WWE WrestleMania 28: Major Update on Plans for Alberto Del Rio

Alberto Del Rio is not going to be competing at WrestleMania 28, and the WWE’s decision to keep him off the card has been a head-scratcher for many. 

After the former WWE champion threw his support behind John Laurinaitis at last month’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the widespread belief was that he would eventually be revealed as a member of Team Johnny. 

Yet, Team Johnny is set, and Del Rio is not a part of it, which leaves us to wonder why he was left off the WWE’s biggest pay-per-view of the year.

Apparently, it was done for a few very specific reasons. 

From PWInsider.com (via WrestleNewz.com):

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Regarding Alberto Del Rio being pulled, WWE officials looked at the 12-man match and felt that Del Rio didn’t fit in it. They are planning on pushing Del Rio soon and didn’t want him in a match that will be full of comedy and other shenanigans. With that said, it’s interesting to note that they kept guys like Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and The Miz in the match. 

It’s said that WWE has something grander planned for Del Rio this year. Instead of returning in the 12-man match, officials want Del Rio to have a more dramatic return to the company. Even though he recently participated in the angle with John Laurinaitis, the original plan was to do Del Rio vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania and sources report that the Orton vs. Del Rio feud is still planned. The decision to pull Del Rio was made in the last week some time. 

Despite being pulled from the match, expect Del Rio and Christian to appear in a backstage WrestleMania segment or Del Rio could even work the dark match. 

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Now that I think about it, this is probably a good idea. 

While I wanted to see Del Rio on Team Johnny because it made sense storyline-wise and gave the match some more star power, he really isn’t going to benefit all that much from being one of six heels who beats a baby face team comprised primarily of comedy characters. 

I may not be a huge Del Rio fan, but he is one of the better overall heel performers in the WWE. If the creative team has bigger plans for him, it should hold off on bringing him back until it can set up his new storyline, which apparently will be a feud with Randy Orton. 

Consider me a fan of a potential Orton/ADR feud. ADR has already feuded with CM Punk and John Cena, and besides Sheamus, Orton is really the only top face that he has yet to have a rivalry with. 

The WWE can easily set up for a Del Rio vs. Orton feud after the 2012 WWE draft, which will likely take place after April’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. 

Whether it be on Raw or Smackdown, I’d make sure that these two guys are on the same brand, and that—unlike the Orton/Kane feud—their reasoning for feuding actually makes sense.

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