Alberto Del Rio responds to Booker T's recent comments about him (Exclusive)
Alberto Del Rio has thanked Booker T for saying he is worthy of joining the WWE Hall of Fame one day.
The Mexican recently wrote on Twitter that he deserves to become a member of the prestigious group. Booker T, a two-time WWE Hall of Famer, responded by saying Del Rio would be a first-ballot inductee “if it wasn’t for his outside antics.”
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Riju Dasgupta, Del Rio made it clear that he appreciated his former co-worker’s kind words. He also clarified that the allegations about “outside antics” in his personal life were proven to be false.
“Thank you, Booker, thank you,” Del Rio said. “Booker T was always fantastic to me. Thank you for those words. I’m really happy to hear that. When it comes to the other part where he says ‘if it wasn’t for the other stuff,’ well, yes, but the other stuff was not real. It never happened.” [5:10-5:41]
In 2020, Alberto Del Rio was charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault following an allegation from his ex-fiancée. The charges were later dropped after she admitted to creating a false story to get back at him for cheating on her.
“I have shown the world,” Del Rio continued. “I have shown to everybody that all that stuff that the family of someone that I dated said, it was a complete lie. I put it out there many times. Everything is public record in the United States. If you don’t wanna see it, it’s because you don’t wanna see it. I’m not trying to affect anyone’s life.” [5:41-6:04]
The four-time world champion does not want to dwell on the situation with his former partner. However, he feels the need to reiterate his innocence to make sure people are aware he did nothing wrong.
“I don’t wanna bring the past back, but just go out there and see it,” Del Rio added. “Who was arrested three different times for domestic violence? And it wasn’t me. The other thing with my ex-fiancée was just a complete lie. I already said it. It’s out there. The department of investigation, the most important thing in the world, is telling you. We checked everything, absolutely everything: emails, texts. Alberto didn’t do anything.” [6:04-6:41]
Watch the video above to hear Del Rio’s thoughts on the Hall of Fame, Bobby Lashley, and more.
Alberto Del Rio on his reputation in the wrestling business
Que tengan excelente semana familia. https://t.co/jzxXJsUTBc
In 2011, Alberto Del Rio won the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank ladder match to cement his status as WWE’s top villain. He also held the WWE Championship twice, World Heavyweight Championship twice, and United States Championship twice between 2009 and 2016.
Regarding Booker T’s “outside antics” comment, he claimed the false allegations against him damaged his legacy as a wrestler.
“He is right but he’s not completely right,” Del Rio said. “It’s right because it’s out there, it affects my career, it affects my persona. But if I have proven that I didn’t do anything wrong, that outside stuff, the business, it shouldn’t be important because it should be the other way around [people should understand he is innocent].” [6:42-7:04]
The 45-year-old went on to thank Booker T once again before reaffirming that he is an innocent man.
“Thank you, Booker, thank you for your words,” Del Rio added. “Thank you for the other part, but please don’t forget that I have proved the world that everything was a lie and I didn’t do anything.” [8:14-8:27]
Alberto Del Rio also explained in the interview how the situation with his ex-fiancée resembled Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s recent trial.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.