10 Shocking Controversies In Alberto Del Rio’s WWE Career-5

5. Racist Connotations

Throughout Del Rio’s WWE career, the issue of race was constantly in play. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, after all, the foreign card has traditionally been one of pro wrestling’s greatest plays. As a heel it allowed Del Rio to get heat as the foreign menace, as a face it allowed him to get cheers as the proud hispanic.
The problem was, in 2013, WWE started pushing the boundaries a little too far. In a modern politically correct word you can’t do angles from 30 years ago. Yet that’s exactly what WWE did with Del Rio and Jack Swagger in the spring of 2013. The storyline was essentially the racist Swagger character dehumanising Mexican people. He called for Mexicans to go back over the border and used derogatory language. Del Rio happily went along with this, allowing Swagger and manager Zeb Colter to push the boundaries. This resulted in some mainstream press picking up on the storyline, criticising the exploitation of social pressure points.
WWE responded with their typical press release, “WWE has a long history of creating fictional characters that serve as either protagonists or antagonists, no different than other television shows or feature films.”
Ultimately it wasn’t a good idea, it ruffled some media feathers but bombed with wrestling fans. It was one of the dullest Mania feuds ever.