Former WWE World Champion Interested In "Going To AEW"

Could this multiple-time World Champion become #AllElite?

Alberto Del Rio World Champion
WWE

Alberto El Patron - formerly Alberto Del Rio during his WWE days - has interest in working for AEW.

Speaking in a recent interview with SEScoops, the four-time WWE World Champion detailed how he's absolutely interested in competing in an AEW ring, and that he feels he deserves to be wrestling for one of the major promotions of the business.

"I would be interested in going to AEW, or any major company. I deserve to be in a major company. Once it has been proven that I was always telling the truth about those things, I know, I don't think, I know I deserve to be out there to continue entertaining and to rebuild my legacy in the business that I love. I would love to be in working for any major company."

There are certainly a fair few faces in AEW right now who are familiar with Alberto. For example, Del Rio did battle with CM Punk over the WWE Title, whilst he also at one point butted heads with Christian Cage over the World Heavyweight Championship.

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On whether he's had contact with any of his former colleagues who now find themselves under the employ of Tony Khan, Albert said:

"I haven't talked to anyone in that company. I have talked to people from other companies, but not from AEW. I have really good friends over there, like Phil, CM Punk, and he is one of my friends in the business. And Chris Jericho, he was always nice to me and we always had a good relationship while we were working for WWE. I know all the others, and we always got along with Daniel Bryan, Jack Swagger and many others from the indy circuit."

For what it's worth, it's not known whether AEW would have any interest in bringing Alberto into the fold, although the belief earlier this year was that it would be a 'pass' from Tony Khan's organisation.

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During six years under WWE contract, across two different spells with the company, Del Rio certainly amassed quite the success in Vince McMahon's sports entertainment giant. As it stands, the second-generation star has two WWE Title wins, two World Heavyweight Title wins, two United States Title wins, a Money in the Bank win, and a Royal Rumble win to his name. Outside of WWE, Alberto is a former AAA Mega Champion, former CMLL World Heavyweight Champion, and a former IMPACT World Champion.

In terms of the "truth" that the 45-year-old refers to in this latest interview, that would seem to relate to the charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault brought against the real-life Jose Rodriguez in 2020. Following that trial being delayed several times, those charges against Rodriguez were dropped last December.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.