Continued WWE’s The AAA acquisition was revealed in early May 2025 that former multi-time world champion and controversial figure Alberto Del Rio had officially re-signed WWE. Despite his most likely limited to the AAA brand, his previous infamy in WWE could lead to cameos here and there. But I believe that if that’s true, Del Rio will fail. Despite success on paper, Del Rio can be argued that it is a WWE failure. We explore why it is and why it is the result of another company spell.
Alberto Del Rio was pushed into the top of WWE
Del Rio won several world titles
Alberto del Rio’s WWE Results | Year/Rule |
|---|---|
WWE Championship | x2 |
World Heavyweight Championship | x2 |
United States Championships | x2 |
Royal Rumble | 2011 |
Bank money | 2011 |
Alberto Del Rio signed with WWE in 2010, bypassing development completely and quickly impressed the main roster. He was stabbed at the top of the card at the end of the year, and was sure he was like Rey Mysterio. Just a few months after WWE’s run, WWE was tied up to a rocket in Del Rio, attempting to make him the next big Latino star, winning a 40-man royal rumble match, and proceeding to WrestleMania 27, challenging the edge of the World Heavyweight Championship. Initially, WWE put a lot of it into Del Rio’s presentations, including Vignettes, cars, and pyro. He was strong in the ring, mostly delivering between the ropes, but initially failed to win gold, lost to Edge, and opposed Christians.
After some pitfalls, Del Rio won money in the bank briefcase and cashed in Summerslam 2011 to win his first WWE Championship from CM Punk. Throughout 2011, Del Rio won his second WWE title, rebutting with John Cena. He stayed at the top of the card and its surroundings for the next few years from that moment onwards, and WWE did a lot of banks for him. He won the World Heavyweight Championship twice and the US Championship twice. When it comes to lists of qualifications, successes and achievements, most WWE superstars just dreamed of Del Rio succeeding. But the problem with Alberto was that no one cares.
Fans didn’t care about Alberto del Rio from WWE
Alberto del Rio has become a controversial person
- Even on his heels, fans didn’t give him much heat.
- He couldn’t work well as a babyface
- Del Rio has been in disputes with allegations of abuse, behind-the-scenes fights and lawsuits.
Shortly after we arrived at WWE, it was clear that it had little to do with Alberto Del Rio’s WWE audience. Despite basic heel fever everywhere, Del Rio didn’t get over it enough to guarantee the push he received. There were many shocks when he won the Royal Rumble, but it wasn’t in a good way as fans have seen Del Rio win a more upsetting victory than winning the contest. His feud with Edge was cold, and by the time Summerslam rolled over that year, interest in Del Rio had dipped even further. For some reason, Del Rio didn’t have the “IT Factor” to make it in WWE.
Whether it was his style of promotion, or the move set in his ring was not connected to the audience or more, fans simply didn’t care much for him. His second spell in WWE went down in a rather similar way – he came back and quickly won gold (controversially defeating John Cena to end the US title open challenge gimmick), but his momentum settled and fans weren’t interested in what he was doing. For several years after his exit, Del Rio was at the forefront of accusations, with his history of suspected abuse, behind-the-scenes fights, lawsuits against WWE and difficult to work in terms of no-shows only made his feelings towards him more negative.
Alberto Del Rio will suffer from the exact same problem in WWE
Older, more controversial Del Rio is not likely to succeed
- Del Rio is currently 47 years old and has a lot of luggage.
- It’s unlikely he’ll eventually connect with WWE fans.
- Del Rio should stay in the AAA and stay away from WWE.
Alberto Del Rio could resurface in WWE programming at some point under WON’s Dave Meltzer, according to a report by Super Lucas’ Ernesto Ocampo. Del Rio is now 47 years old and has more loads than before, so we hope that a lot of disgust will emerge from the WWE fanbase after the shock of pop and return. Online feedback is overwhelmingly negative, and things will simply go down in the same way again when it comes to his on-screen persona – he will not receive a response.
WWE presented him as a return legend and was able to give him a title and a big match, but as in the heights of his career, he was not suited to WWE. He’s not a performer at the time, so it’s illogical to expect a difference in fares in WWE. He has no chance of strengthening his legacy in WWE, especially in an era when there are so many stars on the roster to fight for the spot. WWE is wise to keep him in AAA, and nowhere in WWE’s own programming.
