SLAM! Wrestling posted today a lengthy article on Alberto Del Rio, which includes comments from the SmackDown wrestler himself. Below are highlights from the interview.
-- Del Rio believes he will be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion "very soon." He also feels he will become one of the organization's top five stars within the next two years.
He explained, "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."
-- Del Rio said he based characteristics of his in-ring character from personal experiences with people he dislikes.
"To develop my character, I only used experiences from people I hate," he said, laughing. "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."
He said prior to being put on television, he had a conversation with Vince McMahon in regards to his character's portrayal.
"Before my debut, Mr. McMahon told me, 'You gotta believe to make people believe,'" Del Rio said. "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."
-- Del Rio said it was initially "really hard" working without a mask in Florida Championship Wrestling after using it for ten years across the globe. It was a learning experience for the second generation wrestler, who not only had to learn a different style of wrestling, but had to work without a mask for the first time in his career.
"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," he said. "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."
