Since his departure from WWE last year, Alberto El Patron, the former Alberto Del Rio, has become one of the top acts on the independent scene. Unfortunately, he’s also one of the most controversial, having had at least a few high profile incidents where he no-showed bookings either without any notice or without insufficient notice. The latest issue was with Germany’s Westside Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) and Swiss Wrestling Entertainment (SWE).
WXW issued a statement in German explaining that they had booked the dates and the Economy Plus airline seats all the way back in December after a previous cancellation by Alberto. Six days out from the events, Alberto’s manager demanded the flight be changed to Business Class airfare from a different location in Mexico than originally arranged. This would have cost WXW a $7,000 premium. WXW offered to cancel the flight, have Alberto pay the cancellation fee, and allow him to rebook a flight himself where Alberto would use his frequent flyer miles to upgrade it over what WXW was covering. That was refused and the booking was cancelled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCGh0CJqGgM
Alberto, for his part, tweeted out an official statement that didn’t help his cause in some eyes because he referred to the non-business class airfare as “subhuman.” That’s als considering that WXW has an excellent reputation for how they treat the wrestlers (especially the fly-ins) and Alberto’s reputation has been less than sterling. Here’s the whole statement, transcription courtesy of my friend Keith Harris at Cageside Seats:
As you know, I hardly reply to comments against me in Social Media but this time my fans are affected.
WxwGermany tried to hire me under a third party under totally different agreements than I usually do. Obviously, I did not approve and we agreed on the normal terms. Terms that are always the same. Why do they want to be treated differently? Over a year of doing [the] Independent circuit and all the promoters have agreed to [the] same terms (fees, hotel & transport, and business class).
I am deeply thankful to them.
WxwGermany take the physical challenge and please tell me/fans what promoter has flown me coach and not Business. Inquiring minds want to know.
Why is it after they have sold tickets and just a couple [of] days away from [the] event they want to cling to old agreements? How is my manager to blame? Threats of screenshots and emails. Nowadays this is easy to falsify. Let’s be professional.Speaking of professionalism; they also did NOT supply us with a tangible itinerary or concrete information. Where was I going to stay, where and when was I to travel and match info??? More importantly where is my Working Visa papers? Were they ever prepared?
I love this sport but let’s not be fooled. Flying in a small seat for 16 hours is not comfortable. I will not be bullied by promoters into working conditions I did not agree. Not all promoters are the same. I speak against those that treat us wrestlers like subhumans. I will never bow my head to this type of treatment, but you already knew that.
Thank you to my true fans in Switzerland and Germany.
Dignity and Respect
Alberto
