Ex-WWE star recalls facing "baby" Roman Reigns and many names who are now top guys
Roman Reigns and many other major WWE stars have come a long way since their developmental days. Ricardo Rodriguez recently spoke about his FCW stint, where he faced many wrestlers when they were just breaking into the WWE.
Florida Championship Wrestling was where rookies were sent to get ready for main roster TV, and back in 2010, it boasted the likes of Roman Reigns (fka Leakee), Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), and Big E.
Ricardo Rodriguez signed with WWE in 2010 and initially wrestled under a red mask and was known as "Chimaera." Rodriguez, who later was known as Alberto Del Rio's ring announcer, was seen as an experienced talent by WWE who could help the wrestlers who were still green.
While speaking to Developmentally Speaking, the former superstar explained what his role was in FCW:
"That was a lot of fun. Dude, I got to wrestle with 'baby' Roman Reigns. You know, 'young' Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Big E Langston, all those guys. You know, Bray Wyatt, before he was Bray Wyatt. I got to wrestle a lot of amazing folks. I was put in that responsibility list of, 'Hey, we have these guys that we're trying to build up, you know, can you get in there and work with them and help them.'" [16:06 - 17:00]
I didn't get it at the time: Ricardo Rodriguez on how WWE used him in FCW
Ricardo Rodriguez is an incredibly underrated talent, as he could do an equally effective job as a manager and wrestler.
The 37-year-old was already a well-rounded and dependable worker when he arrived at WWE. The coaches and trainers believed he could elevate the rookies who could become main event stars.
Ricardo, however, couldn't grasp why promotion wanted him to go up against the same guys even though they were still new to the system. Rodriguez admitted that, in hindsight, he realized the reason why the company utilized him the way they did:
"I didn't get it at the time. I didn't understand that process of why they kept putting me in those situations. I was like, why are you putting me with these guys over and over again? I didn't get it until later on I realized they trusted me to guide this person, to help him, to teach him whatever they thought I was going to teach him." [17:01 - 17:30]
Celebrating my 17th Wrestleversary. Man it's been a ride. Highs and lows but grateful how things turned out. The bonds that were made and lost. The experiences and heartbreaks. All of it. Thank you, Wrestling . 17 Years Strong pic.twitter.com/rnwrQZfcCD" target="_blank" title="tweet-url" rel="noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/rnwrQZfcCD" target="_blank" title="tweet-url" rel="noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/rnwrQZfcCD" target="_blank" title="tweet-url" rel="noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/rnwrQZfcCD
Rodriguez also revealed the WrestleMania moment that pushed him to pursue wrestling as a career. You can read more about that story right here.
Please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.