Alberto Del Rio made an explosive return to WWE programming last year when he took the United States title at Hell in a Cell beating John Cena clean. Fast forward a year and it looks like he will once again walk away from the company with a whimper.
Del Rio debuted in 2010 and went on to win the Heavyweight Championship. This was followed by winning the largest ever Royal Rumble and a Money in the Bank contract. Four years later, Del Rio was fired for unprofessional conduct after an altercation with a WWE employee who made a racial joke. By then, the Del Rio had lost all momentum and was relegated to the midcard. However, he was fired with the silver lining that he would be welcomed back once everything died down. WWE also tried to prevent him from competing anywhere else for an entire year, which Del Rio protested against and threatened to sue the company.
However, after his return in 2015, Del Rio managed to turn a few heads with his win over Cena at Hell in a Cell. Cena was leaving for a surgery and needed to film the first season of American Grit. There were plans for him to fued with Del Rio upon his return but those plans fell flat. Unfortunately, the WWE creative did not have a definite direction for Del Rio, and his stock had declined by the time Cena came back.
If reports from Cageside Seats are to be believed, Vince had initially promised Del Rio that he would be a Paul Heyman guy. This was intended to help push him as a top overseas babyface, a role the company has had a difficult time filling since Rey Mysterio left. However, Vince changed his mind and Zeb Colter and Del Rio were paired together with a “Mex-America” gimmick. While the win over Cena was significant, the pairing was unnatural and over the top. In fact, this gimmick fell flat even before the fans could come to terms with it. Lingering fueds with Jack Swagger and Kalisto certainly didn’t help either, and by the time Cena returned, an angle with Del Rio simply wouldn’t have made any sense.
Then came the stint with the League of Nations. This was a last-ditch effort to resurrect Del Rio. He was grouped with Rusev, Sheamus, and Barett but they eventually ended up jobbing to Roman Reigns. It was a stable of four better than average wrestlers but they couldn’t gel together and form that top heel stable some were hoping for.
Vince was a vehement supporter of Del Rio, but Triple H did not feel the same way. Hunter had always maintained that Del Rio’s relationship with Paige was a bad influence on her career. McMahon wanted to push Del Rio again after the brand split, but Triple H somehow managed to scrap those plans .
It was thought that his recent Wellness Policy violation was the final straw, but he had apparently given his notice prior to the suspension.
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