Ricardo Rodriguez believes only Paul Heyman has formed better on-screen alliances than he did with Alberto Del Rio in WWE.
Rodriguez performed as Del Rio’s personal ring announcer between 2010 and 2013. Heyman, meanwhile, has represented several superstars on-screen in recent years, most notably Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
On the “Cheap Heat Productions Podcast,” Rodriguez discussed his three-year partnership with Del Rio:
“This is probably gonna get me some heat, but I do believe that even now, with the exception of Heyman because Heyman is a whole other level, up until now I don’t think any duo has come across or done or gotten that chemistry that we had,” Rodriguez said. [17:48-18:11]
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Del Rio was hugely successful with Rodriguez by his side. The Mexican star won the WWE Championship twice, the World Heavyweight Championship twice, and the 2011 Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble matches. He also captured the United States Championship twice without Rodriguez as his manager.
Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez were friends outside of WWE
Away from the ring, Ricardo Rodriguez used to travel with Alberto Del Rio to WWE shows.
Rodriguez believes his real-life friendship with the 45-year-old helped cements their status as one of the best acts in WWE:
“There was a lot more to what we did on-screen. We were always together, we rode together, we basically lived together on the road because we were always sharing hotels and whatever. We were always together, so we got to learn about each other and then feed off of each other. I think that chemistry was able to be portrayed on TV.” [18:14-18:33]
Rodriguez told Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Riju Dasgupta last year that he would like to reunite with Del Rio in a major company one day.
What are your favorite memories of the Del Rio-Rodriguez partnership? Let us know in the comments section.
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.