Former WWE Superstar and current Impact Wrestling star Alberto El Patron (a.k.a Alberto Del Rio) recently did an interview for Impact Wrestling during the promotion’s tour of India. Del Rio talked about his plans after retirement from pro wrestling, including how he plans to help Impact after he’s done competing in the ring. Here are the highlights:
For a long time, you were constantly linked with Impact Wrestling, and you finally made your debut earlier this year. Can you tell us what the fan reaction meant to you, with you being one of the top acquisitions for Impact Wrestling in the recent past?
“Oh, all the fans’ welcoming made me very happy. All my videos in the first week with Impact Wrestling went viral. We had more than 4 million viewers – people were just happy. People were talking about it for days, for weeks, because nobody expected to see me at Impact, especially because of all the rumors that said that I was going back to WWE. So for me to be there, make an impact and face Bobby Lashley, becoming the champion on the very first night, it was phenomenal.”
We previously talked about how long you see yourself as a professional wrestler. You said you’d be in the business for maybe 3 years. Is that still the case for you?
“Yes, definitely. Definitely. I’m not going to be doing this for too long.I’m tired, I’m just tired. I’m going to stop doing so many shows outside of the United States. I’m going to come back to India anytime they need me with Impact Wrestling. But I’m not going to do so many shows in Europe. I just cancelled my – one of the shows in Chile. I think I’m just going to take two weeks off because I want to go home and rest.
“After India, I have to go home. I think I have to be home for two days and I’m going to do some work. I was supposed to go to Chile but I cancelled it, because I want to take my kids to – I have a house in Orlando. So I’m planning on taking my kids to Orlando for the whole month. I need to rest. My brain needs to rest. And I think this is the perfect time, after this Indian tour.
“It looks like everything is going fantastically in India, and I just want it to be a surprise. I want to go home completely happy, be happy at the end of the tour, at the end of the shows. To go knowing this tour was a complete success.”
What does the future have in store for you?
“Well, I’m going to retire from pro wrestling soon. And if everything goes well, I will stay at Impact (Wrestling) working as an agent, a producer. Everybody loves my work, everybody loves my choreography. Everyone talks about the way I structure the matches and how when someone is in the ring with me, I will elevate that someone. So if that is something I can help with once I retire from my wrestling days, I will be completely happy doing it.
“So, once my in – ring days are over, I will be doing some agent/producer work for the company, and I’m going to continue working with Combate Americas and taking the company to new places, and help that company to grow. I have a lot of plans, a lot of projects outside wrestling, and most importantly, I am going to go home and enjoy with my family.”
You can check out the full interview here.
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptionsÂ
