Alberto Del Rio – One Step Up
As a big supporter of Alberto Del Rio, it was a pleasant surprise to see him win the World Heavyweight Championship from Big Show this week. Great job by WWE as well, using spoilers to your advantage in this case. I can only imagine ratings for Friday were good, and Rock's appearance wasn't the only reason why.
Does Del Rio immediately become a legitimate main eventer with this win? Not necessarily, but it doesn't hurt. His face turn will likely do more for him than the title win, but both at the same time gives him the best shot at high-level success.
I give Big Show plenty of credit as well. His recent run on top might not mean much ultimately, but he's always going to be able to help put others over in a big way. Simply because he's so damn big.
Most fans are now turning their attention to Dolph Ziggler's MITB contract. Can't say I blame them, but WWE has their work cut out for them if a ADR/Ziggler match at WrestleMania is supposed to get people excited. That is, more people than just me.
While a rematch between Big Show and Del Rio is certainly possible at Rumble, I won't be surprised if the idea of having Big Show in the Rumble itself wasn't a partial factor in taking the belt off of him now. The big man's role in the battle royal is a popular story to tell each year.
Ryback is someone to watch as a result of this as well. The rumored Big Show/Ryback match at 'Mania could still take place obviously, but WWE's decision to keep the title out of it is interesting. I know there's a lot of fans that felt the World Title could have made up for some of Ryback's recent losses.
Will Del Rio end up being a transitional champion at the end of the day? It's possible, but I'm looking forward to seeing him on top again.
If his face turn allows him to truly connect with the fans, watch out for Alberto Del Rio (and Ricardo) in 2013.
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