WWE News: Alberto El Patron reveals the reason Vince McMahon wanted him to return to the WWE in 2015
What's the story?
Former WWE World Champion Alberto El Patron was a recent guest on Konnan's Keeping It 100 With Konnan podcast. Among the topics they discussed was Alberto's surprising return to the WWE in 2015 and the reasons behind it.
In case you didn't know...
Alberto El Patron has a total of 14 professional mixed martial arts matches under his belt with a record of 9-5. His last match took place on February 27, 2010, when he lost to Yamamoto Hanshi at Cage Of Combat 4: Spanish Bombs.
The heart of the matter
Alberto Del Rio made a surprise return to the WWE at the Hell In A Cell pay per view in October of 2015. To kick off the pay per view, then WWE United States Champion John Cena was issuing his U.S. Open Challenge.
Zeb Coulter (who previously managed Jack Swagger and Cesaro as part of The Real Americans) took to the stage to announce a surprising new client in Del Rio. The match would only last for eight minutes and Del Rio was the new WWE United States Champion.
El Patron told Konnan that the main reason Vince McMahon gave him the call to return in 2015 was that the company was lacking true heel superstars at the time. Alberto would expand on that information in the quote below:
"To be honest it's because, and this came from Triple H himself and Johnny Ace; apparently Vince [McMahon] was mad after a TV taping because he didn't feel that the heels were being real heels. You know nowadays heels want to be cheered and be cooled, but in those days when a heel was a badass and ass-kicker, those days are gone," he said. "Nowadays, everyone wants to be cheered and wants thousands of followers on social media. They are afraid of heat that the business can give them, so McMahon wasn't happy, and believe it or not Triple H agreed to it, so he said, let's do it. He mentioned how i was doing great things on the independent circuit and Lucha Underground and how I was in phenomenal shape. After a while of negotiations, I ended up going back."
Unfortunately for Del Rio, the major spark that started upon his return faded rather quickly. The MexAmerica gimmick with Coulter just wasn't working and Del Rio lost the WWE United States Championship to Kalisto the following January.
He would later be a part of the League Of Nations with Wade Barrett, Sheamus, and Rusev. Del Rio told Konnan that it was a group of wrestlers who didn't want to be in a stable, and it didn't take long for that group to disband, and it was the final straw for Del Rio as he left the WWE.
What's next?
Alberto El Patron is currently on Impact Wrestling and last appeared on the December 14th episode. Upon his return to the company, he's feuded with Johnny Impact and the current Impact World Heavyweight Champion, Eli Drake.
Author's take
Alberto's return at the Hell In A Cell pay per view was a true shock. I had no idea he was returning to the company. Then, he beats John Cena in eight minutes, and I thought he would reach new heights in the WWE the second time around.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the case, but he is providing star power now for Impact Wrestling.