Alberto Del Rio Set For WWE Return? (WWE News)

Rey Mysterio reacted to "Alberto!" chants at AAA Triplemania XXXIII.

by Andrew Pollard
Alberto El Patron AAA Mega Champion
AAA

Could Albero Del Rio still have a role to play in the landscape of WWE and AAA? Certain comments at last night's Triplemania XXXIII have certainly got the wrestling world talking about that particular topic.

Now, when WWE announced its acquisition of AAA during WrestleMania 41 Weekend, Alberto El Patron was the reigning AAA Mega Champion. Despite that, there was zero mention of El Patron, with the bulk of WWE's focus on El Hijo del Vikingo at that time.

Alberto dropped the AAA Mega Championship to Vikingo at TripleMania Regia 2025 in June, with WWE showing footage of that title change on Raw, yet the footage was in tight on Vikingo and made no mention whatsoever of El Patron. Since then, Alberto lost a Loser Leaves AAA match to El Mesias last month, with the belief being that Alberto El Patron was done with AAA.

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Of course, away from AAA, Alberto has never been shy about trashing WWE in interviews, with Triple H often receiving particular criticism and backlash from the former four-time WWE World Champion. Then there are also the various controversies that have followed Alberto away from the ring, such as his relationship with Paige/Saraya, and another relationship that resulted in a 2020 arrest for battery and sexual assault, followed by formal charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault. Ultimately, that latter trial was delayed several times before charges were dropped.

The point being, it seemed extremely clear that WWE didn't have any interest in having anything to do with Alberto El Patron/Del Rio. However, Rey Mysterio has now seemed to indicate that maybe there is some sort of future for Alberto in AAA.

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At Triplemania XXXIII, there were loud "Alberto!" chants at various points throughout the show whenever El Hijo del Vikingo was featured. Despite being positioned as the promotion's top heel, Alberto El Patron was loudly cheered during his rivalry with Vikingo, whilst Vikingo - the top babyface and poster boy of AAA - was, and still is, heavily booed by AAA crowds.

Not just were those "Alberto!" chants heard for Vikingo, though, for they also started up when Rey Mysterio was in the ring to induct Konnan into the AAA Hall of Fame. In response, Rey said, "I'll bring him, wait on me".

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It remains to be seen whether this was simply Mysterio trying to calm and quiet the chanting Mexico City crowd, or whether there really is a chance of Alberto appearing once more for AAA, or possibly even WWE.

Either way, Rey Mysterio addressing those "Alberto!" chants, and responding in the manner he did, has absolutely got the pro wrestling world talking.

As for El Hijo del Vikingo, he successfully retained the AAA Mega Championship at Triplemania XXXIII, defeating El Grande Americano, Dragon Lee, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way bout. It was Dirty Dom taking the pin here, largely thanks to interference from AJ Styles, continuing the rivalry between Styles and Dom.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.