Many of you will remember Ricardo Rodriguez best for being Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer. Serving that role for a heel meant he'd often be pulled into angles and matches, including the RAW after WrestleMania in 2013.
That was a particularly memorable show because it saw Dolph Ziggler cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Del Rio to become World Heavyweight Champion.
His reign was cut short by a concussion and Ziggler never quite managed to regain his momentum (though he did successfully turn babyface in a match which saw Del Rio break bad and become a heel).
Talking to Chris Van Vliet, Rodriguez reflected on being part of that moment and revealed that original plans called for the Showoff to cash in during WrestleMania itself. Seth Rollins later became the first WWE Superstar to cash in at the Show of Shows, with Damian Priest following suit earlier this year.
"To me, that’s still the top one. That’s incredible. Just because I know originally there was a plan to do it the night of WrestleMania that was originally planned, and then they ended up switching it to the next day. In retrospect, I’m glad they did, just because I think it was a little unexpected. And what was great about it too was when they were going over the match they have that false finish where I think Dolph hit the Fameasser, and they go one, two, kick out, whatever."
"And then Alberto counters it. He does an enziguri and then I think he finally hits the arm bar. Then, because the Dolph has been screwed so many times you can just hear everybody bite on it, that was so beautiful. So when he finally hit the zigzag, and then the three happened, the eruption of that arena was so incredible. And it was something that I think everybody in unison was very happy for Dolph."
Occasionally, Rodriguez also saw some in-ring action. That included, somehow, being part of what would end up being WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart's last match.
As you can probably imagine, that's stuck with Rodriguez and remains a career highlight.
"Yeah, it’s insane. We were in Ontario that day, we were at the gym, Alberto and I, and then we get a text from Road Dogg, he tells Alberto the rundown. He said Hey, tonight, it’s gonna be you and Ricardo against John Cena and Bret Hart. And we’re like, Ha! So we’re waiting for the LOL, and then it never came. So then I got the text. I was like, wait, what? All right, this is gonna happen. So obviously, Ricardo is not a wrestler. So I had my wrestling gear, but Ricardo is not a wrestler."
"So at that gym that we were at they were selling women’s tights and stuff, which I like them a little bit more because they’re more colorful, they have more designs than the men’s, obviously there’s not any men’s tights. So I bought a couple of the female workout tights and I took it to Road Dogg and then he’s like, Yeah, that one. So then we go over the match, and then it’s still not clicking in my head what’s about to happen, and then we get in the ring, and I’m like, Dude, this is cool. This is awesome. I’ve worked with John, but I was always grateful for the opportunity. But just the fact that, hey, we’re in Canada, Bret Hart’s about to put me in a sharpshooter. This is cool. This is super cool."
You can check out the full interview in the player below.