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| More of this, please Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Last night's match wasn't the first time Rodriguez stepped in a WWE ring. His appearance at the 2012 Royal Rumble was a highlight, but that was more for his entrance. Still, in addition to the low-rent play off the then-injured del Rio's ring entrance, his performance in the Rumble match, as short as it was, was marked by high theatrics. He also has competed regularly in FCW and on Saturday Morning Slam (the latter as El Local, a clever play on the term "local talent" for, ahem, jobbers). It's not like he's a stranger to WWE rings.
However, last night's match was the biggest eye-opener of them all for me. While the match was laid out like a straight comedy affair, and believe me, it did play out like one, Rodriguez showed me more than enough in the short bursts he was in the featured action during the match that he could be one of the most over babyfaces on the roster if given the chance in the ring. He was the standout performer in a match that featured Big E. Langston, the current hot prospect, and Zeb Colter, aka all-time great Dutch Mantell, and I don't think it was even close. What really stood out to me were his punches. They were fast, forceful, and very real looking. Not only were they punches that totally suit a full-time, top-level WWE babyface, they immediately to me rocket up to the top of the company, along with Jerry Lawler's and... uh, I'll get back to you on the rest of that list.
With Rey Mysterio's career winding down and Sin Cara injuring himself to the point of being labeled a bust, WWE is really lacking the lucha-style high-flyer that they seem to covet. del Rio is a great wrestler in the lucha style, but even as a babyface, he's more grounded in his approach (although he did bust out a pretty sweet rana last night against Antonio Cesaro). Rodriguez may look a bit wonky for a high flyer, but consider his roots; he competed under the Chimaera mask in several California indies as well as Chikara with a decidedly aerial offense. Hell, his finisher, the corkscrew moonsault, embodies the ideal of flippy shit more than anyone else's move on the current roster save for Justin Gabriel's 450 splash.
It's not like they don't have a ready-made story for him to introduce him into the ring. All they'd have to do is transition El Local from Saturday Morning Slam onto the main shows, and have Rodriguez lead a double life until some heel outs him. There are many different places the story could go from that point, but the path I'd most like to see come from it would be del Rio and Rodriguez forming a best friends tag team that won titles and got into hijinks and what have you. Yeah, I'm a softie at heart, but screw you, it's my fantasy booking.
No matter how they get him into the ring, I think it would be an awesome turn of events if Rodriguez ended up on the roster as a part- or even full-time wrestler. It's clear the guy has the chops to be a super popular WWE superstar, both in and out of the ring. He's shone as del Rio's second, yes, and common logic is not to mess with a good thing. However, I think it'd be a crime if Rodriguez didn't get to meet his fullest potential as a performer in WWE. To me, that involves getting in the ring and wrestling.