During his time in WWE, Alberto Del Rio found his fair share of success, winning the 2011 edition of the Royal Rumble and becoming a multi-time WWE Champion. However, the star was released from the company in 2014 when it was alleged he made a racist joke. He made a surprise return in 2015, but following a failed Wellness Policy violation the next year, he elected to use the opt-out clause in his contract to exit WWE once again and hasn’t been seen in the company since.
Speaking in a recent episode with WrestlingNewsCo, Alberto Del Rio admitted that while he hasn’t had any talks with the current administration under Triple H, he did speak with John Laurinaitis about a possible comeback under Vince McMahon’s regime. He praised the changes Triple H has made since taking over control of the company after Vince McMahon’s retirement, citing better morale and higher viewership of WWE leading to more money.
“To be honest, I haven’t talked to any of the administration. I did [talk] when John Laurinaitis was around, we had a couple of phone calls. It didn’t go anywhere. What happened, happened. We have a new administration doing fantastic things. As far as I know, what I’ve read, the numbers, when it comes to ratings and money, it’s fantastic. The way the talent feels backstage and in the ring, it looks like this change has been for the best.” (h/t Fightful)
He also called himself “one of Johnny’s boys.” John Laurinaitis was suspended and later quietly released from WWE earlier this year due to his involvement in an alleged sexual misconduct scandal that also involved Vince McMahon.
WWE’s Previous Regime Had No Interest In Bringing Back Alberto Del Rio
Despite Alberto Del Rio claiming to have had talks with WWE’s previous regime, a new report from Fightful Select states that the company hasn’t had any interest in bringing him back into the fold for well over a year. According to the report, one higher up within WWE said, “There’s no f*cking way that will happen” when asked about the potential of a Del Rio return over a year ago when Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis were still in control.
That same source indicated that since Del Rio’s exit in 2016, there were never serious conversations within the company about bringing back the former WWE Royal Rumble winner, even from John Laurinaitis himself. Those conversations that Alberto Del Rio mentioned seemed to be taken as the star gauging interest for himself rather than any indication of interest from the company.
The report continues, stating that according to sources, those within WWE who would need to be in favor of bringing back Alberto Del Rio haven’t shown any interest in working with the star since before his departure from WWE. In addition, when Fightful asked if there had ever been pitches for Alberto Del Rio to appear as a guest entrant in the Royal Rumble in previous years, a long-tenured employee said they couldn’t recall any pitches of that nature having ever been made.