Ricardo Rodriguez's Beatdown Enhances Christian's WHC Title Hopes at SummerSlam

The beatdown Alberto Del Rio put on Ricardo Rodriguez Monday night is the kind of attack that normally comes back to haunt the attacker at an upcoming pay-per-view.

And while no one expects to see the nebbish Rodriguez come out and go all medieval on Del Rio—although that would be fun to watch—we do expect him to play a major role in the outcome of Del Rio’s World Heavyweight Championship match with Christian at this month’s SummerSlam. Matter of fact, he could provide enough of a storyline distraction to Del Rio that Christian beats him for the belt.

Rodriguez had just come off a 30-day Wellness Policy suspension when he was savagely attacked by Del Rio Monday night for allegedly costing the champ a victory over Rob Van Dam. Rodriguez is very good at selling moves and taking bumps, so he was able to put Del Rio over with the crowd by making the attack look more ferocious than it actually was. When it was over, Rodriguez was lying in a heap at ringside, and Del Rio was hearing perhaps the loudest boos of either of his heel runs in WWE.

Rodriguez may look as terrifying as a throw pillow, and his recent history in the ring has made him out to be something of a weakling. But he actually is a fairly accomplished wrestler who has shown that he can throw some acrobatic moves in the ring.

He also proved to be popular with the fans, even during Del Rio’s heel runs. His devotion to Del Rio and his childlike innocence—which often led to disastrous results—created a certain amount of empathy with TV and arena audiences.

But even someone as meek as Rodriguez’s character has a breaking point. If WWE Creative does not make the Del Rio beatdown a breaking point, not only would they miss the boat, they would not be anywhere near the dock.

I do not expect Rodriguez to get physical with Del Rio before SummerSlam—even though an altercation would bring more intrigue to the match with Christian. The retaliation will be more mental, such as him appearing at ringside or on the Titantron toward the end of the match and getting just enough of Del Rio’s eye to open the door for Christian to win.

Then again, Rodriguez could attack Del Rio after the SummerSlam match, kicking and slapping him around the ring and turning his crowd support from sympathetic to frenetic. That is the type of swerve that WWE has made a living on over the years.

While he would not be part of the WHC picture, he could prove to be enough of a pain to Del Rio to open him up for a title loss in a match or even a Money in the Bank cash-in by Damien Sandow. Rodriguez likely will never be an uppercard star, but he could be a mainstay in the midcard to create a decent post-championship feud with Del Rio.

But before we get to that step, we have to get through SummerSlam. First comes the expected retaliation coming Alberto Del Rio’s way. And if retaliation comes Del Rio’s way, the WHC title could be coming Christian’s way.

All thanks to the man-child we once knew as Ricardo Rodriguez.

Follow Bill Atkinson on Twitter at @BAtkinson1963.