A
big deal fairly quick. When Alberto Del Rio's profile leaked on
wwe.com before his television debut, it actually said that he would
be a big deal fairly quick. This would prove to be true as Del Rio
made his debut and made a quick impact entering a feud with fellow
Mexican, Rey Mysterio. He would earn his first World Title shot just
a few months into his career in a Fatal Four Way TLC match at TLC,
but couldn't win. He would however, win the Royal Rumble the
following month. That's where we pick this up. The top ten matches of
Del Rio's career in chronological order.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge at WrestleMania XXVII
We'll
start with the most infamous match in the career of Alberto Del Rio.
It will forever go down in history as the final match in the career
of the “Rated R Superstar” Edge. Del Rio won the first ever 40
man Royal Rumble in WWE history to earn this shot and while the build
up wasn't great, I was looking forward to this. Christian seconded
Edge, while Del Rio had Brodus Clay at ringside. We got treated to
the first opening World Title match in WrestleMania history and a
relatively clean bout that was competitive and fun. Edge would retain
the gold after 11 minutes, but Del Rio showed that he can go in the
ring.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian at Extreme Rules 2011
After
Edge announced that he would have to retire due to injury, the World
Heavyweight Title was held in abeyance! That guy gets a lot of
reigns. Christian would take Edge's spot against Del Rio at Extreme
Rules and it would be in Christian's patented ladder match. What
followed was a 21 minute battle that I've seen multiple times
actually. It went back and forth for the entire time and a lot of
people thought Del Rio would pull it out. Unfortunately for him,
Christian would realize his dream and capitalize on the emotional
momentum from his best friend's retirement. Del Rio would have to
figure out another route to his destiny.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Money in the Bank 2011
If
being a champion was his destiny then Money in the Bank is the
easiest path to take to get there. This particular Money in the Bank
Pay-Per-View is my favorite ever. With the historic CM Punk/John Cena
match, nearly anything else would be overshadowed. In the midst of it
though, was a fantastic Money in the Bank match featuring the Raw
superstars. Del Rio joined Mysterio, R-Truth, The Miz, Alex Riley,
Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne for nearly 16 minutes of
action. Del Rio was in trouble early on as everyone buried him under
a sea of ladders. He withstood The Miz returning to the ring from
injury and snatched the briefcase after unmasking Mysterio. Things
were about to get controversial for Del Rio.
Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk at Survivor Series 2011
Following
the events of Money in the Bank, CM Punk and John Cena met to
determine the WWE Title at SummerSlam. After Punk won, he was
attacked by Kevin Nash of all people. Del Rio used this opportune
moment to cash in his briefcase. After some lackluster matches with
John Cena, Del Rio was slated to meet CM Punk in Madison Square
Garden. They didn't go on last due to the Rock and John Cena teaming
up, but they might have had the best match of the night. Following 17
grueling minutes, CM Punk was able to get the win and begin a record
breaking 434 day reign as WWE Champion.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus at Night of Champions 2012
Early
on in 2012, Del Rio was sidelined with an injury, but returned the
night after WrestleMania XXVIII and engaged in a feud with then World
Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. They would have a series of matches
throughout the year, but they Night of Champions match in Boston
topped them all. By September, their feud was getting very tired but
that did not stop the match from being must see. These are two guys
who seem to always put on good matches, especially when together. A
14 minute World Title match ended with Del Rio coming up just short.
Five matches into this and just one Del Rio win.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Randy Orton at Smackdown
2012
would continue to be rough for the Mexican Aristocrat as he was
unable to score many big wins or titles. His focus turned to Randy
Orton at the end of the year and Del Rio took to calling himself the
“New Apex Predator” and the “Real Deal”. They would compete
at Hell in a Cell with Orton coming out on top before a rematch was
scheduled for the November 6th edition of Friday Night Smackdown.
This time though, the match would be a Falls Count Anywhere contest.
Del Rio cost himself this one as he got overconfident and cocky,
allowing Orton to nail a sick RKO on the steel steps and earn the W.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show at Smackdown
At
TLC 2012, Alberto Del Rio randomly turned face when 3MB targeted
Ricardo Rodriguez. His face turn led him into a showdown with then
World Heavyweight Champion, the Big Show. On my 23rd birthday,
January 11th, 2013, Del Rio was granted a title shot, but it was
going to be in a Last Man Standing match. Definitely a tall task (pun
intended) when facing the Big Show. The crowd in Miami was hot for
Del Rio as he worked towards his first World Heavyweight Title. Both
guys used weapons around the ring but the creative ending came when
Del Rio flipped the announce table on Show and the referee counted to
ten, earning Del Rio the World Heavyweight Championship!
Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler at Money in the Bank 2013
Del
Rio's time as World Heavyweight Champion would last through
WrestleMania 29, where he defeated Jack Swagger. The next night
however, he wouldn't be so lucky because Dolph Ziggler would cash in
his Money in the Bank successfully on Del Rio in one of the best
moments in recent Raw history. Del Rio would get a rematch at Payback
and won following underhanded tactics, turning heel again. Ziggler
would turn face and get his rematch at Money in the Bank. For more
than 14 minutes, two of the best workers the WWE has to offer went
head to head and the crowd wasn't sure who would win. Unfortunately,
untimely interference from Dolph's girlfriend AJ Lee resulted in the
disqualification win for Del Rio.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian at SummerSlam 2013
SummerSlam
2013 is a phenomenal show. From Daniel Bryan topping John Cena for
the WWE Championship, to Randy Orton cashing in Money in the Bank to
the war between CM Punk and Brock Lesnar. But, one thing that gets
lost in the shuffle is the World Heavyweight Title match. Many
people, myself included, didn't give Christian a snowball's chance in
hell here. I remember sitting at home watching with my brother and we
slowly found ourselves believing that Christian would pull this off.
That says something about the two guys performing because they
totally changed my perspective. After many near falls in 12 minutes,
Christian was forced to submit to the Cross Armbreaker.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus at Main Event
His
World Title reign ended at the hands of John Cena at Hell in a Cell
and things went downhill from there for Del Rio. He failed to get the
belt back at Survivor Series, lost to Batista at Elimination Chamber
and lost in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Del Rio went
from World Champion to nobody in the span of a few months. That
didn't stop him from putting on good matches and the most recent is a
Last Man Standing United States Title match with Sheamus. For being a
match with little to no build, we saw the use of kendo sticks and
other weapons in a fun brawl that Sheamus would win.
Alberto
Del Rio was only around for about four years with the WWE and while
he won four World Titles, I'll mainly remember him as a guy who was
consistent in the ring, but had some character issues. Check out the
matches on this list if you want proof of the man's ability.
