Yea, that happened. The word going around is Del Rio slapped someone who works for the website. There’s no word why he slapped someone. You should probably not slap someone at your workplace.
Alberto Del Rio (we’ll use that this time for convenience) suddenly has a lot of options – except the one he probably would’ve liked to kept. Del Rio, his immediate family and his parents all live in Florida now and he’d probably prefer to keep working in the states. Del Rio would probably be headed to TNA if it was a viable option, but it does not appear to be until/unless they get a miracle TV deal. There’s no telling how financial secure Del Rio is – he worked near the top of WWE for four years, but never the top guys and never in a spot where he would’ve been expected to sell a lot of merchandise. I definitely don’t expect Del Rio to work anywhere in Mexico full time, and it’s a matter of if he wants to work at all and where he’d like to do it.
I don’t think the incident which got Del Rio fired will have any effect on how he’s used in Mexico. Myzteziz has managed to whitewash his WWE stint and ADR will be no different. Del Rio can’t really go back under the Dos Caras Jr. mask, but that connection will still mean a major deal. Del Rio’s WWE stint was ultimately disappointing (though not Myzteziz level disappointing) but he can still be a top tecnico or rudo in Mexico without the promotion needed to do much. Alberto Del Rio is immensely valuable.
If Del Rio is going to come back to Mexico, the best fit appears to be CMLL. Del Rio left on good terms and seems to have spoken well of his time there since he left. There’s a clear void at the top coming – guys like Blue Panther, Negro Casas, Atlantis could all take a step back at any time, and the Shocker, Ultimo Guerrero, Mr. Niebla group is not far behind them. Del Rio has an obvious feuds with Rush and Terrible (heavyweight champion) on day 1. He could also use the NJPW connection to get work there (assuming that connection is still going.)
It appeared Hijo de Dos Caras would all along eventually get at least a chance to come to CMLL. His big brother coming in would guarantee that. (It’s notable that, unlike with Argos & Argenis, AAA hasn’t appeared to bring in the brother of the WWE star as a lure – but then no one saw this coming.)
The problems here are CMLL hasn’t brought in a guy to use part time since Hijo del Santo a decade ago, and it seems a stretch to imagine Del Rio to be working random shots in Guadalajara for what CMLL is paying people. CMLL’s pay scale appears to be so low that Del Rio might even be out of the price range on all but the biggest shows. There have definitely been times where CMLL would’ve benefited from flying in an (any) ex-WWE guy for a while to freshen up the matchups, but CMLL’s hasn’t really been interested in flying someone in.
AAA, of course, already has a guy who lives in Florida, works his own schedule, and flies into AAA TV occasionally. That’s Blue Demon Jr. AAA hasn’t been totally content with that relationship, unable to get Demon all the times they’ve wanted him (and Demon being conveniently unavailable at times where he might be asked to lose.) One of the reasons Demon has been used is because he’s a known quantity in both Mexico and the United States, which would also be true for Del Rio. Del Rio would be useful for the AAA US project – at least in theory, maybe not in fact as more is leaked about that show – but it’s unclear if Del Rio’s termination allows him to appear elsewhere immediately or if he’s stuck with a 90 day compete which would keep him off TV for a while.
AAA has a lot of top guys already, to the point where some of those top guys are just being left out in the cold for months (Zorro) or being downgraded quickly (Averno, Black Warrior). Del Rio would start at the top immediately – there’s a logical feud with Texano for the Mega title – but would be battling for screen time with Mesias, Cibernetico, La Parka, Perro Aguayo, maybe Dr. Wagner and definitely his old nemesis Myzteziz. AAA’s stressed keeping a happy lockerroom and someone would have to do a lot of work to keep it that way if included Del Rio and Myzteziz. There’s money to be made, but there’s also migraines to be made.
These aren’t the only two options. There’s plenty of ex-WWE guys who work on random US and foreign shows with other ex-WWE guys. There will be indy guys in the US who will want to bring in Del Rio as a hopeful latin draw. Myzteziz appears to be making a killing working for random promoters around Mexico the last few months. Del Rio might find that same success and probably could just that for a long time, though he also might find the some of the same shaky promoters. (No idea who his Averno would be.) Japan would be an option if there was anyone besides NJPW who could afford him. I don’t think he’d go back to MMA fighting, but he could be useful as an even just a UFC spokesperson in Mexico.
There’s so many ways this could turn out and no certainty about any of them. Myzteziz always seemed very likely to return to AAA. There’s no very likely situation for Del Rio. I’m guessing he’ll eventually go back to CMLL, but it’s far from a sure thing.
This week has been crazy. And I haven’t even gotten around to talking about AAA USA…
Update: So, TNA’s already offered Del Rio a contract and the World Title. If they can also offer a TV deal (and if there’s no Emma-like unfiring), I think that’s the now the most likely option.
Update 2: Meltzer also says it’s believed Del Rio will have a 90 day no compete. That would mean no AAA US taping unless they’re pushed back to November. It may mean no TNA at all.
