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| Yeah, he looks fetch but ADR didn't fit in too well in LU. |
Since being released Del Rio has changed his name to
Alberto El Patron, capitalising on WWE's baffling decision not to trademark the
'El Patron' nickname he used during his time in the company. His most prominent
appearances have come in Lucha Underground, ROH and AAA. Truth be told he
actually seemed a little out of place in LU, both in terms of character and
wrestling style. In ROH he wrestled a handful of very good matches in early
2015. Then he stopped being booked for whatever reason (it's likely that his
work with the other promotions mentioned here were behind that), a pity as 'The
Essence of Excellence' felt like a good fit in the Land of Honor. His AAA work
has seemed to go down better though. The promotion is clearly happy to have him
as they put their top title, the mega championship, on him in December 2014 and
he's still got it now.
You may be wandering why WWE would want to rehire someone
they released for attacking a co-worker less than eighteen months ago. The
answer here is simple: they have also lost Rey Mysterio and haven't managed to
build up a new star to market to their Latin American fans. They need the star
power.
Which is odd because they have the perfect guy on the
roster. Kalisto is young, talented, wrestles the style, is the nationality
required, and wears a mask. He's a significantly better worker now than a guy
like Rey Mysterio is. He may not be as breathtaking or revolutionary as Mysterio
in his prime but nobody will ever be that good (or at least that significant) again. The aerial antics of
90s Mysterio have been replicated, standardised and exaggerated upon too much
for that. But Kalisto would still be a good choice for WWE to push if they want
to have marketable Hispanic star.
 |
| Push this man. |
That nothing much has been done with Kalisto is odd. He
received a call-up to the main roster the night after WrestleMania 31 and...
that's it really. He and Sin Cara, as the Lucha Dragons, have been booked as
just another team. They've only wrestled on two pay-per-views, Elimination
Chamber and SummerSlam (and Chamber technically wasn't even a PPV). They've not
been protected or presented as anything special, nor has the team been booked
to make it clear that Kalisto is a singles star in waiting. Had they been given
more to do Kalisto would probably be in a good place to wrestle in prominent
singles matches on the company's upcoming Mexico tour and act as a draw for the
Fed.
It may be WWE's own fault they haven't replaced ADR and
Mysterio but that is ultimately irrelevant. All that matters is that they
haven't been replaced. Bringing back Del Rio is a good enough answer in the
short term. He's an established name and could fill the top Latin star role as
well as giving the top of the card a welcome fresh name to play with. If he
were willing to go back, and chances are he would be for the right money (and
one thing WWE isn't short of is money) and some form of resolution regarding
his initial release, he could help WWE. But if he does they should also help
themselves and build up Kalisto anyway. Because he's the guy with the long
in-ring future who could be selling merch in ten years.
