Per Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Alberto Del Rio will reportedly be done with WWE by the end of the month, and will be contractually free to wrestle wherever he wishes imminently.
When I read the news earlier this week, I was hardly surprised, and only one question came to my mind: Does anyone really care?
I had a similar reaction almost exactly two years ago when Del Rio was initially fired from the company. That was a result of him being involved in a heated confrontation backstage that saw him slap a social media worker after a racist comment was made.
At that point, Del Rio had been wasting away on WWE Superstars and Main Event, and it was already well-known he was on his way out once his contract expired. Sure, he left under awful circumstances, but it was painfully apparent he didn't want to be there anymore, so it ultimately worked out for the better.
Within a matter of months, he was back on the independent scene as Alberto El Patron, killing it in every promotion he wrestled for. He had a number of memorable matches for Ring of Honor and AAA, but perhaps the run that reinvigorated him the most in my mind was his time spent in Lucha Underground.
He journeyed over to The Temple at the onset of 2015 and immediately made an impact by bringing the AAA Mega Championship with him. From the moment he arrived, he came across like a true main event player, and the racous reaction he received from the audience in attendance that night solidified him as the star he was born to be.
Simply put, he appeared to be more motivated in that moment than he ever was in WWE. It wasn't about the money; it was about the passion he had for pro wrestling, and surrounded by fans who were excited to see him in action, he fed off their energy and made a fan out of me (again) in the process.
I thoroughly enjoyed the feud he had with Johnny Mundo (f.k.a. WWE's John Morrison), and although he came up short in their Falls Count Anywhere match at Ultima Lucha after interference from Mundo's girlfriend Melina, I assumed it left the door open for a return in the second season.
As it turned out, he decided not to go back, and instead negoiated to re-sign with WWE in the fall of 2015.
To be perfectly honestly, I couldn't have cared less about Del Rio returning to WWE, simply because he had achieved everything he could during his previous run there. In his rookie year alone, he won the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank Ladder matches and captured the WWE Championship.
Over the next few years, he held the world title another three times. What would going back accomplish?
It didn't help that when he left the first time in 2014, WWE stripped everything away from his character that made him stand out from the rest of the roster to begin with. He didn't come out with the fancy cars. They fired his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez.
They stopped giving him pyro. He won most of his matches cleanly early on in his run before gradually becoming like every other generic heel over time. What was so special about him then?
WWE had their chance to change all that when they brought him back at Hell in a Cell 2015 as a surprise opponent for John Cena and had him beat the face who runs the place in decisive fashion.
In addition to capturing the United States Championship, he recaptured that same “star” he aura he had at the start of his stint in WWE in 2010 and in Lucha Underground.
It looked like he was primed to be pushed to the moon from that point forward, but that was far from the case. It didn't take WWE long to make him less of a priority, throwing him in the horribly booked League of Nations stable that was solely designed to get Roman Reigns over.
He rekindled his rivalry with Jack Swagger for no real reason, joined forces with Zeb Colter in an alliance fans didn't know how to react to, and contested a series of matches with Kalisto that didn't exceed expectations (let alone meet them).
Once League of Nations mercifully went their separate ways in the spring, the writing was on the wall in regards to Del Rio's future with WWE. Wade Barrett's contract was expiring anyway, Sheamus went on to feud with Apollo Crews and Cesaro, and Rusev re-entered the United States title picture, leaving Del Rio to fend for himself without any direction.
His violation of WWE's Wellness Policy and subsequent suspension for 30 days all but sealed the deal that his annhilation at the hands of Randy Orton and John Cena would be the last fans would ever see of him on WWE TV.
Prior to that point, he wasn't doing anything of note storyline-wise, so to those asking whether this will be a big blow to the roster depth on the SmackDown side of things, it shouldn't be.
That said, it is a major letdown that WWE would sqaunder a massive opportunity to make Del Rio the top-tier talent he had the potenial to be the second time around. But much as the premise I began this analysis under, this just draws me back to the same question.
Does anybody care?
