Alberto Del Rio’s Return to WWE Has the Makings of a Ticking Time Bomb

Introduction: Last Sunday, at WWE’s Hell in a Cell live special, John Cena took to the ring to defend his United States championship in an open challenge to start the evening’s main card. There was quite a bit of speculation about who his opponent would be, from Dean Ambrose, whose tag match against members of the Wyatt Family fell apart when Randy Orton was injured, to Tyler Breeze, who had just debuted on Smackdown three days earlier (at least based on airdate), to perhaps another debuting NXT star like Baron Corbin, or even a Superstar returning from injury like Daniel Bryan or Sami Zayn. Instead, we witnessed the return of Alberto Del Rio, who had been fired from the company nearly fifteen months earlier after an altercation with a social media staffer over racist comments made at Del Rio’s expense. Del Rio received a sizable reaction upon his return and just over seven minutes later, he had beaten John Cean cleanly with his superkick to a kneeling opponent. There was some symmetry to the finish, perhaps even a sense of closure for Del Rio, who had seen his World Heavyweight Championship reign end unceremoniously to a returning Cena at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view just two years earlier. And while I am a fan of Alberto Del Rio and what he brings to the business, I just do not think that this situation is going to work out well for any parties involved.

First off, I would like to reiterate that I think that Alberto Del Rio is a tremendous overall talent and he can bring a great deal to the table, especially if WWE truly wants a strong Hispanic character to strengthen their position in that particular market. So why do I feel like this return is not going to be beneficial for Del Rio, for WWE, for the fans, or for AAA/Lucha Underground? Allow me to break down my thoughts for you.

For WWE

If you believe the rumors, WWE has brought Del Rio back not only as an olive branch for firing him in the first place, but also because they experienced a loss of revenue/viewership from the Hispanic market after agreeing to part way with Rey Mysterio Jr earlier this year. The hope was that by bringing back Del Rio, they would be able to improve their numbers with Hispanic fans, and that is probably the one area where I think Del Rio’s return will likely be a success, at least in the short term. After all, Los Angeles, which boasted 48.5% Hispanic or Latino respondents in their 2010 census, seemed to be enthralled with Del Rio’s return, and I think WWE will likely see an uptick in Hispanic viewership and revenue until the novelty of Del Rio’s return wears off.

And, make no mistake, the onus of this is not on Del Rio, who proved in both AAA and Lucha Underground that he can be a strong, crowd-pleasing babyface wrestler, something that he was often criticized for not being able to do during his face runs in WWE. No, Del Rio’s success or failure lies squarely on the shoulders of WWE Creative, which is why I feel that this return is not going to be as beneficial for WWE as they had hoped. Realistically, if they were looking to replace Rey Mysterio, they already had that wrestler on their roster in Kalisto, who matches Mysterio both in diminutive size and in jaw-dropping innovation inside the ring. As I have lamented in the past, though, where WWE struggles is in creating relatable characters of any ethnic background, but especially for their African-American, Hispanic, or non-North American performers. Was anyone really surprised to hear New Day reveal that they had to fight with creative to let them actually be themselves, which is what has actually worked to get them over? More importantly, has anyone forgotten when a then-face Sheamus stole Del Rio’s car, ate a bunch of stereotypic Mexican food, and then “defecated” in the car? Unless Del Rio is allowed to be himself (or at least an exaggerated version of himself), like he was in AAA and Lucha Underground, what reason has WWE given us to believe that things will be different this time around? Partnering him with a suddenly (and unexplainably) reformed Zeb Colter, as if to say “See? We’re not racist, we promise!”? Which raises an even bigger question – why did Del Rio agree to it? Surely he understands that Hispanic culture has largely been portrayed as little more than the butt of jokes in WWE (having experienced it himself and all), and that by agreeing to be paired up with Colter, he is immediately hurting his reputation with the same Hispanic market that WWE is looking to regain.

Assuming WWE re-signed Del Rio to cater to the Hispanic market, as has been widely reported, the lion’s share of the responsibility is going to be on them to book him in such a way that he is able to satisfy the wants of that particular fanbase. Del Rio has proven as El Patron that he is capable of doing that, and it does not even have to be lengthy championship reigns and consistent focus on each and every show that he appears on, like he was given in AAA and Lucha Underground; I think (and I say this as a non-Hispanic, so please, correct me if I am overstepping my bounds here, Hispanic fans of WWE) it is far more importantly to allow Del Rio to portray a character that transcends stereotypes and presents a more accurate portrayal of at least some portion of Hispanic culture. The New Day has drawn high praise from African-American wrestling fans for doing just that for that community, but by and large, I think it is difficult to say that WWE has historically done a good job of representing other cultures in a way that is not based largely on stereotypes. This leads me to believe that Del Rio’s current run with the promotion will not be as successful as WWE hopes, at least not from a financial standpoint. And if Del Rio does not move the proverbial needle with Hispanic fans, where will that leave the Superstar when WWE invariably ends his push?

For Del Rio

Again, if rumors are to be believed, Del Rio has received one million dollars guaranteed for a one year contract with less dates than a full-time talent but more dates than someone like Brock Lesnar or the Undertaker. Financially, this deal absolutely makes sense to him, but for someone who was proud enough of his heritage that it ended up costing him his job, was money really enough for him to swallow that pride? Surely Del Rio does not believe that a company with decades of veiled (and sometimes overt) racism would be able to completely turn over a new leaf in the year-plus he had been away? When the pitch was made to pair him with Zeb Colter, who had been diametrically opposed to Del Rio at the time of his firing and was best known for spouting anti-immigration rhetoric, did Del Rio not have instant misgivings that he had made a horrible mistake?

But this column is not about simply asking questions, rhetorical or otherwise, so let us instead look at what we know – Del Rio was openly critical of WWE after his dismissal, which was part of what made him so highly sought after by Ring of Honor, AAA, Lucha Underground, and various other promotions; after CM Punk broke his silence about his dissatisfaction with WWE and nearly broke the internet, Del Rio was sure to generate interest wherever he went, so long as he was willing to tell his tale. And it worked, at least in AAA, who quickly made him the focal point of their promotion and put their Mega Championship around his waist, and in their American offshoot, Lucha Underground, where an atmosphere not unlike that of mid-90’s Extreme Championship Wrestling transformed him into a cult hero for standing up for his beliefs and rebelling against “the system”. Del Rio would go on to defend his Mega Championship against several challengers in both AAA and also in Lucha Underground, but eventually, cracks would begin to appear.

Del Rio, as Alberto El Patron, would no-show an autism benefit show with little explanation and no apology afterwards, in spite of promoters hinting that they were worried about his well-being, and when Lucha Underground announced that El Patron would be involved in their second season, El Patron (or at least his Twitter account) refuted that account, saying that nothing was set in stone. Rumors began to fly that El Patron was unhappy with Lucha Underground, either with the pay or with a perceived lack of main event focus in the fledgling promotion. Just days before returning to WWE at Hell in a Cell, El Patron pulled out of a wXw event in Germany, this time because of contractual obligations not being met on the promoter’s end, specifically the fact that Del Rio was not happy with a coach flight across the Atlantic.

Taken in context with the rumored details of his deal, it certainly makes it sound like money is the primary motivating factor for Del Rio; however, even if he is financially fulfilled by his new deal with WWE, it remains to be seen if he remains happy with how he will be used. Perhaps part of his deal offers him the creative freedom that New Day currently enjoy and that made him so entertaining during his time outside of WWE, but can that truly compensate for losing the respect of a lot of Hispanic fans for essentially selling out? Should WWE put Del Rio in the same situations he found himself booked into prior to his departure, is an admittedly sweet monetary deal going to be enough to continue to swallow his pride? If Del Rio was truly upset because Lucha Underground did not plan their booking around him, it leads me to believe that he could quickly become disgruntled with WWE once again if he languishes in the midcard.

This concern should be somewhat mitigated by WWE’s stated focus of building a strong Hispanic star, but they have been trying unsuccessfully to build another star of John Cena’s caliber for at least the past five years, so Del Rio again finding himself on the outs with WWE management certainly does not seem impossible, especially when he ends up getting a terrible reaction in Des Moines (no offense, Iowans, but that city has produced memorably awful crowds the last few times WWE has been through) that ends up aborting his push and leaving him wandering aimlessly through the midcard wastelands until his deal is up. Should that happen, where will Del Rio find himself? At thirty-eight years old (thirty-nine by the time this deal expires if it runs its course), Del Rio is very likely coming out of the prime of his career, and while he will likely have a handful of good years left, I find it hard to believe that a major promotion is going to be willing to build around him, though that is not just because of his age.

For AAA/Lucha Underground

As I write this, Alberto El Patron is still the AAA Mega Champion, and AAA was forced to postpone a show originally scheduled for Sunday, November 1st, because WWE would not allow him to honor his commitments to AAA. This puts AAA in a difficult position, as they need to get their Mega Championship back in the hands of a wrestler currently not appearing on WWE’s weekly programming. Assuming El Patron has fulfilled all of his contracted dates with AAA, that leaves the promotion at the mercy of WWE’s whims, and even if he has not, a lawsuit directed at Alberto will likely end up being a messy, drawn-out affair, especially if WWE throws their support behind him. Even if WWE leaves Del Rio to his own devices should AAA file a lawsuit, short of an injunction (and help me out here, readers with a legal background, how likely is that to happen/be enforced, considering AAA is based in Mexico and Del Rio is currently employed in the United States?), there is little AAA can do to expedite getting their title back.

Even in the best case scenario, which would be WWE working with AAA to reschedule the show they just had to postpone in order to ensure that El Patron can appear and lose the Mega Championship, the damage has already been done – AAA’s top champion left the promotion, with their title, to hold a secondary title in WWE and be paired with a guy best known for his racism against Mexicans. That creates a negative perception of the promotion that will not help AAA’s reputation as they try to make inroads with fans in the United States. Looking at it from that perspective, what incentive would AAA or Lucha Underground have to bring Del Rio back in should he opt not to re-up with WWE at the end of this one-year deal? Will the Roldans, who run AAA, be as willing to swallow their pride to bring El Patron back as he was willing to swallow his to leave? I will admit that I have not heard or read anything that paints them as being as legendarily stubborn as Vince McMahon, but even if they did bring El Patron back to the company after a year-long run with WWE, I doubt there would be the same level of trust that saw him become AAA Mega Champion less than three months into his return to the promotion after a dozen year absence. With the aforementioned rumors that Del Rio was hesitant to return to Lucha Underground even before the WWE deal happened because they were not willing to focus more the spotlight around him, the Roldans would almost certainly have to have misgivings about bringing Del Rio back at all, which could potentially end up shortening the career of a truly talented wrestler.

For the Fans

As I mentioned, I think Alberto Del Rio is a tremendous talent who a lot of WWE fans did not properly appreciate during his first run with the promotion, in part because of his booking. While he will never be another Eddie Guerrero (because there will never be another Eddie Guerrero), Del Rio is far more talented in the ring and charismatic outside of it than what we saw during his nearly six years with WWE. His time in Lucha Underground proved that he could be every bit as effective as a babyface as he was as a heel, one of the most common complaints levied at him by fans who only knew him from his WWE days. While his English is far from flawless, he is more than capable of cutting impassioned promos that get reactions from live crowds, but WWE pairing him with Zeb Colter and letting Zeb do most of the talking leads me to believe that they have little faith in that facet of Del Rio’s skills.

Perhaps more importantly, even if WWE does not believe in a particular talent’s ability to entertain in promos and/or segments, they will occasionally be afforded the opportunity to get over strictly through wrestling ability, as someone like Cesaro has shown (perhaps Daniel Bryan would be a better example, as he was relegated to a sarcastic jerk in promos even as his wrestling ability made him ever more popular). If you have seen Del Rio’s work outside of WWE, you know that he is definitely capable of enthralling fans in the ring (I cannot recommend his work in Lucha Underground enough to prove this point), yet WWE fans frequently criticized his matches as being boring during his initial tenure with the promotion. Thus far, a little more than week into his second run, Del Rio has been able to vary the narrative structure of his matches somewhat and showcase more of that in-ring style, but if he keeps getting saddled with the likes of R-Truth after Cena spent months facing some of the best wrestlers in the company, of course Del Rio is going to look inferior in the ring.

And while hamstringing Del Rio by not allowing him to live up to his full potential would likely cost WWE money from and exposure within the Hispanic market, the real losers in that situation would be the fans. Not only would it deprive wrestling fans in general of another top-notch performer at a time when RAW’s ratings are surely suggesting that the program could use one, but it would be especially disheartening to the Hispanic fans who know that Del Rio is capable of so much more than what we saw from him during his initial term with WWE and would be just another instance of their culture not getting a fair shake from the biggest wrestling company in North America.

I am trying to be optimistic about Del Rio’s return, and the fact that he was able to defeat Cena cleanly for the United States championship in his first match back was certainly an excellent start, but it is going to be very difficult for me to fully invest in Del Rio until WWE can consistently show me that they understand his potential and are willing to allow him to realize it this time around. I believe Del Rio could realistically be to WWE’s Hispanic fans what the Rock once was to their African-American and Samoan fans – someone who ends up meaning a great deal to a particular group of fans because they managed to get past the stereotypes and enjoyed success because they were allowed to represent oft-stereotyped cultures in a more three-dimensional way. Rock was not a heel because he was black, but because he was an arrogant, power-hungry jerk; if they want to make Del Rio a heel (and his ring work against R-Truth would suggest that they are at least considering it), let it be because of something other than his ethnic background or where he was born. Hopefully Big E, Kofi, and Xavier Woods have laid the groundwork for a new day in how non-Caucasian performers are seen by WWE, and honestly, they are the only reason that I am even remotely optimistic about the prospects of Del Rio’s return to WWE.

While I am a huge fan of Del Rio and what he brings to the table in WWE, I think I have done a pretty good job of explaining why I feel it will probably end up being a pretty bad deal for all parties involved. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments, as I hate that I have reacted so negatively to what could end up being a very positive situation (and one that I was admittedly excited about when it rumored, and even when it happened, right up until I really started thinking about it). I would love to see a more positive spin on it. I suppose I am just having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that someone who was lauded for standing up for himself in what has often been criticized as a racist company, and who then went on to be treated like the lucha libre royalty that he is elsewhere, would choose to return to the company that wronged him for purely financial reasons. Personally, I do not believe that WWE will ever treat Del Rio with the same respect that they give someone like John Cena, or even with the same level of confidence that both AAA and Lucha Underground showed him, so I have a hard time believing that Del Rio agreed to return without any misgivings whatsoever.

(And, in a mostly unrelated thought inspired partially by Dino Zee’s excellent column about Chad Gable over the weekend, how awesome would it be if Jordan and Gable joined New Day? They have the same goofy charisma as the current members, and Gable could easily be the Owen Hart to New Day’s modern interpretation of the Nation.)

Wyatt Beougher is a lifelong fan of professional wrestling who has been writing for 411 for over four years and currently hosts MMA Fact or Fiction and reviews Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.