How Should WWE Utilize Alberto Del Rio Upon Return from Injury?

This past week on WWE Raw, Alberto Del Rio was made to endure a second consecutive defeat at the hands of proverbial jobber and botcher Sin Cara. For a man who has held the World Heavyweight Championship for the bulk of 2013, that is desperate stuff.

However, it got worse for the Mexican when he suffered a concussion from Sin Cara, as WWE stated on their official website on Monday: "After speaking with Del Rio following his match, it was determined that he suffered the injury as a result of a top-rope sunset flip powerbomb."

Whilst injuries never happen at a good time for pro wrestlers, perhaps Del Rio—and the WWE creative team—can use the time off wisely to try and build his character back up again.

Del Rio is one wrestler who certainly seems to have little or no direction within the top storylines at this moment in time. That fact is perfectly illustrated by his seemingly meaningless rivalry he had going on with Sin Cara over the previous couple of weeks.

Again, for a guy who has been at the top of the card for the majority of the year, that is a pretty bizarre set of circumstances for the Mexican to be faced with. How the WWE use him from here on in is a mystery—especially if the proposed unification of the championships goes ahead at Tables, Ladders & Chairs on Sunday.

Perhaps the first—and most simple—option would be to reunite Del Rio with a former friend.

Ricardo Rodriguez has been missing from WWE TV screens since October—with the exception of him appearing on the Spanish commentary team for Survivor Series.

Rodriguez was a guy who always seemed to give Del Rio a bit of a push and played an excellent role as his personal ring announcer. It was the comedic sketches and excellent chemistry between the two that led to Del Rio's face turn last year, which did have its plus-points.

And if Rodriguez were to return to align himself with Del Rio, then perhaps a face turn would not be the worst option in the world. Del Rio certainly did adjust to the part pretty well, and it was as a face where he won his first reign as World Heavyweight Champion.

We saw a transformation that turned Del Rio into a real cult hero of the Latino wrestling fanbase, a market which Rey Mysterio still struggles to fill as he constantly battles injury. Perhaps that is the niche area for Del Rio to exploit moving forward in his career.

Then, of course, there is the other side of the coin.

There is the option for Del Rio to go down another route that suits him better. While he does work as a heel, he works even better as a menacing, ruthless one.

In the past few months, one of Del Rio's most notable moments was his attack on Big Show that left the giant suffering on the mat. Think back to Del Rio's turn back into a heel, when he took the World Heavyweight Championship off Dolph Ziggler. That was due to a repeated targeting of Ziggler's head after his recent bout of concussion—and the turn worked pretty well.

This could be the better option, given that the likes of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are struggling to fight their way into title pictures as top faces. Del Rio would obviously be way behind those guys should he turn again, so a heel character looks like his best option.

With an injury layoff now looking likely, it is up to the creative team to find a way to launch Del Rio when he does return. With the projected timescales for these kinds of injuries, the Royal Rumble seems like an ideal place to start.

It is there where so many rivalries and feuds are born due to the sheer random nature of the showpiece event of the pay-per-view.

If he is booked smartly enough, Del Rio still has the ability and potential to mix it up with the best.