Former WWE U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio spoke with Chris Van Vliet of WSVN-TV Entertainment prior to the WWE Royal Rumble PPV, and below are some interview highlights:
On Triple H winning the title:
“I’m pretty sure everybody was really happy and excited, especially his family… He’s one of the biggest superstars in history, people like him and he plays an amazing role being The Authority right now. And he is in real life but also for the show. I think it was a good Rumble. Everybody enjoyed it and all of the matches were good.”
On AJ Styles’ WWE debut:
“It was great. I had the opportunity to share places with him while I was gone for the year that I was not here in WWE. He’s a great performer and he’s a great person and I’m pretty sure he’s going to do just fine here in WWE.”
How does it feel being back in WWE?
“It’s good. After a 15 year career, it’s good to perform in the biggest company. It doesn’t matter where you go, all of the other companies have something good to offer, but if you really want to say that you succeeded in this business you have to be here. This is the place where I belong, in the major leagues of pro wrestling. That’s the reason I came back and I’m happy. I’m just doing it different this time, I’m not stressing myself with things that I know I’m not able to change.”
Why he never signed with TNA:
“I was going to. We were in talks pretty much the whole time, they just didn’t have the money to pay me. Once they finally got the money to pay me, I was in conversations with WWE already. So I was like ‘I really want to go back to WWE. Sorry guys, thank you for the opportunity, thank you for making all of those efforts to get me but I’m going to go back there for whatever years. Maybe in the future we will be able to do business.'”
How he got into the best shape of his life:
“I was trying to do the same stuff I did when I was in my 20s and obviously that wasn’t working. In my year off from WWE, I reunited with my former personal trainer and nutritionist down in Mexico… and he pretty much gave me a new perspective on what I need to do if I want to be in shape and it’s working. I’m just eating clean, eating healthy and training every day and it’s working.”
Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 20, 2015: Jose Alberto Rodriguez, using the ring name Alberto el Patrn, greets the crowd before his Lucha Underground match in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, in Los Angeles, CA April 12, 2015. Lucha Underground is professional wrestling and television series. (Francine Orr/ LA Times via Getty Images)
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Alberto Del Rio
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 20, 2015: Jose Alberto Rodrguez, using the ring name Alberto el Patron, greets the crowd before his Lucha Underground match in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, in Los Angeles, CA April 12, 2015. Lucha Underground is professional wrestling and television series. (Francine Orr/ LA Times via Getty Images)
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
