michael dworkis looks at Mr. Money in the Bank
Alberto del Rio wins the World Title on SmackDown. While this title change seems very sudden, it actually makes a lot of sense. Ziggler is being built for an uber-heel position, so having him dethrone The Big Show for the belt would only catapult him to babyface, even though fans love the guy anyway. Del Rio, while a great performer and certainly worthy of being champion again, is likely to become another victim of being a “transitional champion” which is taking the belt off one person for the sole purpose of dropping it to someone else.
In my view, Ziggler is Shawn Michaels and Edge rolled into one. Both HBK and Edge no matter if they were face or heel, both earned massive crowd reactions. The days when Edge was uber-heel were probably his best, and even then, the WWE Universe cheered for him anyway. Even if he did steal Lita from Matt Hardy.
Dolph Ziggler is in prime position to win big. The Royal Rumble is at the end of the month, and what better way for him to headline WrestleMania, is by winning the championship at the Royal Rumble by cashing in.
Two theories:
1) This will be one of those years where the Royal Rumble match will precede title matches. Dolph will be in the Rumble and lose. During the Alberto vs. Show World Title match, Ziggler cashes in to win.
2) The World Title match is before the Rumble match. Ziggler attempts to cash in, and fails. He then wins the Royal Rumble and chooses to face off with the WWE Champion.
Regardless of which scenario plays out, this also means two things for Alberto del Rio.
1) He feuds with Ziggler.
2) He goes back to mid-carding again.
I am a big fan of Mr. Rio. He has the IT factor that so many superstars lack. Yes, I am serious. Alberto del Rio is up there with Damien Sandow, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, and CM Punk under my list of people who will draw big for a long time to come. My fear is that with Dolph Ziggler being pushed higher than heaven, and the designated title for his Money in the Bank shot is the World Heavyweight Championship, I see Alberto used as the catapult for Ziggler and his ultimate push.
Alberto del Rio will bounce back.
Dolph Ziggler will become huge. He will finally earn the World Heavyweight Championship, and his second reign as champion (yes, he is a former World titleholder, when Edge was stripped of it on SmackDown about two years ago) will be a long and star-studded one.
Alberto will bounce back. Rebounds can either become successful, or full of failure if it does not resonate well with the WWE Universe or the WWE Creative people. It would be a damn shame if Del Rio gets buried.
On the upside, at least Ziggler will finally be World Champion.
