– WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio spoke with Slam Wrestling this weekend. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Making the transition from luchador to WWE Superstar:
“I’m going to be totally honest with you, it was really hard. I feel great now, but at the beginning it was really difficult because I had wrestled with that mask for over 10 years everywhere, Mexico, Japan, Europe and at the beginning it was hard because you’re not used to selling your expressions. But I was there in FCW with guys like Norman (Smiley), Dr. Tom Pritchard, with Dusty Rhodes, and they helped me a lot. They helped me all the way. I think there’s a reason I’m doing such a good job here in WWE.”
“In Mexico, we wrestle on the right side. Here in America, we do it on the left side. That was the hardest part. Then how to work for the cameras, for TV, sell my expressions, all those things were really difficult at the beginning, but at this moment I feel really comfortable and I think, well, I don’t think, I’m sure I’m doing a great job.”
Developing the Alberto Del Rio character:
“To develop my character, I only used experiences from people I hate. That’s making my job really easy. All your life, you have the chance to know people where you hate the way they talk, the way they walk, the way they express themselves and that’s what I do to develop my character. I just remember people I hate through the years and that’s Alberto Del Rio right there.”
A conversation with Vince McMahon before debuting:
“Before my debut, Mr. McMahon told me, ‘You gotta believe to make people believe.’ When he told me that, I was like, ‘OK, all that I need is to believe my character and that way, everyone in the crowd will believe in this character.’ That’s what I do every time I go out, I really believe I’m Alberto Del Rio. I really believe I have all those cars, all those millions.”
His father, Dos Caras Sr., working with WWE on the recent Mexico tour:
“For a week, they made my dad feel like a superstar again. My father is one of those guys who really loves the business, who misses the business, who misses the road. The fact that the company invited him to do that tour in Mexico, that was something incredible. For me, imagine this, my father, my teacher, my friend, he was next to me, in the corner while I was facing Rey and the Undertaker in front of my own people from Mexico. That was a really incredible experience.”
His future with WWE:
“I think I’m going to be heavyweight champion in this company very soon. In two years, I think I’m going to be one of the main guys in this company, one of the top five guys in this company. That’s the reason I came here, that’s the reason I left everything behind — my friends, my family, my house in Mexico, my status. I was a big superstar in Mexico and when I came to WWE, no one knew me. Now I’m building my career here in the States, little by little and I’m sure I’m going to be one of the main guys pretty soon.”
