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I was thinking the other day that Alberto Del Rio's character in WWE jumped the shark when he didn't win the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXVII. I liked Del Rio when he first showed up. He had the cocky swagger that was backed up by crisp in-ring performances, often done with a literal wink. He submitted Rey Mysterio in his first televised match on SmackDown, and would later do some cool things, like smacking the urn out of Paul Bearer's hands in a promo leading up to TLC that year. I liked that because it was some intriguing heel vs. heel interaction, and it highlighted that Del Rio believed in himself and was afraid of nothing. Then he won the 40-man Royal Rumble...and then lost to Edge.
Maybe his character could have been salvaged afterwards -- reflecting on his loss and becoming more dangerous or humble or something -- but after he did lose, it felt like all the reasons for the character to be cocky and confident disappeared, and it felt like he never got back to that level, even after winning Money in the Bank, four World Titles and recently returning to defeat John Cena cleanly.
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