Here’s something you didn’t expect (unless you’re Danielle Matheson in our Hell in a Cell predictions): Alberto Del Rio made a shocking return to WWE at Hell in a Cell, answering John Cena’s open challenge and defeating him for the United States Championship.
WWE released Del Rio last year when he struck a social media manager for making a racist joke at his expense. He claimed WWE’s racism problem went all the way to the top, and the issues between he and the company were quickly dropped. That led to a return to Mexico, a run on the independent circuit and a fiery turn on El Rey Network’s Lucha Underground, where Del Rio — now Alberto El Patron — spoke candidly about being repressed and disrespected.
Del Rio’s indies run had gotten strange as of late, from no-showing an Autism benefit in Houston and not updating anyone about his whereabouts for a suspiciously long time to pulling out of an event in Germany because he considered flying coach “sub-human.”
Interestingly, Del Rio has been paired with former rival Zeb Colter. Is that a statement on Del Rio’s ability to just work with racists and keep quiet to achieve his goals, or are we looking into that too much?
Suddenly, these days seem so far away:
