Latest On A WWE Return For Alberto Del Rio (WWE News)
Could a WWE return be on the cards for Alberto Del Rio?
Having seemingly finished up with AAA on Friday, fans have speculated that we could be about to see the WWE return of Alberto Del Rio.
For those who may have missed it, Alberto El Patron lost a Loser Leaves AAA match against El Mesias on Friday, prompting online chatter that this could be setting up the eventual return to WWE of the four-time WWE World Champion.
On that topic, Fightful Select reports that WWE's stance on Alberto hasn't changed. As in, the market leader has zero interest in the 48-year-old.
Following WWE's announcement of its acquisition of AAA during WrestleMania 41 Weekend, there has been a distinct lack of reference to Alberto El Patron, who at that time was the reigning AAA Mega Champion. Even when WWE aired footage of El Hijo del Vikingo defeating El Patron for the Mega Title at the end of May, that footage was framed in a way that kept Alberto barely visible.
For several years, WWE has been clear about its lack of interest in bringing Alberto Del Rio back into the fold, despite the talent himself stating that WWE had reached out to him at several points. On that front, El Patron even told members of the AAA roster that he'd been approached over a potential appearance at this year's Royal Rumble. Despite that, a WWE source bluntly told Fightful, "If we wanted Alberto at all, much less in the Royal Rumble, he'd be here."
While AAA fans have reacted negatively to the babyface El Hijo del Vikingo in recent months and have reacted positively to the heel Alberto El Patron, WWE was aware of the potential backlash of switching the Mega Championship to Vikingo, but viewed this as a short-term problem with a long-term benefit.
WWE sources reiterated that there is no plan for Alberto Del Rio back in WWE, that they believe he's legitimately done with AAA, though they expect Alberto to make efforts to return to both companies at some point.
In other AAA news, Triple H announced over the weekend that AAA Triplemania 33 will air live for free on YouTube on August 16. That event will be headlined by El Hijo del Vikingo defending the AAA Mega Championship in a four-way match against Dominik Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and El Grande Americano.