guest) on September 05, 2010 at 12:30 AM
They can always rely on hunico from fcw to be rey's successor.. A great lucha that seems to have a bright future..
Posted By: huh (Guest) on September 05, 2010 at 05:44 AM
Low Road
JBL bored me to tears in his last run, now he's disguised himself as a Mexican I find him just as boring.
Posted By: Guest#0367 (Guest) on September 05, 2010 at 01:47 PM
Low Road
So far Del Rio hasn't impressed me in the slightest. His match with Mysterio was as dull as dishwater, and then just as he hit what looked to be a slightly interesting transitional move suggesting maybe the match would pick up Mysterio immediately tapped out making Rey-Rey look weak as hell in the process. Since then Del Rio hasn't proven he should be anything but a jobber, but then again the exact same could be said for Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, LayCool and Sheamus who are all making the WWE virtually unwatchable.
Posted By: Guest#7621 (Guest) on September 05, 2010 at 01:53 PM
Both Roads: It's high if the WWE keeps supporting him. I've been impressed with him so far.
However, it's a low road if they treat him like they've treated MVP, John Morrison, Jack Swagger, etc. with their various start-stop pushes. I also agree that he needs a better finishing move.
Posted By: JLAJRC (Guest) on September 05, 2010 at 03:30 PM
High road, but the vignettes and disappointing finisher almost made it a both roads.
All the weeks were we had those boring/annoying vignettes really wore thing quickly... and then they kept going! We only needed one vignette the week before he debuted to introduce him and establish his character. Instead they dragged on.
Then he debuted and instantly went from being an annoying vignette guy to easily one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the WWE within a week. His character exudes sheer confidence and years of experience. He's made a great start with his facial expressions in particular as his smiles and the wink are done in a surprisingly unique way.
His in-ring skills are good for what we've seen, though that isn't much. He hasn't had the opportunity to do much yet so that's understandable. His finisher leaves a bit to be desired, but he helps make up for that with a really cool float over into the armbar. Hopefully something can be done to make it truly appear like a true threat.
The personal announcer adds a nice touch but it is only that: a nice touch. It's something his character would do but I wouldn't be surprised if over time we saw it phased out. It'll certainly help to get him over.
Not much to say other than that. I've seen few wrestlers get over this big so quickly as Alberto Del Rio has. Hopefully he can keep up this momentum and even improve.
Posted By: Markus (Guest) on September 06, 2010 at 10:07 AM
I live in Mexico City and every Friday I went to see Dos Caras Jr. (Alberto del Rio) at the Mexico Arena. He was impressive he has the talent of a short size luchador but he is strong as hell (Mexican standards).
He can fly outside the ring, he can do a 619, everything that Mysterio does and better. I really hope he can wrestle with more Mexican style and less WWE style. Hopefully WWE let him show something else, because Mysterio is not a real "luchador". As a 100% Mexican I am proud that finally the WWE will see the best we have.
Posted By: Javier (Guest) on September 08, 2010 at 06:21 AM
100% HIGH ROAD.
Also, no one is associating Del Rio with NXT. It doesn't make anyone look worse, because not only is he played up as a wealthy Latin legend who would have no business lowering himself to NXT, but really, nobody's paying close enough attention.
Posted By: Guest#0620 (Guest) on September 08, 2010 at 03:25 PM
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