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August Wrasslin’ |OT| When Russo Shoots, He Shoots To Kill

Evening Musuko

Black Korea
Looking at Del Rio's twitter, he was setting up an interview with a reporter from Terra a few days ago. That's going to be interesting considering what just happened.
 

Striker

Member
Crazy. Del Rio was a rumble winner, MITB winner, 2x WWE Champion and 2x WHC (or was it 3x? I forget), but no one ever really gave a shit about him. Yet he accomplished more in his 4 years in WWE than most ever will.
They always tried keeping him above water, but never at that point of winning titles for a good length or looking credible/lack of a story.

You still have Orton getting main event opportunities despite being boring as shit on both the mic and in-ring. Sheamus is the same way, except being a babyface. And carrying the WHC for most of the year beating ADR for like six PPV's. Who was that suppose to benefit?
 

GhaleonQ

Member
it's a bit too bad, he was a great wrestler and a capable talker, but they never did anything with him that made me wanna see him.

So, who's gonna make the OT thread?

*dejected sigh*

It's a shame he's probably worth more in Mexico. It'd be kind of cool to drop him into NJPW and see some of those matchups.

That's basically a dream. Some people definitely use New Japan as shorthand for "where REAL wrestling happens, poseurs," but he'd be a phenomenal match for them right now.

I have front row, facing-the-camera tickets to a show, though, and I feel foolish now. Well, more foolish for paying for front row. Yes, I'm the 1 person in the entire world for whom Del Rio's the draw. Live, leg-slapping or not, he's easily the most compelling to watch.
 

Bowser

Member
More cuts coming:

According to the latest Observer Newsletter, both the pre-show and post-shows will be dropped in the near future. They currently air before and after Raw, Smackdown and all PPV events. Its likely that the Raw and Smackdown add-ons would be the first to go, as the PPV pre-shows have been airing well before the WWE Network launch on YouTube and the mobile app.

At one point there was discussion of launching a new weekly talk show on the Network, but with all the budget cuts that isn’t even on the table at this point. They have also been slow to update classic content to the Network, as studies are showing that most users are tuning in for monthly PPV events, and newer shows like Total Divas and Legends House, but not a lot of the older content. And as we’ve reported, the WWE Magazine and WWE Kids magazine has been cancelled, effective next month.

Ugh at the bolded
 
mvOyD.gif


I'm disappointed, friends. ADR could have worked - he had everything; good ability in the ring, Ricardo to cover for his lack of personality and a proven, tried & tested heel gimmick that they NEVER had the balls to go all-out with. The guy was meant to be a fuckin' multi-millionaire, but all they did to show that was give him his own personal ring announcer and let him drive around some fancy cars - they established that Ricardo was his man servant, yet never established why ANY of this makes Alberto Del Rio a BAD guy! He didn't abuse Ricardo, that was left to the various WWE faces such as Sheamus and Cena, who'd gladly hit a non-competitor because he distracted them, got in the way, or just because; beating up innocent ring announcers is what good guys do. They didn't fuckin' ONCE establish WHY Ricardo was working for ADR - hell, they did a better job establishing why HBK worked for JBL (so many acronyms) and that feud was dire. Would it really have been so hard to cook up some bullshit story about ADR impoverishing Ricardo's family and forcing their son into demeaning servitude? Also, why the hell did ADR never spend his money in a HEELISH fashion? He should've been hiring guys to do his dirty work left right and centre, hiring Divas to hang on his arm and party with him but, most importantly, he should've been bullying Ricardo every step of the way. This is simple 101 shit and what really, really pisses me off is that they barely even TRIED. I'm not even that big of a fan of Del Rio, yet here I am writing a huge fucking paragraph lamenting the ineptitude of WWE for letting a gimmick that SHOULD have worked go utterly to waste. That goes for Ricardo as well. You could've easily got a 'pushed to his breaking point, the manservant attacks the master!' storyline out of that shit, as well. Fucking amateur hour. This is why Paul Heyman's hailed as a creative genius, because even if he isn't (and he isn't) he could still do better than WWE creative.
 

CB3

intangibles, motherfucker
I always feel like Del Rio could have been more. Seemed like a mix of poor timing/lack of charisma/no good story to tell with him. He had the look and the skills to be a top guy, no doubt.
 
Say what you want about Del Rio but he is one of the few wrestlers in WWE that actually worked on his opponents arm for his submission instead of just slapping it on with no buildup.
 
People saying Del Rio had no charisma are a bit off. He had everything, it just never came together. I feel like he probably needed a different gimmick or a good twist to it to really connect with people.
 
Del Rio was a good worker and a good talker but he just seemed to lack "it" whatever it was, just that intangible thing that clicks with the audience. No reason he shouldn't have been a big star.
 
It's true. Old stuff is boring. I'll never watch an old PPV. I would totally watch certain matches, if their search was worth anything at all and let us jump to moments.

I like watching the old PPVs, but I'm waiting for all the Raw/Nitros to get on there so I can see all the build up and stuff. They're really useless without them.
 
So I have to assume the Million Peso Man will be taking his talents back to AAA where he is actually a draw. Dude can work but WWE seemed to kick his legs out everytime he started to go anywhere. He takes an L to Edge at Mania, gets the ole fashion Cena burial, gets out heeled by babyfaced Punk, and the real end was the horrible face turn. After that he was stuck in mid card hell with 75% of the roster doing RAW and SD filler matches or they would try to force him back up the card which always failed. He had a 3 week storyline with Batista after rumble but he hadn't really done much after that.
 
It's true. Old stuff is boring. I'll never watch an old PPV. I would totally watch certain matches, if their search was worth anything at all and let us jump to moments.

If they're fine with losing the minority (like me) who wan't to see a bunch of Legends Roundtables, vintage house shows and TV episodes from the territories, then so be it - but I don't see why it should be impossible to serve both sets of customers.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Everything with Del Rio started dying when they turned him face and didn't understand how to do it. That's really all.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Sheetz saying he spit on HHH backstage. Probably bullshit, but it's a fun scenario.
 

kiguel182

Member
People saying that Del Rio was held down. Now I've seen it all.

Del Rio got no reaction because he was boring as fuck. The guy was given everything, more than anyone in recent times and he people didn't gave a fuck.

He only got some reactions when he was a face and it was mainly for Ricardo. Ricardo was the one over of those two.
 

Jamie OD

Member
Crazy. Del Rio was a rumble winner, MITB winner, 2x WWE Champion and 2x WHC (or was it 3x? I forget), but no one ever really gave a shit about him. Yet he accomplished more in his 4 years in WWE than most ever will.

Del Rio losing to Edge at his first WrestleMania killed his original momentum. Then his babyface turn flopped when WWE tried to make him both a Mexican and American hero at the same time ("I was born in Mexico but I was made in America"). Then they got rid of his entrance + Ricardo which at that point was the only thing left about him that was over. Finally his rivalry with Sheamus was just treated with apathy. But yeah in hindsight he became damaged goods all the way back when Edge beat him.

Maybe he'll reappear at Triplemania. Seems like something AAA would do for attention.
 

KissVibes

Banned
Del Rio worked during a bad time. Americans just really hate people of Latin origin unless they've been previously established (Rey) or are comedic goobers (Ricardo). I guarantee if Samuray was brought up right now he'd flop now too.

The only time ADR was really over was when Ricardo went from being his man-slave to being his best buddy and into WM27. Really, it was Ricardo being over as a helpless goober that meant well with Del Rio just being able to leech on that.


It sucks too because Del Rio is a great wrestler and I think he plays handsome heel in nice suits damn well.
 
Everything with Del Rio started dying when they turned him face and didn't understand how to do it. That's really all.

I don't think it's just creative. Though it played a big factor for sure. They blew it with him at Mania 27, and then blew it on his face turn. Other times where it should have worked though, like the double-turn at Payback 2013 and the Summerslam 2011 cash-in just never seemed to work when they seemed like hot angles. After his last WHC run he seemed to be just treading water though after WWE had finally given up on him.

By the way, just hours ago WWE sent out a press release to Mexican media advertising Del Rio on the Mexican tour, so this was a late decision.
 
That Sheamus feud did him no favors as a heel as well. Sheamus dominated him all summer.

Say what you want about Del Rio but he is one of the few wrestlers in WWE that actually worked on his opponents arm for his submission instead of just slapping it on with no buildup.

It's a shame they had like everyone power out of the armbar, just making him and the finisher look weak as hell
 
Del Rio got no reaction because he was boring as fuck. The guy was given everything, more than anyone in recent times and he people didn't gave a fuck.

He got no reaction because they did nothing with the heel gimmick. It's not enough to just go "oh, he's rich, so they'll boo him" - the most vicious he ever got to be was in his feud with Mysterio, everything after was just fucking weak. Ricardo got the reaction and the sympathy, but that would have been entirely to Del Rio's benefit had they bothered to properly expound on their character relationship and taken the time to show us why he's a bad guy worth booing, rather than just a guy who says "destineeeeeeee" a lot and drives fancy cars.
 

Ithil

Member
I like Del Rio, this is tragic. On the plus side he can go back to Mexico and be Dos Caras Jr again and enjoy life!

Shockingly, he left a HELL of a legacy considering how many matches he worked. Really solid.

I have the feeling he'll probably just retire from wrestling. He's definitely said in interviews he would retire early (for a wrestler) and he's in his late 30s already. Given how they intended him to turn out when they signed him, I expect his contract led to him making a ton of money in his time there. He could probably retire comfortably.
 
To me ADR was one of those guys who got thrown up to the main event too fast, before he'd had enough time to get a proper connection with the audience. It was a strange mix of the forced push along with WWE's traditional ball dropping booking.
He got boosted up the ladder and then swiftly knocked back down on numerous occasions, multiple title reigns which are barely memorable, I tend to think of his first run more as being the unfortunate guy who took the title of Punk at his popularity peak at the exact moment it all went to shit as opposed to the dastardly ADR finally getting the title hook or by crook.

Everything with Del Rio started dying when they turned him face and didn't understand how to do it. That's really all.
On the contrary I think the early days of his face run were the most refreshing thing for his character since his debut period, it wasn't perfect by any stretch but his runs against Big Show, Swagger and finally Ziggler with the double turn were like a spring breeze after a year of eating Sheamus' Brogues.
 

somedevil

Member
Love how there rumors of him attacking Kevin Dunn which got him fired. Well Kalisto call up is going to happen faster then planned now I bet.

He is 37 so I doubt he wants to wrestle anymore and he said when his contract is up he was done.
 
It wouldn't shock me if he spit on HHH. H's probably said something cunty. But honestly ADR has been wanting out for months if the dirt screens are even a little bit credible.
 

Striker

Member
Another fumble was that feud with Dolph Ziggler that never went anywhere. ADR got the title stolen from him after WM, Dolph gets concussed and when he returns, gets put into a rematch with ADR for the title. Double turn done really well, the kicks to his head were getting a great buzz. Wins title back but they never go anywhere further. It's dropped. Just because.

That's the typical booking guys like him were shelved with.
 
People saying Del Rio had no charisma are a bit off. He had everything, it just never came together. I feel like he probably needed a different gimmick or a good twist to it to really connect with people.

I think his feuds/opponents were a huge issue for him. All I remember in regards to his storylines are Sheamus shitting in his car and Cena shooting that his cars were ranted for him when he thought he was CM Punk.
 

KenOD

a kinder, gentler sort of Scrooge
A part of me really wishes Del Rio punched out JBL, a knock out.

If they're fine with losing the minority (like me) who wan't to see a bunch of Legends Roundtables, vintage house shows and TV episodes from the territories, then so be it - but I don't see why it should be impossible to serve both sets of customers.

Are they even doing anything new to get people? Cancelled the idea of a talk show, not doing a new Tough Enough, getting rid of pre and post shows, so what else is there once Total Divas ends?

I also don't see why they couldn't present the old stuff as being new. Get a guy like Jim Ross to go over the matches and introduce them and take fans through the course of those shows. Use what they did with the various DVDs. WCCW, AWA, even ECW DVDs all got a lot of people who didn't watch them interested due to those documentaries making it new stories to them and a solid show of it could be done.

I think his feuds/opponents were a huge issue for him. All I remember in regards to his storylines are Sheamus shitting in his car and Cena shooting that his cars were ranted for him when he thought he was CM Punk.

He insulted those he feuded with, he called them little dogs sure, he got mad when they stole his stuff, but hell if I recall a single reason why he ever personally wanted feud with them other than "they are against me now, grrrrr". Ricardo was his most memorable feud and had it been Curtis Axel instead of RVD, even that wouldn't stand out to me.

I personally look forward to his return to CMLL or AAA.
 
I think his feuds/opponents were a huge issue for him. All I remember in regards to his storylines are Sheamus shitting in his car and Cena shooting that his cars were ranted for him when he thought he was CM Punk.
I think you're right. I can't remember any of Del Rio's stories or moments other than the Ziggler double turn.
 

kiguel182

Member
A part of me really wishes Del Rio punched out JBL, a knock out.



Are they even doing anything new to get people? Cancelled the idea of a talk show, not doing a new Tough Enough, getting rid of pre and post shows, so what else is there once Total Divas ends?

I also don't see why they couldn't present the old stuff as being new. Get a guy like Jim Ross to go over the matches and introduce them and take fans through the course of those shows. Use what they did with the various DVDs. WCCW, AWA, even ECW DVDs all got a lot of people who didn't watch them interested due to those documentaries making it new stories to them and a solid show of it could be done.


They are repeating the price and turning into a meme. Are you telling me that isn't enogh?
 

kiguel182

Member
Wikipedia right now:

On the 7th of August WWE.com announced that Alberto Del Rio has been released due to unprofessional conduct a fellow employee, much to the dismay of IWC and Wrestlingforum, him being their favorite wrestler.
 
It's weird how it states he was released due to unprofessional conduct. He's wanted out for months, why put Steve the coffee guy in an armbar?
 
Damn.Sucks to hear about Del Rio. I really enjoyed his in ring work. So does anyone know how long a wrestler can take before he joins another promotion?
 
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