Ex-WWE star says Vince McMahon told him to "be more Hispanic"

Ricardo Rodriguez has disclosed details about the only advice he received from Vince McMahon in WWE.

Rodriguez appeared on WWE’s main roster between 2010 and 2014. The 36-year-old is best known for his role as Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer. He also formed a brief alliance with Rob Van Dam (RVD) and occasionally worked as an in-ring competitor.

On the “Cheap Heat Productions Podcast,” Rodriguez said Vince McMahon once told him to “be more Hispanic” after watching him rehearse Del Rio’s ring announcement:

“The only real advice that he gave me was, and I quote, ‘No, not like that. Be more Hispanic.’ I still don’t know what that means! The very first time that I did the rehearsal for the intro thing, I was thinking very formal, very Tony Chimel, Justin Roberts… formal… Howard Finkel.” [15:06-15:34]

Alongside Del Rio, Rodriguez was involved in several high-profile WWE storylines in the early 2010s. One of his most notable on-screen moments came in 2011 when he and Del Rio lost to Bret Hart and John Cena on RAW. The match turned out to be Hart’s final in-ring performance.

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Ricardo Rodriguez listened to Vince McMahon’s advice

As Rodriguez referenced, announcers such as Howard Finkel and Justin Roberts usually introduced WWE Superstars in a formal manner.

The former NXT talent knew he had to take a different approach after Vince McMahon’s words of wisdom. Instead of copying the same template as other WWE announcers, he took inspiration from football/soccer commentators and Mexican wrestling promotion AAA:

“I thought of the guys from AAA, the announcers from AAA, which are very loud, and then I thought eventually of the soccer announcers that are in Spanish,” Rodriguez continued. “I’m a big football/soccer fan, but if you watch it in English versus when you watch it in Spanish, it’s two completely different vibes.” [15:50-16:10]

Rodriguez is remembered fondly by many WWE fans. His over-the-top ring announcements were a major part of his act, particularly the way he rolled the “R” in Del Rio’s name.

Would you like to see Ricardo Rodriguez back in WWE one day? Let us know in the comments section.

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Please credit the “Cheap Heat Productions Podcast” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.