As many of you are aware by now, Alberto Del Rio has officially cut ties with WWE and he is expected to be done with the company by the end of this month, thanks to an out clause in his contract.
Although Del Rio’s lawyer sent a legal letter about him opting out, negotiations were still ongoing after June and he was offered a similar deal as his current one but he would have made extra money because he would have been a regular character on “Total Divas.” He was said to be making very good money on his current deal. When his wellness policy violation was announced on 8/17, it decreased the odds of him staying with WWE. The door closed this week when WWE pulled him from all shows.
Part of Del Rio’s frustration with WWE had to do with his push. He was promised a main event push and Paul Heyman was supposed to be his manager. Since Rey Mysterio, the company has been looking to push a Hispanic name as a top babyface and the idea was for Del Rio to be that guy. Things were great when Del Rio first came back. He was immediately booked to beat John Cena when he returned and he and Vince McMahon would fly together on the company jet. His push started to fade as McMahon moved onto his next toy and Del Rio was put in the League Of Nations faction. He never really recovered from that.
It will be interesting to see where Del Rio works after WWE. There is said to be interest from several promotions. He should be free and clear sometime around September 30th.
News from The Wrestling Observer website was used in this post. For more on this story please visit WrestlingObserver.com. Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez’ WrestlingObserver.com is the leading source for professional wrestling news. Click here for subscription information. Members get exclusive access to insider news from Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez, daily audio shows, breaking news audio, the Wrestling Observer newsletter, newsletter archives, thousands of hours of archived radio shows, and much more.