RF VIDEO is happy to announce maybe one of our biggest shoots of 2014 with probably one of the toughest professional wrestlers to ever step inside the squared circle. Amongst the boys he is know as the one guy who you don’t want to mess with in the ring, amongst his peers he is considered a great worker. He is a third generation superstar and his father and uncle are legends in Mexico. He could be called El Patron “The Boss” but best formerly known as WWE World Heayweight Champion Alberto Del Rio!
Once again RF VIDEO landed a historic shoot interview with Alberto Del Rio who was super open and honest with us. Alberto starts off the interview talking about what it was like growing up in a house as a young child and having his father Dos Caras and uncle Mil Mascaras as superstars. When did he get smart to the business? What was it like for him when he wanted to step inside the ring for the first time? Who trained him and did his family want him to join the business? You will get all the answers to these questions in this amazing tell all interview.
We talked with Alberto about his extensive amateur background and what it was like for him in the MMA world. How did he make the transition into pro wrestling and why did he leave MMA. What were his early memories of getting into the business for AAA and CMLL? We talk all about his historic matches that put him on the map with AAA and CMLL and all of the biggest matches of his career in Mexico. You will hear stories direct from Alberto what it was like to be in the ring with all the stars and travel the road in Mexico.
Alberto was on the radar from the WWE for a long time and you will hear how he got his first dark match with the company and why Alberto did not know if it was a great business move coming to the WWE and the states. Alberto talks about what it was like to go down in Fl and pay his dues all over again and why he was not happy doing it. What did Dusty Rhodes tell him behind closed doors which made Alberto stay? What were his first impressions of John Laurinaitis? Why did Alberto like John over HHH when it came to the new office structure behind the scenes?
Alberto talks all about how he got paired with Ricardo and how the two were the only two true heels in the company. What was it like to be working with Rey Jr for his first time on Smackdown and his initial push in the company? What was the conversation like between the two before they hit the ring in Gorilla? Alberto talks about working with all the big names in the company like Christian, Kane, Edge, Matt Hardy and so many more!!
Was it a step down being put with NXT and Connor O’Brien and did he like the role of Brodus Clay as his bodyguard? Alberto talks about his first big run by winning the rumble in 2011 and working with Edge at Wrestlemania 26. Did he know that it was his last match before he went out there with him? How was edge in the ring that night to work with?
What was it like to work with CM Punk as Alberto gives his views on why he thinks Punk quit the WWE and does he think he will be back? This is a great part of the interview as he talks about CM Punk as the person, not only the wrestler that you see on TV. You will hear why he respects him so much and how they had fun working together in the ring at house shows all over the country. What was John Cena like outside the ring and did he ever have any issues with him when they had their program? Did he get along with Sheamus?
Alberto talks about his great matches that he had with Dolph Ziggler and I asked him why WWE never fully pulled the trigger on Dolph and he gives us his views on the subject. What was it like cashing in the briefcase and winning the world title in the last man standing match with Big Show?
Nobody knows about the night that Alberto and HHH/Vince had a meeting backstage about Dolph winning the belt at Monday night raw and how Vince wanted Del Rio to win the match and how HHH wanted Dolph to win the match and what transpired during the meeting and why tensions were high between HHH and Alberto….but I did and you better believe I asked him all about it!!!
Alberto talks about almost cracking on the road and how John Laurinaitis came to his aid and you will be shocked what he did to help Alberto out. One of the great stories is when Alberto talks about working with Daniel Bryan and legit knocking him out during the match and what transpired in the ring as Daniel was out cold!!! This story is worth the DVD alone.
Alberto worked with the biggest names in the company like Randy Orton, John Cena, Big Show and countless others and you will hear all the locker room, in ring stories on everyone!!!
Over time Alberto did not like the direction of his character as we talk all about the idea of going baby face and what that meant to him. Why they split him away from Ricardo and how did they handle it together. You will hear a lot of discussion on his views of his character including going back heel.
We all know why he left the company as we address it during this interview and Alberto takes the high road and talks about what transpired between himself and the WWE just 24 hours before we sat down together. We had a great exclusive during our shoot!!!
Alberto talks about his future in Mexico and you will be very surprised to hear his answer to my question, if WWE were to call him next month to enter in the 2014 Royal Rumble what would he tell them.
If your a huge WWE wrestling fan, it don’t get any better than this. We have a current former WWE World Champion in the RF VIDEO studios for his first ever tell all interview and you better believe we hit a home run with this one. Alberto proves why he is the boss and you will see how confident he really is during this interview about his career in the wrestling business as being one of the top workers in the business today. This is a must for every WWE fan out there…SI SI SI SI!!!!!
Obviously, you grew up in a wrestling household. Your father is Dos Caras. Your uncle is Mil Mascaras. Talk about what it’s like growing up in a Lucha Libre family?
What are your first memories of wrestling and what your family did?
When did you realize they were stars?
Did they kayfabe the way the business worked to you and if they did, when did that change?
Do you remember the first time you saw your father wrestle live? What was that experience like?
You had a pretty extensive amateur wrestling career. Talk about your memories of:
-competing on the Mexican National Wrestling Team for Greco-Roman wrestling.
-competing in the 1997 World Junior championships in the Czech Republic
-the Pan American Games
-The Central American and Caribbean Games
Did you ever want to try for the Olympics?
Obviously there’s a lot of politics in the pro wrestling world. What are the politics like in the collegiate wrestling world?
You have a degree in architecture. What led to you pursuing that?
When did you make the decision that you were going to get into professional wrestling?
How did your father and your uncle react?
What was the training like?
Did your amateur background help you learn the Lucha style or was it a hindrance?
What were the best lessons your father and your uncle gave you in terms of conducting yourself professionally and presenting yourself as a star?
Early memories of wrestling for AAA?
Did you feel like you were in the shadows of your father and uncle? How long did it take you to feel like you were out of their shadows.
How long did it take you to feel comfortable as a pro?
Why did you start in AAA as opposed to CMLL?
Memories of working with:
-Pirata Morgan
-Gronda
-El Brazo
-El Texano
Memories of taking Darketo’s mask?
Being the son of a famous icon in Mexico, did you have a lot of guys trying you in the ring?
After you debuted as a wrestler, you also tried your hands in MMA. What led to you wanting to try it?
How do you compare it to wrestling in terms of it’s difficulty?
What led to you fighting MMA while wearing your Lucha mask and ring name?
Memories of fighting Kengo Watanabe?
Memories of fighting Mirkp Cro Cop Filipovic?
Do you wish you had continued in MMA given you had a good win loss record?
What led to you signing with CMLL in 2005?
Describe the differences in AAA and CMLL in terms of their product, how they promote, fan base, wrestlers, locker room politics
You received a pretty solid push in CMLL shortly after you were signed. Did you receive any backlash in the locker room because of that?
Memories of working the La Copa Junior tournament after signing with the company, where you went to the semi-finals against Dr, Wagner Jr.?
You were in the mix in the company until the 2006 La Cop Junior, which you won. Did you realize what a big deal that was for you to win?
We wanted to get your memories of working against
Wagner Jr.
Heavy Metal
Apolo Dantes
Hector Garza
Kenzo Suzuki
Ultimo Guerrero
Memories of teaming with Lizmark Jr.?
Memories of the feud for the CMLL championship against Universo 2000?
When were you made aware you were winning the title?
Were you surprised when you found out?
Why was there so much time between title defenses? Did CMLL ever explain to you why they did that?
Memories of carrying the belt?
During your reign, WWE becomes interested in you. When is the first time you hear from WWE and who do you speak to?
Does CMLL get angry about WWE’s interest in you?
There are reports you worked a dark match at the time for WWE – did you and if so, what was that experience like?
CMLL books you to drop the belt to Ultimo Guerrero around the same time. Is that because of the WWE talks or was that just the planned sequence of events.
You announced that you were staying with CMLL over WWE stating they offered a better deal at the time. Was that true or just the way you were playing the media, since just a year or so later, you were with WWE?
As Dos Caras Jr., you turn heel in 2009. Was this a hard decision to make since neither your father or your uncle had ever worked heel and there was a strong family legacy in Mexico?
What was their reaction to you turning?
What are the differences in working as a strong heel or as a strong babyface?
Which way do you prefer to work?
Memories of feuding with Shocker?
When do you finally opt to sign with WWE?
Is it true you didn’t want to go to WWE developmental?
If so, why did you eventually go to FCW?
Do you feel it was insulting that someone with your background should have been sent there?
Given your international experience at the time, was there anything you did learn in FCW?
What were your first impressions of the WWE developmental system at the time?
Thoughts on:
Steve Keirn
Norman Smiley
Dusty Rhodes
What led to you working as Alberto Banderas without your mask?
Were you cautious about working without your mask?
Do you regret not taking a big payday in Mexico to lose the mask given you were going to reveal yourself?
WWE had you work with the mask in Mexico during a tour even though you had removed it in the United States. Was that done out of respect to your family? If so, why was that done?
What were your first impressions of the WWE locker room?
First impressions of:
Vince McMahon
John Laurinaitis
Triple H
Stephanie McMahon
How different was WWE from the AAA and CMLL locker rooms in terms of politics?
Break down the differences between WWE TV taping and CMLL and AAA TV tapings?
WWE began airing vignettes for the Alberto Del Rio character in June 2010. Who came up with the Del Rio surname?
WWE ran the vignettes for several months. What did you think of WWE introducing youself in that manner?
Did you find the talking aspect of creating a character as something that came natural to you? Obviously, it’s completely different from the Lucha style of using highspots and the pageantry of the masks to help create stars – was it hard to adapt to what WWE wanted?
How much did you have to change your style in the ring to get to where WWE wanted you to be as a performer?
What sort of idea did WWE give you in terms of long term plans for you in the company?
When do you find out that Ricardo Rodriguez is going to be working with you as your personal ring announcer?
What are your first memories of Ricardo as a performer and a person?
How much do you think he added to your WWE presentation?
Memories of your Smackdown debut against Rey Mysterio?
Do you think the program with Rey was a natural for the Alberto character since it was evil Mexican aristocrat vs. Mexican underdog?
How do you rate Rey in the ring as a wrestler?
How much credit do you give him for Alberto taking off in WWE?
As you were starting to develop and perform on WWE TV, were you getting a lot of feedback from your father and uncle? What sort of advice were they giving you at the time?
They did an angle where you injured Rey, leading to Christian challenging you. Memories of working with him?
WWE had you beat Matt Hardy in what turned out to be Hardy’s final appearance in the company. Were you aware he was on the way out? Were you on the tour where he was sent home and if so, what were your memories of his behavior at the time?
WWE built you up as a killer at the time, having you putting Rey, Christian and Hardy out of action. Could you feel yourself getting heat from the WWE audience at the time or was it hard to get real heel heat given the way the company presents itself for children?
Memories of working on the Smackdown team at the first Bragging Rights PPV?
Memories of Team Alberto vs. Team Rey at the 2010 Survivor Series?
At the 2010 TLC PPV, you were in a four way with Kane, Rey and Edge. Memories of working the TLC bout and were you comfortable doing some of the crazier bumps and stunts in the ring?
As 2011 starts, you close out the feud with Rey. Do you think WWE appreciated him for everything he’s done for them?
What led to you mentoring Connor O’Brien on NXT? Was that something you were happy about being asked to do?
What led to you being put with Brody Clay? What were your initial impressions of him? Did you think Clay as your bodyguard added to the Alberto presentation? Memories of working with and managing Brodus Clay? Were you surprised that WWE cut him?
When did you find out you were going over in the 2011 Royal Rumble?
Memories of working the only 40 Man version of that match?
Talk us through how WWE puts that match together and how much instruction they give the talents. Do they give the talents leeway to improvise in the ring or is it strongly scripted?
What do you prefer to do – feel things out in the ring or have your matches laid out ahead of time?
You feuded with Edge going into your first Wrestlemania for the company, Wrestlemania 26 – what are your memories of working your first Mania?
Were you disappointed that match was booked to open Wrestlemania since it was for the World title?
Were you aware going in there was talk that Edge might have to retire from his neck issues or was that kept quiet?
When you look back at the show, what are your memories? Is it a high point for you? Did you feel you should have gone over for the title?
What was your first reaction when you learned Edge was done?
With Edge having to retire, you and Christian feuded for the vacant World title. Memories of that feud? Were you surprised when Christian was booked to get the title?
Were you excited when you and Ricardo were moved to Raw in the 2011 draft?
Any idea why Brodus wasn’t moved with you?
What are the differences backstage between Raw and Smackown, if any?
How about the PPVs vs. the TV shows?
Is there more pressure being on live TV vs. a taped Smackdown or a house show?
Memories of your feud with Big Show?
You win Money in the Bank at the 2011 version of that PPV. Memories of that crazy match and finding out you were getting the briefcase. Did you see that as WWE pretty much telling you you were in push for a major run?
Memories of teaming you and Richardo wrestling John Cena and Bret Hart?
Memories of cashing in and defeating CM Punk at Summerslam?
What did it mean to you personally and to your family’s legacy to be put into that position as a talent?
You lost the belt to John Cena just a month later at the Night of Champions PPV. Were you let down they cut the run off so quickly?
Memories of facing Cena and CM Punk inside Hell in A Cell? Describe what it’s like putting together a match using that structure?
This led to you facing John Cena at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match. Any specific memories of that bout?
What’s John like to deal with?
Do you think he plays politics?
Does WWE rely on him too much to the point it hurts others from getting over in a top position?
You win the belt back, which leads to you against CM Punk at Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden. Memories of that PPV?
What are your thoughts on Punk as a person and as a worker?
Were you surprised when he walked out on WWE?
Do you think they ever appreciated what he brought to the table?
Do you think Punk will ever return to wrestling or is he really retired?
Favorite memories of your feud with Punk?
Does MSG stand out as a special building in comparison to the other Arenas or is it just another stop on the WWE tours?
Memories of the insane bump you took at the TLC PPV where you fought Miz and Punk?
Thoughts on Miz as a worker?
Is he really as annoying as the stories claim?
Did you ever want to fight him?
Why do you think if he’s such a pain in the ass, no one has laid him out yet?
Do you think it’s fair he worked a Wrestlemania main event over guys like yourself or Punk?
As 2012 started, you went into a program with Sheamus for the World championship. Memories of that feud and Sheamus as a person and worker? Do you think WWE has underutilized him?
Describe what your relationship is like with WWE and creative at this point? You’ve been there for a few years and have even been WWE champion, but do you feel like creative is writing for you at this point?
Did you ever feel they did anything that too close to home or racist in nature for yourself and/or Ricardo as Latin men?
Thoughts on being moved back to Smackdown around this time?
You suffered a concussion shortly after moving back to Smackdown. Discuss how WWE treated the injury? Was there pressure on you to get back in the ring?
When you returned, you had the chance to work with Dolph Ziggler. Thoughts on him as a performer?
Why do you think WWE has never really pulled the trigger with him as a top talent?
We are skipping ahead here, but ,memories of the night Dolph Ziggler beat Alberto to win the World title?
Did you feel Ziggler earned it?
Were you surprised when WWE booked you to get it back after Zigger suffered his concussion?
Do you think WWE blew it with Ziggler?
Memories of the angle where he tried to get the Brogue Kick banned?
After the Sheamus program, you had a chance to work with Randy Orton. Thoughts on him as a performer and a person?
Memories of the Hell in A Cell bout against Orton?
Sin Cara made his way to WWE about this time. Why did he fail in WWE in your mind? Was it the language barrier, bad luck, a bad attitude? Break down, from your perspective as someone who made the transition from Mexico to WWE successfully, why Cara failed?
How did the backstage scene of the company change when Triple H replaced John Laurinaitis as the head of Talent Relations?
WWE inducted your uncle Mil Mascaras into their Hall of Fame. What did that mean to your family?
At TLC, you turned babyface out of nowhere, confronting 3MB as they were screwing with the Spanish announcers. When did you find out that was the plan and what were your thoughts on the turn for you and Ricardo? Were you surprised? Did you feel being babyfaces was the right way for the duo to go?
Memories of teaming with Miz and The Brooklyn Brawler at the TLC PPV?
What are the biggest differences in working heel and working face in WWE?
Memories of working with Big Show for the World title?
Memories of the feud against Jack Swagger and the entire story where you were now defending the common man and immigrants against, basically, the Tea Party? Thoughts on Swagger and why he’s never made it to the upper echelon of the company?
Memories of working with Zeb Colter?
How did you feel about Rock coming back and walking into main events? Is it unfair to guys like yourself who worked full-time?
After the Ziggler feud, you had a chance to work with Big E Langston. What are your thoughts on his potential in the ring and how WWE has handled him so far?
How did you feel when WWE decided to turn you and Ricardo heel again?
Memories of working with RVD?
When did you learn they were going to split you and Ricardo up? Did you think it was going to hurt your characters? Were you worried Ricardo was going to get lost in the shuffle?
You had a chance to have another program with John Cena over the World title. Did you feel that WWE kept going back with the same people on top?
Thoughts on how WWE used Daniel Bryan and do you feel the fans really forced them to put him into a main event position?
Memories of working with Batista when he returned to WWE? How was he to deal with? Do you think he came back with the intention of giving back to the company?
Memories of the crowd rejecting Batista in the Rumble?
Were you let down that WWE booked you into the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 30? Did you feel that you had earned a better position on the biggest show of the year?
Talk about the circumstances that led to your departure with WWE:
You returned to AAA at the start of 2014. Did WWE try and block you from wrestling in Mexico? If so, why?
Memories of your return on Triplemania 22?
Where did the El Patron ring name come from?
You ended up teaming with the original Sin Cara in your AAA return – do you think his WWE experience has humbled him?
How do you feel about your WWE run overall? Did you ever really get to the level you wanted to be in the company?
Thoughts on working for Great Muta’s Wrestle-1 in Japan?
You said in a recent interview that you intend to join Lucha Underground next year. When can you actually wrestle again on TV and inside the United States?
Do you ever foresee yourself wanting to work for WWE ever again?
Were you surprised when WWE released Ricardo?
Are you excited about reuniting with him?
Why did your brother never make it out of WWE developmental
Any favorite road stories or ribs?
Any final words for everyone who has supported you over the course of your career?