Ricardo Rodriguez looks back on his 2012 Royal Rumble appearance.
Rodriguez mainly appeared as a manager in WWE, outside of a brief stint as “El Local” in NXT. He primarily worked for Alberto Del Rio as his personal ring announcer, helping him win multiple matches with his trusty bucket.
However, with Del Rio out injured, Ricardo Rodriguez (now known as Jesus Rodriguez) took his place in the 2012 Royal Rumble match. He entered ninth in the bout, driving into the arena in a beaten-up car, mimicking Del Rio’s own entrance, albeit much less flashy.
Rodriguez even wore Del Rio’s wrestling gear, including his trademark scarf. Despite mimicking the 2011 Royal Rumble winner, he was eliminated by Santino Marella after just two minutes. It was a short, yet memorable stint that many fans remember to this day.
Rodriguez recently spoke with Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone about how his appearance in the Royal Rumble came about. Rodriguez said that he kept joking backstage about him entering in Del Rio’s car. The producers eventually took to heart and made it a reality, as Dean Malenko and Michael Hayes made it a reality.
“In short, in real short, it was, Alberto was hurt. And he was out with injury so, I was just kind of hanging out and then just kept joking about it. Cuz the Rumble was coming up. So, I just kept it safe, I said to [Dean] Malenko a few times. I said to Michael Hayes, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if I came out in Alberto’s car?’ And then we would chuckle about it and then leave it. And then, that day of the Rumble I showed up and then the car is there, and then it kind of went from there. It became a thing also just cuz of me joking around.”
Watch our full interview with Jesus Rodriguez below:
