WWE: Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler – Their greatest feud

This past Sunday at the Payback PPV, an instance occurred which isn’t normally seen in the WWE. In today’s professional wrestling, especially in the WWE, there are no grey shades. There are good guys, and there are bad guys and it’s that simple. WWE doesn’t believe in making a guy interesting anymore. But back in the 90s, things were different.

More than decade and a half ago at WrestleMania, Bret Hart took on Stone Cold Steve Austin in a match which was universally praised. The interesting fact in the match wasn’t just the technically sound bout itself, but the events that unfolded during the match. Bret Hart went into the bout as a face, or a good guy, and Steve Austin went into the match as a heel, or a bad guy. But by the end of the bout, both the performers did not come out the same, and that was when things got interesting. Bret Hart turned heel, and Steve Austin turned face, which saw the birth of American’s favorite redneck and America’s most hated villain of that year.

 

As things turned out at Payback, one of the major talking points coming out of it was the Alberto Del Rio – Dolph Ziggler match. Alberto won the World Heavyweight title from Dolph Ziggler, and it wasn’t just the title change that made the buzz. In doing so, Del Rio turned heel. Del Rio debuted as a heel, and has been a heel for the most part of his career.

So what’s the big deal you might ask, and the answer to that is a double switch happening in the match. During the course of the bout, Ziggler turned face for the first time in his career, and even though he lost the World Heavyweight title, this is arguably the most important match/phase in both these performers’ careers.