WWE: Alberto Del Rio's Character Needs a Change

Alberto Del Rio has once again lost the WWE Championship. In three title defenses since first winning the strap at SummerSlam, he lost the title in singles competition twice, once against John Cena, the other against CM Punk last night. He did defend successfully against Cena in a Last Man Standing match, but it wasn't without a lot of help from Awesome Truth. 

Del Rio started this year with a huge win in the Royal Rumble. He fought for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania, won the Raw Money in the Bank ladder match and cashed in on Punk at SummerSlam thanks to the assist from Kevin Nash.

Two less-than-memorable title reigns later, Del Rio is now on the outside looking in. He's your prototypical heel, relying on outside help and cheating to win matches, attacking his opponent at every turn in an effort to gain the advantage before their contest and throwing his ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, in the fire to take punishment that is directed at him on most nights. 

He came into the company with so much promise. His arrogance and cocky attitude is what made people annoyed of him from the start, but now that is all he is; annoying.

It's not the kind of annoying that makes people hate him like a heel should be hated. It's the kind that makes people sick of trying to care about him. He's failed to garner heat from the crowd, his promos are the most repetitive things and have yet to strike any sort of fear into his adversaries. All of these things make for a failed character.

What does Del Rio have to do to gain some credibility?

For one, a character change is vastly called for. Something needs to be done in order for Del Rio to be respected by the fans. Maybe drop Rodriguez as his ring announcer, taking away the need to win with constant interference; maybe expand his promos further than just "It's my destiny."

We all complain about guys like John Morrison who have limited mic ability, but Del Rio is constantly given the mic and has yet to break the barrier on speaking. 

Maybe even lose the rich billionaire gimmick, which has been done many times before by men more capable than Del Rio.

Obviously, now that Del Rio has yet to hold the title for more than two pay-per-views in a row, the WWE doesn't fully believe in him just yet. He's still a top player on Raw, but at this point, it's hard to tell where he's going to go from here. 

Until Del Rio makes some changes to his promos or even his character in general, he should remain away from the WWE Championship. 

Del Rio could be the top heel in the business, he just hasn't reached that plateau yet. If he hasn't by now with all the success that's been handed to him in hopes he will be great for the company, when, if ever, will he finally reach that status?