Combate Americas had former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio do a promo exchange that many people thought was a cringe-worthy wrestling-style angle.
The two were then in the cage together at a recent Combate Americas event where they got heated as they exchanged words. It started when Del Rio called out Ortiz. You can watch it here:
The fighters will compete in a 210 catchweight bout and that it’s likely to take place in October 2019.
Ortiz was last seen when he fought Chuck Liddell for the third time in Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy MMA promotion.
This fight will serve as Ortiz’s debut fight for the Combate Americas promotion. While many think that Ortiz should run through Del Rio and will likely do so, the former WWE star does have a chance.
Del Rio has a background as a pro-MMA fighter with his last fight taking place a Cage of Combat show in Madrid, Spain in 2010 where he lost to Yamamoto Hanshi by second-round TKO.
The former WWE Champion holds a pro-MMA record of 9-5.
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Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz has been making the media rounds to promote his upcoming fight former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio.
The fighters will compete in a 210 catchweight bout and that it’s likely to take place in October 2019.
This fight will serve as Ortiz’s debut fight for the Combate Americas promotion. The MMA Legend recently appeared on iHeartRadio’s Domenick Nati Show where he spoke about a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he was asked if he thinks he will be victorious in the first round of this fight. This is where Ortiz brought up how it will be a three-round fight with five-minute rounds and that he’ll win in the first-round just like he did in his previous outing.
“I will train for three, five-minute rounds. Coming from the WWE, those guys can take a beating. Let’s see if Alberto can take a beating for a round. I guarantee it will be just like the last one, nice and short.”
Ortiz announced his official retirement as an active pro-MMA fighter following his latest fight that took place in 2018, but that isn’t sticking, as he signed a multi-fight deal with Combate Americas promotion.
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News broke last week that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will fight former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio in his debut fight for the Combate Americas promotion.
This comes after Promotion CEO Campbell McLaren revealed the fight announcement but did not disclose the date or location for the fight.
Ortiz made a recent appearance on ESPN reporter Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday where he talked about a wide range of topics including this fight.
This is where the latest details were given, which are the fighters will compete in a 210 catchweight bout and that it’s likely to take place in October 2019.
It appears that the rivalry comes over a difference in opinion with their political views, which has led to a disagreement between the two fighters. During the interview, Ortiz gave a warning to the former WWE star.
“I’m an American. I want the safety for my children’s future to be number one, and our president’s putting that for our country. I want that to happen.”
“Now on the opposite side, Alberto del Rio, he wants open borders. Anybody to be able to come into our country whenever they want and I don’t believe in that. So I think that’s kind of where we butt heads,” Ortiz stated (courtesy of MMA News). “Alberto del Rio, keep a watch on my training stuff, and watch how I’m gonna whoop your a**.”
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After months of speculation, it’s been confirmed that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will fight former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio in his debut fight for the Combate Americas promotion.
Promotion CEO Campbell McLaren revealed the news while doing a recent interview with Generacion MMA. As of this writing, no date or location has been announced by the promotion. You can watch a clip from the interview here:
Ortiz has decided to come out of retirement and be an active MMA fighter yet again. Earlier this year, he signed a contract with Combate Americas. Ortiz was last seen when he fought Chuck Liddell for the third time in Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy MMA promotion.
Del Rio has a background as a pro-MMA fighter with his last fight taking place a Cage of Combat show in Madrid, Spain in 2010 where he lost to Yamamoto Hanshi by second-round TKO. The former WWE Champion holds a pro-MMA record of 9-5.
Del Rio has competed for several promotions while under his luchador mask as Dos Caras Jr. His most notable fight came against the legendary Mirko Cro Cop in October 2003 that saw Crop Cop win in just 46-seconds during the Pride: Bushido 1 event in Japan.
Alberto Del Rio (AKA Alberto El Patron) will launch a new lucha libre promotion in Mexico next month. Details regarding the new promotion were revealed yesterday at a press conference. Nacion Lucha Libre will debut next month on July 11th from the Sala de Armas in Mexico City.
The promotion has also secured a television deal with ImageTV for Saturday nights in Mexico. Alberto said during the press conference that the promotion will be looking into health benefits and other ways to improve conditions for their athletes as well.
For those of you who follow mixed martial arts (MMA), it was recently announced that ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has signed with the Combate Americas promotion. Combate Americas is an MMA promotion that former WWE Champion Alberto El Patron is affiliated with.
El Patron formerly served as the promotion’s president before stepping down. Now, it’s believed that he could possibly even fight under the promotion’s banner. El Patron has a background in MMA, with a professional record of 9-5. He has shared the cage with the likes of MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop, who knocked El Patron out in 2003.
Now, it’s being rumored that El Patron could face another MMA legend in his return to fighting. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio mentioned a rumor that El Patron could be the man to welcome Ortiz to Combate Americas. Last year, El Patron stated that he was preparing for a return to fighting, and wanted to get into the cage sometime this year.
He hasn’t fought since 2010, last losing to Yamamoto Hanshi in February of that year via second-round TKO. It would be interesting to see how he fares against a former 205-pound UFC champion.
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Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez is making the transition into the pro wrestling business. Alberto Del Rio has sounded off on this decision while doing a recent interview.
At the AAA TripleMania XXVII press conference, Cain made an appearance where he announced that he would make his pro wrestling debut at this show that goes down on August 3, 2019, at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City.
“Velasquez has all the athletic credentials,” Del Rio told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “Wrestling is more difficult than people know, and it’s hard physically, but Cain has the athletic pedigree to do the job in the ring.”
Dell Rio stated that Velasquez will need to connect with the audience in a different way compared to MMA with charisma as even though a promoter could have him lose every night if the fans believe in your character and your personality, you can still become a star anyway.
“He respects wrestling,” Del Rio said. “He has the right attitude, he is sincere in wanting to learn. Whether that will translate, we don’t know, but he’s doing and saying all the right things.”
This comes after the former UFC Champion trained with WWE staff this past Summer during a visit to the WWE Performance Center down in Orlando Florida.
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Despite his recent comments, it doesn’t sound like the WWE is interested in bringing back Alberto Del Rio. The former WWE Champion spoke to Contralona TV and revealed he recently apologized to Triple H and mended fences with WWE. Upon that news, many believed this could signal a return to the company for the Mexican star. Here’s what he had to say:
“Now everything is normal with them, I apologized and shook hands, even with Mr. Levesque, with whom I do not agree on many things, especially how things ended and how they were done [when he was fired in 2014], but I should never have crossed the line and disrespect him.
“A man can only be called a man by admitting his mistakes. I lived a very difficult stage in my life: one year and two months in which I had to win the most difficult battle of my life that was against myself.”
However, Fightful reports that such a reunion is unlikely. The report notes that Del Rio left a very poor impression on talent, staff, and management alike due to his no-show issues last year. Also, WWE wouldn’t want to make Paige uncomfortable, who the company holds in high regard. The company doesn’t have a clear plan for Paige yet, and the status of her friendship or relationship with Del Rio is unknown.
It was also stressed that neither Paige or anyone else is actively campaigning against a Del Rio return. It’s simply a matter of the negative possibilities outweighing the positive ones. With that being said, there seems to be no plans to bring Del Rio back, or even any interest in the idea at the moment.
Do you think WWE would ever consider bringing back Del Rio to the company?
SmackDown General Manager Paige was the latest guest on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast. She spoke about a wide variety of topics, including former fiancee Alberto El Patron recently trashing her on social media. Here are some highlights from the appearance:
Women’s Evolution
“I’m happy, but, you know, it’s kind of a bittersweet thing,” Paige said, when Lilian noted that her in-ring career ended just as WWE’s heavily branded Women’s Evolution kicked into high gear. “I can’t get back in the ring, but why do I have to dwell on it? Why do I have to be sad constantly?” she added.
Garcia pressed Paige on how difficult it must be to give up her dream career, likening it to an athlete or musician being forced to retire. Paige said that she dealt with the end of her wrestling career by focusing on what she could do next. “Like, I can’t just sit here and be sad,” she said.
Paige’s Neck Injury
She was also quick to deflect any blame that a vocal minority of the fanbase sent Sasha Banks’s way. Banks was in the ring with Paige and delivered the move that ended her career.
“I got the kick. It wasn’t Sasha’s fault. My neck just wasn’t as strong as it was before,” she said. “I’m not gonna hold Sasha accountable for what happened to me.”
She noted that she saw Dr. Joseph Maroon, the noted physician who oversees WWE’s medical program, who also operated on Bruno Sammartino and John Cena when they suffered broken necks. Maroon noted that Paige was fortunate not to be permanently paralyzed, as there was no spinal fluid surrounding the injured area.
She also said that the decision to delay her retirement promo on television was a joint decision, made with WWE. The company wanted to delay the announcement for creative reasons, as well as to make sure that she wouldn’t be cleared medically. Paige said that she also didn’t want word getting out before she could make the announcement herself.
Smackdown GM
Paige said that she loves her new role as Smackdown General Manager. “It’s great. I get to work with the girls, I get to work with the guys. That’s what the challenge is, to be mixed in with everybody,” she said.
Paige And Alberto Del Rio
As the interview wound down, Garcia brought up Alberto Del Rio’s recent social media post, where fans commented on the appearance of the woman he was photographed with, how they thought she was prettier than Paige, and how Del Rio egged them on with his own comments.
Paige gave a measured response, noting that she chose not to lash out with an immediate response. “I chose not to respond at that moment,” she said. “It hurt my feelings, but I didn’t want him to know that it hurt my feelings.”
“You’re making fun of someone who had mental health issues,” she said of Del Rio’s comments. “Who does that? I’m glad that he’s moved on and found someone. I love that. I want his family to be happy,” she said. Finally, Paige said she just wants him to leave her alone.
Paige also announced that she has a new makeup line on the way, and is also releasing a makeup line for Hot Topic, which will launch in January.
Note: If you use these transcribed quotes, please credit SEScoops.com
Alberto El Patron (FKA Alberto Del Rio) recently took a crack at his former partner, Paige, during a social media post. El Patron was responding to a post from a fan on Twitter when he made the comments.
Alberto was found in the comments section of the post, taking a crack at his former love interest:
Paige and Alberto in 2018
Alberto has been wrestling sparingly thus far this year. His duties with Combates Americas keep him busy enough that he only wrestles about once per month. His last match was on August 7th, 2018. He defeated Savio Vega in a match for ICWA in Puerto Rico.
As for Paige, she announced WWE officials would no longer medically clear her for in-ring competition earlier this year. She made the announcement on the Raw after WrestleMania and then was announced as the new General Manager of Smackdown the following night.
Del Rio recently spoke to The Roman Show and explained the reason for his withdrawal. He explained that he wasn’t happy with the way the promotion did business:
“I don’t like how they are doing things in the business,” he said. “We continue to see promoters take advantage of the talent. Thank God I am in the position where’ I am able to say, ‘OK you can do this, but you won’t do this to me’. It happened with Triple A.”
He further explained that the promotion failed to pay him for the agreed upon appearance. Apparently he was “spoiled” and pitched a big match at their largest event of the year. However, AAA was unable to fulfill their financial promise to him. Thus, he pulled from the appearance:
“They called me and found me and took me somewhere and spoiled me to see if I can do their biggest event of the year,” El Patron stated.
“Then, they never sent the money. They never came. I was supposed to fight someone and they were never able to seal the deal… They didn’t fulfill their commitment with me.”
Discussion: What do you think about Del Rio pulling from the AAA show? And what do you make of his explanation? Sound off in the comments below!
Check out the updated card for TripleMania below:
TripleMania Lineup
August 25th, 2018
Cruiserweight Championship
Australian Suicide (c) vs Multiple opponents TBD
AAA Mixed Tag Championships
Big Mama and Nino Hamburguesa vs Hijo Del Vikingo and Vanilla vs Dinastia and Lady Maravilla vs Angelikal and La Hiedra
AAA Tag Team Championships
Aerostar and Drago vs Golden Magic and Laredo Kid vs Bandido and Flamita vs Andrew Everett and DJZ
Mamba, Maximo, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Carta Brava Jr, Mocho Cota Jr, Tito Santana vs Hijo de LA Park, Puma King, and Taurus
Jack Evans, Juventud Guerrera and Teddy Hart vs Averno, Chessman, Super Fly
La Mascara, Rey Escorpion, and Texano Jr. vs Joe Lider, Murder Clown, and Pagano
AAA Heavyweight Championship
Jeff Jarrett (c) vs Fenix vs Brian Cage vs Rich Swann
Mask vs Hair
Lady Shani vs Faby Apache
One Luchador Will Be Unmasked Cage Match (After 2 Luchadors escape the other 2 wrestle, loser losing his mask)
Psycho Clown vs Hijo Del Fantasma vs LA Park, vs Pentagon Jr.
Alberto El Patron (Del Rio) has had a falling out with another pro-wrestling promotion. Yesterday, AAA Lucha Libre announced the full card for this weekend’s TripleMania show. Alberto was noticeably absent from the lineup.
“The promotion soured on him when he no-showed the Impact vs. AAA show in New Orleans and just felt with his track record that he wasn’t worth the risk,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Earlier in the year, Alberto teased he would face a legendary opponent on the show. He has said he had talks with the promotion about wrestling against or teaming with Rey Mysterio Jr. for the event. While Albero has never officially left the promotion, his name has not been mentioned on their television in months.
Alberto El Patron TripleMania
AAA owner, Dorian Roldan, went public in Mexico saying Alberto’s no-showing the Impact vs LU was a significant factor. Alberto has gone public and said the two sides were negotiating after his no-show.
TripleMania takes place August 25th, 2018. The main event of the show will feature a 4-way cage match. Pentagon, Psycho Clown, El Hijo Del Fantasma, and LA Park will be the participants. After 2 luchadors have escaped the cage, the final two will wrestle a single’s match. The loser of that match also loses their mask.
Alberto El Patron (Del Rio) has withdrawn from AAA’s premier annual event, TripleMania. The event is scheduled to take place on August 25th.
Alberto is saying the company did not pay his agreed upon deposit and did not make other necessary arrangements for his participation. The letter also says he will send out information about new projects he is working on shortly.
Para que no exista ni duda ni malentendidos. Simplemente las cosas como son https://t.co/ujKXHHzXw8
Cruiserweight Championship
Australian Suicide (c) vs Multiple opponents TBD
AAA Mixed Tag Championships
Big Mama and Nino Hamburguesa vs Hijo Del Vikingo and Vanilla vs Dinastia and Lady Maravilla vs Angelikal and La Hiedra
AAA Tag Team Championships
Aerostar and Drago vs Golden Magic and Laredo Kid vs Bandido and Flamita vs Andrew Everett and DJZ
Mamba, Maximo, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Carta Brava Jr, Mocho Cota Jr, Tito Santana vs Hijo de LA Park, Puma King, and Taurus
Jack Evans, Juventud Guerrera and Teddy Hart vs Averno, Chessman, Super Fly
La Mascara, Rey Escorpion, and Texano Jr. vs Joe Lider, Murder Clown, and Pagano
AAA Heavyweight Championship
Jeff Jarrett (c) vs Fenix vs Brian Cage vs Rich Swann
Mask vs Hair
Lady Shani vs Faby Apache
One Luchador Will Be Unmasked Cage Match (After 2 Luchadors escape the other 2 wrestle, loser losing his mask)
Psycho Clown vs Hijo Del Fantasma vs LA Park, vs Pentagon Jr.
Earlier this year, a man named Alex Pardo filed a lawsuit against Jose Alberto Rodriguez, FKA Alberto Del Rio. It seems unlikely he’ll have to pay out much, however.
The lawsuit stems back to an incident from November 2016. The Pro Wrestling Sheet was the first to report on the lawsuit. Court documents relating to the case outlined Pardo’s claim below:
“While returning to his table from the restroom, Plaintiff noticed the Defendant, JOSE ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ, flashing his rear end to the other patrons in the establishment. Upon returning to his seat, which was close in proximity to that of the Defendant’s, an altercation broke out and the Defendant and the individuals that were present with the Defendant began to assault the Plaintiff, ALEX PARDO. As a result, Plaintiff had to receive immediate medical attention and was transported to the hospital by means of EMS for further examination.”
Alberto’s side of the story is different, however. His version of the incident is below:
“[Alberto] attempted at this time to resolve the issue without conflict and while he did exchange words with the people celebrating with the 19-year-old Patricia at an adult establishment it the Counter-Defendant Alex Pardo who threw a glass at the Counter-Plaintiff’s head causing severe injury, including multiple lacerations. The entire group with the Counter-Defendant began a huge melee and the entire establishment was in a brawl. Counter-Plaintiff slowly rose to his feet only to be rushed again by the Counter-Defendant. The Counter-Plaintiff immediately protected himself and defended against the Counter-Defendant as it was necessary to protect himself and his companions against the Counter-Defendant’s use of unlawful force.”
Ongoing Legal Proceedings
The case has been going back and forth with legal proceedings. The plaintiff’s lawyer has withdrawn from the case as well. Alberto is counter-suing for $5,000 due to pain and suffering. His lawyer has filed a motion for a default judgment in Alberto’s favor. This was due to the plaintiff missing deadlines to file certain documents.
Alberto Del Rio says he only takes 2-3 wrestling bookings a month these days and the rest of the time is for his children and other projects. He recently talked about his current schedule, his transition to other forms of entertainment, and his relationship with WWE in an interview with Chris Van Vliet.
One of the most interesting topics Del Rio addressed, however, was CM Punk’s UFC career. Del Rio himself has a background in MMA. He has a 9-5 pro record in the sport. Del Rio is currently involved with the Combate Americas promotion as well.
“I just hate to hear people talk crap about someone like Phil,” Del Rio said about Punk. “Someone’s who’s got the balls to go and try something different.”
“90% of the m*****ers in this business have never been in a real fight in their life.” Alberto Del Rio
Alberto Del Rio Interview
In regards to his current wrestling schedule, Del Rio mentioned he’s keeping his wrestling bookings to a minimum these days.
“A lot of people know I only take 2 or 3 wrestling shows or indy booking or whatever wrestling shows out there per month,” Del Rio said. “my time is for my kids, my time is for the other stuff I’m doing.”
“I’m in the middle of the transition from being a pro-wrestler to being an entertainer,” he continued. “I still love wrestling, I still have a lot of passion for wrestling but I think it’s time for me to start moving on to other stuff.”
It looks like former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio could possibly make a return to the company before closing out his professional wrestling career. PWInsider is reporting that Del Rio was at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut last week to film interview material for an upcoming WWE project related to Rey Mysterio. It was the same day that he flew to Europe for a Five Star Wrestling appearance.
During Del Rio’s visit to WWE headquarters, however, he also reportedly had a meeting with Vince McMahon. This is interesting as PWInsider recently reported that McMahon has been in favor of Del Rio returning to the company and has always been high on him as an in-ring performer. After leaving WWE back in September of 2016 Del Rio signed with IMPACT Wrestling in March of 2017. His current contract with IMPACT is expected to be up next month.
IMPACT officials this weekend in Canada met with several talents who’s contracts are set to expire, including Del Rio, to negotiate new deals. Del Rio is arguably the biggest name draw on their roster and likely their highest paid talent. The report suggests that IMPACT sources confirmed those talks went well with its talents, including Del Rio, and they were confident new deals for those talents would be coming soon.
Del Rio is currently scheduled for an IMPACT appearance on April 22nd, where he headlines their Redemption pay-per-view (PPV) against Austin Aries for the IMPACT World Championship.
Former WWE Champion and current IMPACT Wrestling star Alberto El Patron (a.k.a. Alberto Del Rio) recently did an interview with The Miami Herald to talk about his run with IMPACT as well as his past experiences with WWE. El Patron made his IMPACT Wrestling debut back in March of 2017 after being released from WWE in September of the previous year. El Patron explained how much more creative freedom he has with IMPACT as opposed to his previous employer:
“They let you be yourself and just do it on the fly, it feels better. People appreciate that even more, it’s natural. When I went back to Impact Wrestling for Bound for Glory, I was just telling the truth and speaking from the heart and making people open their eyes to the situation.
“And it’s going to continue, as long as I’m at Impact, I have the freedom to say what I think. … I keep hearing people say ‘Every time you’re on the mic in Impact, it’s amazing. What happened? Why wasn’t it like that in the other company?’ Well, the reason was I never had that freedom.”
The former GFW Global Champion also offered his thoughts on former IMPACT Wrestling frontman Jeff Jarrett and the current management within the promotion:
“I was having a lot of fun with Jeff Jarrett, he’s a personal friend. He was the one giving me the opportunity to have my Dad and my Brother in that storyline with LAX. I was always grateful for that and wanted to say ‘thank you’ to Jeff for giving me the opportunity to have them in the ring with me, but it was also a fantastic storyline.
“It was not something they just did to please me. … I know Jeff is no longer with the company, but we have another group of people with the same idea, with the same goal, which is to take Impact Wrestling to the place where it belongs.”
During his early professional wrestling days in the 2000s El Patron used to wear a mask, a normalcy in the Mexican professional wrestling world. El Patron was then asked about the possibility of competing with a mask once again as the 40-year-old begins to wind down in his career:
“That would be amazing! That would be fantastic, but it’s a little bit difficult when it’s done in Mexico. Once you lose it, you lose it. They don’t want to see you wearing it, they would feel like you’re disrespecting the lucha libre tradition, but I never lost the mask, it was a personal decision.
“I never lost the mask in the ring. I decided to remove that mask and give light to Alberto Del Rio. … Maybe for my last match, maybe for the day when I say ‘adios’ to the pro wrestling business.”
IMPACT Wrestling star Alberto El Patron (a.k.a. Alberto Del Rio) recently did an interview with The Orlando Sentinel to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. El Patron discussed feeling at home while working at IMPACT, portraying a heel as a professional wrestler, and possibly retiring soon. Here are the highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqsAYnQ73xc
Feeling at home while working with IMPACT Wrestling:
“I know in a spot like the one Impact gave to Alberto, I need to live my life in a certain way. When you’re asked to carry a company, there are certain things you should and shouldn’t do, certain things you have to do, and I didn’t.
“I enjoy Impact so much because some places, if they see you down, they won’t be good enough to come take your hand and help you with what you’re going through. I really appreciated that.”
Portraying a heel:
“I love being a heel. I don’t like being a babyface and a good guy. But it’s not always about what we want, it’s what the fans want. [Before] this last storyline, they liked me. You can’t force the audience, though, if they want to boo or they want to cheer. Right now, I’m really having fun — I’m working as a bad guy, doing all the heel things, but still getting cheered by most of the fans. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Retiring soon:
“Alberto will continue to do this for two years, then start to think about retirement. I’m not tired of the business, or the fans, or the ring — what I don’t like is what goes on behind the curtain. When I went to Impact, I started to feel like I got my passion back. So I’ll wrestle in 2018, then maybe 2019 I’ll start to think about a farewell tour.”
You can read El Patron’s full interview with The Orlando Sentinel by clicking this link here.
Impact Wrestling star Alberto El Patron took part in a media conference call on Wednesday afternoon. During the call, spoke about his wrestling career winding down and his unhappiness with certain aspects of the business.
While he’s enjoyed worldwide fame for over a decade and claims to love “real” wrestling fans, “keyboard warriors” and “the dark side of the business” have led him to start thinking about hanging up his boots.
Fans of Alberto El Patron need not worry, because he’s not retiring anytime soon. He said he plans to wrestle throughout 2018 and is considering 2019 as the year for his ‘retirement tour.’
Alberto recently returned to Impact Wrestling at Bound For Glory after an indefinite suspension related to a now-settled domestic dispute with WWE Superstar Paige.
Discussion: What are your thoughts on Del Rio’s contributions to the professional wrestling business? Where would you like to see him wrestle on his pending retirement tour?
Former WWE Champion and IMPACT Wrestling star Alberto Del Rio recently took part in a conference call to answer a variety of professional wrestling topics. Del Rio discussed Paige’s return to WWE, and his controversial promo from Bound For Glory. You can check out the highlights here:
Paige returning to WWE TV:
“It’s fantastic, it was just about time. I used to say this all the time, people forget that she had neck surgery, screws behind her neck,” El Patron said. “That’s the reason why she was out of the business and it takes time to recover from something like that and then she started working really hard for her big comeback, and now she’s there. She’s doing what she has been doing since the beginning of her career in WWE. She’s killing it, she’s doing a fantastic job. I said it before and I’ll say it again, she has all the potential to be the most successful Diva of all time. We have to give her time.”
His controversial promo at Bound For Glory:
“Part of it was the storyline, part of it was completely real. Everybody knows about the suspension,” he said. “The company and I talked about this and we decided it was the right thing to do at the moment because when the whole drama happened, we didn’t have the right evidence to prove to the audience, the sponsors, the TV networks that I didn’t do absolutely anything. So, in order to protect the company, the wrestlers in the company and all the people working for it, we decided to do that.”
We noted before that in the latest GFW meeting it was decided that Sonjay Dutt, Scott D’Amore and “Big” John Gaburick will be leading the Creative Team in future.
This trio recently held a media conference call to discuss various topics related to the company and during the call Gaburick revealed that Alberto El Patron will return at the Bound For Glory event on November 5:
“We have plans for Alberto, we’re excited that he’s gonna be coming back at Bound For Glory, We’re excited about the future for Alberto, he’s an amazing talent and as a creative group we’re really excited to come up with some real cool scenarios and stories for him in the upcoming months.”
It’s worth mentioning here that according to Wrestling Observer, the original plans for Alberto were for him to face either Jeff Jarret or Rey Mysterio at the PPV.
However, since the talks between Mysterio and GFW are dead and Jarret is also taking ‘indefinite leave of absence’ from the company, those plans are nixed now.
So it’d be interesting to see what the new creative team has planned for their former World Champion once he returns to the GFW programming.
Amidst the reports of GFW/Impact Wrestling once again being up for sale, there is still uncertainty regarding Alberto Del Rio’s status with the company.
After it was revealed that Jeff Jarret is taking an ‘indefinite leave’ from GFW, many believed that the doors for Alberto were closed since Jarret is believed to be the one behind his push, but apparently, it’s not the case.
In his recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Alberto Del Rio was asked whether or not he will return to GFW, answering to which he said that he has been in touch with the company and they are working to bring him back on TV:
“I’ve been in touch with Global Force Wrestling, and we’re working to bring back Alberto El Patron to the company. We’re working to find something that will please the fans. At the end of the day, I work for the fans; they are the ones I work to please.”
Continuing on the topic, the former WWE Champion hinted that he may return to the company during the November tapings after the Bound For Glory PPV:
“I am going to put all my heart, all my passion into making this work. I am completely focused on where I want to take the company in November, and I promise to make the company great again, and Alberto is going to be on top again.”
Alberto Del Rio was suspended by GFW back in July this year after the infamous airport incident involving him and his girlfriend Paige.
While many expected him to return before the August tapings of Impact, Del Rio was instead stripped of the GFW World title by the officials, leaving people questioning about his status.
The infamous airport incident involving former WWE Star Alberto Del Rio and his girlfriend Paige has made a lot of headlines, though now it appears that this saga will finally be coming to an end.
We noted before that Alberto Del Rio was no longer a suspect in the incident and now a latest report from TMZ has revealed that Paige is not being hit with domestic violence charge either.
The Female WWE Star has previously admitted that she was the aggressor in the incident and she threw a drink on Alberto. After an investigation, the Orlando Police Department had recommended Paige to be charged for the incident.
However, since Del Rio who is a victim in the case didn’t want to move forward with the charges, the case is now reportedly closed according to State Attorney’s Office.
It’s worth mentioning here that Alberto was suspended by GFW due to his involvement in the incident, and his suspension has not been lifted yet.
While many believed that the former GFW World Champion would be cleared to return before the GFW TV Tapings last week, he was instead stripped of the title by the Officials and currently there is no news on when or if he will return to the company.
On the other hand, Paige who is still under a WWE contract has spoken about her WWE return multiple times in the past saying she is hopeful to come back very soon.
Although WWE’s stand on the whole situation is not known and it’s doubtful if the company even wants the former Diva’s Champion to return.
We noted before how Alberto El Patron was surprisingly stripped of the GFW World Heavyweight Championship despite no longer being a suspect in the infamous airport incident anymore, though now it appears the whole thing is only the start of a new controversy.
After the news of the suspension broke out, El Patron took on his Instagram account to offer his comments on being stripped and he made some shocking claims while doing so.
According to Alberto, it was actually his idea to strip him of the title and he suggested it just to show that the company doesn’t have any favourites and everybody is treated equally:
“My company Impact and I have come to an agreement that it’s best for both parties if I be stripped from the championships. I came up with the suggestion just to show that Impact doesn’t have favorites and everyone gets treated the same. “
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXyrTz1AqIc/
As previously mentioned, the official statement sent out by GFW stated that they are taking the title away from the former WWE Star because they are “disappointed with the manner” in which he dealt with the situation.
As of writing, Alberto El Patron is still suspended by the company and if he is not reinstated soon, he will be forced to miss the upcoming Impact tapings starting from 17th August.
If it happens GFW Officials will be forced to make major changes to their plans and they will have to come up with a completely new direction for their World title.
The only good news in all of this for the company is that former WWE Star John Morrison is expected to debut on Impact very soon and he is very much capable of filling the shoes of the former GFW World Champion.
Alberto El Patron has been stripped of the Undisputed World Heavyweight Title In the WAW promotion, owned by Paige’s family. This is the top championship belt in the promotion, which is lead by Paige’s father Ricky Knight.
WAW issued the below statement on the World Title vacancy, which doesn’t mention the former champion Alberto by name.
“The WAW Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship has been declared vacant at last night’s Academy Show in Costessey, following a unanimous decision by the WAW Championship Committee. The WAWCC’s decision was announced by Zak Knight but no information was revealed regarding the crowning of a new champion. Since the announcement several individuals have announced their desire to compete for the title. Both European Heavyweight Champion Robin Lekime and British Heavyweight Champion Aaron Sharp have already revealed their desire to add more gold to their repertoire, as well as former World Heavyweight Champion Brad Slayer and former European Heavyweight Champion King Kendo. With four of WAW’s top competitors already eyeing up the most prestigious title will anyone else step forward in the hope of gaining public support?
A 32 man tournament has been announced to determine a new Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion over the course of the rest of 2017 with the final taking place at Epic Studios, Norwich in December. The entrants into this tournament will be deliberated by the WAWCC over the coming weeks before brackets are announced.”
The announcement comes about a week after an incident at the Orlando International Airport between Alberto and Paige made headlines all over the web. Paige’s brother Zak wrote on his Facebook that he’s worried about his sister and accused Alberto of domestic violence. Del Rio is also currently suspended indefinitely by Global Force Wrestling.
TMZ reported that there was some sort of domestic disturbance between the two at the airport. A witness claimed to Heavy.com that Paige yelled out loud that Alberto had been doing cocaine for “two days straight,” and Alberto allegedly replied that she was the one with the drugs in her bag.
