WWE: Why I can’t stand Alberto Del Rio

Right off the bat, this won’t be an over-analysis of how Alberto Del Rio has been one of the blandest and worst World Heavyweight champions of all time.

Alberto Del Rio arrives to the WWE SummerSlam Press Conference at Beverly Hills Hotel on August 13, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Keipher McKennie/WireImage)

Dos Caras Jr (that was his name while wrestling in Mexico) was one of Mexico’s biggest superstars. Along with a handful of luchadores, Dos Caras made huge waves in the world of professional wrestling.

I was always a fan of Lucha Libre wrestling. I’ve followed almost every type of wrestling there is, and I was always impressed with Dos Caras before he came to the WWE. As a matter of fact, when WWE signed him, I was one of the happiest guys, believing I could see the Mexican heritage in the WWE. And when Vince and the “corporate think – tanks” (there’s your oxymoron for the day) decided to remove his mask and make him a JBL-esque character, I was still supportive of the new Alberto Del Rio. I quite liked the character, as it was the flipside of JBL’s “alien hating” gimmick. Instead of an American hating on the immigrants, we had the opposite, and that was something unique.

Sadly, that’s all I have to say about Alberto Del Rio. When he won the WWE Championship for the first time, I was happy for the guy. Although I didn’t approve of the “Kill Punk’s momentum at SummerSlam” angle two years ago, it came off as a genuinely happy moment for Del Rio. What works somewhere else doesn’t work in the WWE. The prime example for that are the Japanese and Mexican wrestlers not making it big in the organization, and a similar thing happened with Del Rio.

For me, Del Rio can never become what the “American fans” want in a heel or a face. Dos Caras was a unique character, but Alberto Del Rio isn’t. In fact, I find ADR monotonous and boring, and after his initial run as the WWE Champion failed, I realized that he wasn’t, and will never be, a top guy in the WWE no matter how hard WWE tries to push him down the throats of the fans. Alberto Del Rio will be one of the main-eventers in the WWE for a long time to come, not because he’s entertaining, but because he caters to the vast Hispanic fan base of the WWE.

Now, let me go back to my initial point about me not liking Del Rio. Sure, he’s one of the best workers in the WWE. As a guy who earned the respect of the fans in Mexico while performing in AAA and CMLL, he has to be a solid performer, and I don’t deny that. What peeves me off about Del Rio is his unidimensional persona, which he never seems to work on, and his attributes as a performer. This past week on RAW, ADR took on Sin Cara, and within 30 seconds of the match, Sin Cara gave his critics yet another excuse to ridicule him when he got injured after a suicide dive on the outside.