Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez ( May 25 , 1977 ) , best known as Alberto Del Rio , is a Mexican professional wrestler and mixed martial artist , perhaps best known for his two tenures in WWE . He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling under the ring name Alberto El Patrón . He also competes for various promotions on the international independent circuit . Currently competing in TNA and the independent circuit under the ring name Alberto El Patrón , Rodríguez wrestled as El Patrón Alberto in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración ( AAA ) , Ring of Honor ( ROH ) , Lucha Underground , Japan , Puerto Rico , and various United States independent promotions . Before working for WWE , Rodríguez used the name Dos Caras Jr . as both a mixed martial artist and luchador in mostly Mexico and Japan , achieving success in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ( CMLL ) . He is also the current President of MMA promotion " Combate Americas " . Between WWE and Mexico , Rodríguez is an seven - time world champion , having held both the WWE Championship and WWE ' s World Heavyweight Championship twice each , as well as the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship , and the AAA Mega Championship . He also won the 2011 Royal Rumble and the 2011 Money in the Bank ladder match , making him the only professional wrestler to win both in the same calendar year . He is also a two - time WWE United States Champion . Amateur wrestling . Born in San Luis Potosí , as the son of luchador Dos Caras . Rodríguez graduated from Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí where he earned a degree in architecture . Growing up in a family of wrestlers Rodríguez decided to take up Greco - Roman wrestling , training under Leonel Kolesni and Juan Fernández . He earned a place on the Mexican national team in Greco - Roman wrestling and while competing on the national team obtained several accomplishments . In 1997 , he placed third at the World Junior Championships , in the Czech Republic . He also won the Central American and Caribbean Games in his weight division three times and won a medal at the Pan American Games . Rodríguez was on track to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney , Australia , but due to a lack of funding and support , Mexico did not send a wrestling team that year . Professional wrestling career . Asistencia Asesoría y Administración ( 2000 – 2002 ) . After not competing at the 2000 Olympic games Rodriguez turned to the family business , and trained with his father to become a professional wrestler . Junior made his debut appearance on May 9 , 2000 as he ran in during an Asistencia Asesoría y Administración ( AAA ) show to save his father from a beat down from El Texano , Pirata Morgan and Espectro , Jr . After making follow up TV show appearances Caras did not make his in ring debut until September 16 of that year when he teamed with Sangre Chicana , El Alebrije and La Parka , Jr . to defeat Los Consagrados ( El Texano , Pirata Morgan , Espectro , Jr . and El Cobarde ) at AAA ' s summer event Verano de Escandalo . After his debut Rodriguez would travel to Japan to compete as well , making his Japanese debut on October 11 by teaming with his father to defeat the team of El Azteca and Chiba . Junior continued his AAA storyline with Los Consagrados , teaming with Octagón , La Parka , Jr . and Hong Kong Lee to defeat Los Consagrados by disqualification . Over the next couple of years Caras would work both in Mexico and Japan to gain experience in the ring . In Mexico he worked exclusively for AAA making appearances at shows such as the 2002 " Verano de Escandalo " , where he teamed with Gronda and El Hijo del Solitario to defeat the trio of Pirata Morgan , Sangre Chicana and El Brazo . Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre . Técnico ( 2005 – 2009 ) . In 2005 , Rodriguez was signed to a contract with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ( CMLL ) . In his first test in the company , Caras competed in the 2005 La Copa Junior , but the storyline of the tournament saw him defeated in the semi - final by Dr . Wagner , Jr . Junior ' s advancement to the semi - final of the cup , mere months after signing with the company was an indicator that the bookers were interested in elevating him up the rankings , this was further supported when he received matches for both the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship and the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship inside a three - week period . The following year on March 31 , 2006 Caras was entered again into the La Copa Junior tournament and earned a return victory over Dr . Wager , Jr . who knocked him out of the tournament the previous year . He also won against Heavy Metal and Apolo Dantes to gain a place in the final , defeating Héctor Garza to win the prize . While working in Japan , Caras had taken to teaming with another second generation wrestler , Lizmark , Jr . , and when both found themselves in CMLL they were teamed up once again with the team ' s famous fathers being the selling point . Over the next year Caras found himself without much direction , he worked storylines with Último Guerrero and Kenzo Suzuki but nothing long term came of it . Caras received two opportunities to challenge Universo 2000 for the CMLL World Heavyweight title but came up short until his third attempt on July 8 , 2007 when he became the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion . While in wrestling promotions outside of Mexico the Heavyweight title would indicate that he was the top man in the federation , Mexican wrestling promotions tend to put more emphasis on the lower weight divisions over the heavyweights . Caras ' s run with the CMLL World Heavyweight championship remained largely uneventful with only four title defenses in the 533 days that he held the championship . After defending against Lizmark , Jr . and former champion Universo 2000 it would be 9 months before his next defense . By the fall of 2008 a story broke that Rodriguez had wrestled a dark match for World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) and that they had offered him a contract . Over the following months conflicting reports of whether he had signed or not arose but he remained CMLL World Heavyweight Champion . When Caras lost the title to Último Guerrero it was believed that he had indeed signed with WWE , with him being rumored to be a surprise participant in the 2009 Royal Rumble . However , Rodriguez remained with CMLL and stated that he signed a four - year deal and chose CMLL because they offered him a better deal than WWE . Rudo ( 2009 ) . Throughout his entire career Dos Caras , Jr . had always played a heroic character , known in Mexico as a técnico . However , after the contract dealings with WWE surfaced he began showing signs of becoming a villain , known as a rudo . He would turn his attention away from the matches and instead try to win the approval of the fans , often costing his team the match because he was distracted . Caras himself explained this behavior by stating that he " hurt his shoulder , but bravely stayed in the arena " . After hinting at a change for weeks Caras finally cemented his villainous persona on April 11 , 2009 , the first member of the Rodríguez family to be a heel . After becoming a rudo , he began working a storyline with José Luis Jair Soria . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2009 – 2014 ) . Florida Championship Wrestling ( 2009 – 2010 ) . On June 17 , 2009 , Rodriguez confirmed that he had signed a three - year contract with WWE , stating that he would not have to go to Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) , WWE ' s developmental territory , but would go directly to the main roster . Furthermore , he would retain the rights to his name , mask and image but allow the WWE to use it for promotional purposes while he is under contract with them . He agreed to the contract since it addressed the main reasons why he turned down the WWE ' s offer in January 2009 . Despite his claims , he had a match with Kris Logan at FCW wrestling under the name Dos . He later also went on to wrestle under the ring names Dorado and El Dorado . During a segment on the Abraham Washington show at the August 6 taping , Rodriguez revealed a new , unmasked wrestling character named Alberto Banderas . During Raw ' s " WrestleMania Revenge " tour of Europe in April 2010 , Caras made numerous appearances in untelevised matches for the Raw brand . One night he wrestled as Dos Caras , but he did not wear his mask . He was presented as a villain in a losing effort against Christian . The following month Caras put his mask back on for WWE ' s tour of Mexico and worked as a hometown hero , prior to returning unmasked during untelevised matches for subsequent " Raw " and " SmackDown " shows . SmackDown and feud with Rey Mysterio ( 2010 ) . On the June 25 , 2010 episode of " SmackDown " , Rodriguez debuted on a pre - taped promotional video as the unmasked Alberto Del Rio . Thereafter , a vignette aired every week on " SmackDown " promoting his character as an arrogant rich Mexican aristocrat , espousing his own virtues of honesty , integrity and mental faculties . After two months , he debuted on the August 20 edition of " SmackDown " where he debuted by defeating fellow luchadore Rey Mysterio in the main event using his new cross armbar submission . His ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez debuted at the same time as Del Rio . The following week , Del Rio continued the storyline with Mysterio by attacking him after his match with Kane , giving him a storyline injury by refusing to relinquish his armbar . Two weeks later he defeated Matt Hardy via submission in Hardy ' s last appearance with the company , causing Hardy ' s friend Christian to challenge Del Rio to a match at Night of Champions . Although he declined the match , on the September 24 edition of " SmackDown " Del Rio attacked Christian and injured him the same way he did Mysterio the previous month , marking the third successive wrestler Del Rio was scripted to injure . This was done to write Christian off television , as he had suffered a torn pectoral muscle . Mysterio returned on the October 8 " SmackDown " episode and handed Del Rio his first defeat in the main event match . In October Del Rio defeated Chris Masters to represent the SmackDown brand at Bragging Rights , but during the pay - per - view event he attacked teammate Rey Mysterio , before being eliminated from the match by Team Raw ' s CM Punk . The next week on " SmackDown " , Del Rio was involved in a triple threat match to determine a new number one contender to the World Heavyweight Champion Kane , but was defeated by Edge in a match , also involving Rey Mysterio . At Survivor Series Del Rio captained a team consisting of himself , Cody Rhodes , Drew McIntyre , Jack Swagger and Tyler Reks against a team captained by Rey Mysterio , consisting of Mysterio himself , Big Show , Chris Masters , Kofi Kingston and MVP . Del Rio was eliminated from the match by Big Show , who went on to win the match along with Mysterio . On the November 26 edition of " SmackDown " , Del Rio defeated Big Show via countout to qualify for the 2010 King of the Ring tournament . Del Rio would beat Daniel Bryan in the first round by submission , but would be defeated by John Morrison in the semifinals after being distracted by Rey Mysterio . On the November 30 episode of WWE NXT , it was announced that Del Rio would be a mentor to Conor O ' Brian on the fourth season of NXT , starting the following week . On December 19 at , Del Rio competed in a Fatal - 4 - Way Tables , Ladders and Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship , which was won by Edge and also included the then champion Kane and Rey Mysterio . On the January 7 , 2011 edition of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Mysterio in a Two Out of Three Falls match , with help from Ricardo Rodriguez to end his long feud with Mysterio . On January 18 Del Rio ' s NXT rookie Conor O ' Brian became the second contestant eliminated from the competition . The following week the rookies competed in a fatal four way match in which the winner would be able to change their pro . Brodus Clay won the match and chose Del Rio as his new pro . NXT season 3 ( 2010 - 2011 ) . Alberto Del Rio became the mentor for Conor O ' Brian in the third season of NXT . Ricardo Rodriguez was jealous of Conor ' s relationship and challenged him to a match which Ricardo lost . Conor was eventually eliminated , and came back for NXT Redemption under the mentorship of Vladimir Kozlov . Alberto , like the other pros of eliminated rookies , stayed on during the show for purposes of voting . Later , Brodus Clay won a competition to choose one ' s pro , and he dumped his pro Ted DiBiase Jr . in favour of having Alberto Del Rio as his pro . While Brodus ultimately did not win the competition ( it was won by R Truth ' s rookie , though the two have yet to go on to challenge for the tag team titles ) , he began accompanying Rio as his bodyguard . Rumble , Mania and pursuit of Heavyweight title ( 2011 ) . On January 30 , 2011 , Del Rio defeated 39 other participants to win the 2011 Royal Rumble and earned the right to compete for either the World Heavyweight Championship or the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVII by last eliminating Santino Marella . The following night on Raw , Del Rio chose to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship , which , at the time of his choosing , was held by Edge . Having retained his title during Elimination Chamber , Edge was ambushed by Rio after his victory by pinning Rey Mysterio . Rio was about to break Edge ' s arm when Christian returned and rescued him . Rio soon had Brodus accompany him , and used the giant to gang up intermittantly on Edge and Christian , causing the two to reunite as Edge & Christian once more . Christian went on to defeat Rio twice in a row , once by escaping from a cage and second time by pinfall . Edge went on to successfully defend his championship against Alberto Del Rio . During the process he destroyed Rio ' s car . Desiring another shot at the title , Rio challenged Edge to another title match . Edge declared that Christian deserved it more . Teddy Long made a # 1 Contender ' s match , and that the Extreme Rules stipulation would be a ladder match . Rio won the contendership due to Christian being distracted by Brodus . Edge announced the following Raw that he would be retiring and not wrestling anymore . As such , it seems the Heavyweight title will be vacated , and it is likely that Alberto Del Rio would have to battle an additional contender ( perhaps Christian ) to win it at Extreme Rules . WWE Champion John Cena and Rivalry , CM Punk and injury ( 2011 ) . On 25 April 2011 edition of " Raw " , during the Draft , while still World Heavyweight Championship challenger , he is drafted to " Raw " . At Extreme Rules , he loses his title match against Christian in a Ladder Match after interventions by Brodus Clay and Edge . At the May 8 edition of " Raw " , he lost a Triple Threat Match to become the WWE Championship against challenger Rey Mysterio and The Miz , the latter having won . Del Rio ends up in rivalry with Big Show , when the night Kane and Big Show lost their tag team titles , Show ' s leg was run over by Del Rio ' s car driven by Ricardo Rodriquez . Three weeks later , Show returned chasing Del Rio out the ring and beating Rodriguez down . At Capitol Punishment , he wins against Big Show after Mark Henry comes to attack the giant and made Show unfit to continue . On " Raw " June 20 , he lost a Falls Count Anywhere Match in a WWE Championship # 1 contender against challenger Rey Mysterio and CM Punk in favor of the latter . At Money in the Bank , he won the " Raw " Money in the Bank . Following the orders of Vince McMahon , Del Rio attempted to cash in his contract later that same night on CM Punk , who had just defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship , but was attacked and laid out by him before he could do so . The next night on 18 July edition of " Raw " , a tournament is held to determine the new WWE Champion , but lost in the first round against Kofi Kingston . The following week , on 25 July edition of " Raw " , he wanted to cash in his briefcase against the new WWE Champion Rey Mysterio but the game has not been formalized as Rey Mysterio kicked him and so Del Rio preferred to keep his briefcase . At SummerSlam , he teamed up with The Miz and R - Truth and his team lost against Kofi Kingston , John Morrison and Rey Mysterio and later in the evening , he won the WWE Championship for the first time in his career when he defeated CM Punk cashing in his briefcase after he was attacked by Kevin Nash , becoming the first wrestler in history to win a Royal Rumble and a Money in the Bank match in the same year . On August 15 edition of " Raw " in San Diego , Del Rio retained the WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio . After the match , John Cena attack and says he does not deserve the title and he will deal with him later . They clash at Night of Champions and loses his title by abandoning the STF John Cena . On " Raw " September 19 , he won a match against John Morrison to become a contender for the title in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship against CM Punk and John Cena . At Hell in a Cell , he won the title again after he pinned Punk in a Hell in a Cell Match . At Vengeance , he retained his title against John Cena . On October 24 edition of " Raw " , it was announced that CM Punk will face Del Rio for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series . He lost the title against CM Punk at the Survivor Series . On " Raw " 5 December , he won against Daniel Bryan , gets a title shot at and will face CM Punk for the WWE Championship also involving The Miz for the shot at the title . At the end of the show John Laurinaitis formalizes the match by a contract and said they will compete in a Triple Threat TLC Match . On December 18 at the , he loses the match in favor of CM Punk that retains his belt . During the next " Raw " on December 19 , he injured his groin after his 6 Man Tag Team Match with The Miz and Dolph Ziggler against CM Punk , Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder . World Heavyweight Championship pursuit ( 2012 – 2013 ) . Del Rio made his return at a WWE house show in San Francisco on February 11 , 2012 , arm wrestling Sheamus to a no contest . On February 19 at Elimination Chamber , Del Rio made an appearance to show support to " Raw " General Manager John Laurinaitis . Del Rio returned on the April 2 episode of " Raw " , confronting World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and vowing to become the next champion . On the following episode of " SmackDown " , Del Rio defeated Sheamus via disqualification in a non - title match to earn a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship . On the April 20 episode of " SmackDown " , it was announced that Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez had been officially traded from " Raw " to " SmackDown " . On May 20 at Over the Limit , Del Rio failed to capture the World Heavyweight Championship from Sheamus in a Fatal Four - Way match , also involving Chris Jericho and Randy Orton . On the following episode of " SmackDown " , Del Rio defeated Kane and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat match to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship . At the June 5 tapings of " SmackDown " , Del Rio suffered a legitimate concussion , which led to WWE pulling him from his scheduled World Heavyweight Championship match against Sheamus at No Way Out . Del Rio returned on the June 18 episode of " Raw " , defeating United States Champion Santino Marella in a non - title match . The following week on " Raw " , Del Rio wrestled Dolph Ziggler to a no contest in a Contract on a Pole match for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship . As a result , both Del Rio and Ziggler were entered into the championship match four days later on " SmackDown " , where Sheamus retained the title after pinning Ziggler . Del Rio received another shot at the World Heavyweight Championship on July 15 at Money in the Bank , where he was again defeated by Sheamus . The following night on " Raw " , Del Rio was looking to take out his frustrations on Zack Ryder , but his post - match assault was interrupted by his longtime rival Rey Mysterio making his return and attacking him . Four days later on " SmackDown " , Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler were defeated by Mysterio and Sheamus via disqualification , following interference from Rodriguez . After the match , Del Rio viciously attacked Sheamus . On the July 27 episode of " SmackDown " , Del Rio defeated Daniel Bryan , Kane , and Rey Mysterio in a four - way match to again become number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship . The title match , originally announced for SummerSlam , was moved to the August 10 episode of " SmackDown " , after Del Rio threatened to press charges against Sheamus for stealing his car on the previous episode of " Raw " , which would have prevented Sheamus from appearing at the pay - per - view . However , before the match got started , Del Rio attacked Sheamus along with men posing as police officers , which led to " SmackDown " General Manager Booker T taking away his number one contender ' s status as a result . However , the following week , Sheamus had the title match put back on for SummerSlam . At the pay - per - view on August 19 , Del Rio again failed in attempt to dethrone Sheamus after the referee failed to notice Del Rio ' s foot on the bottom rope . On the following episode of " SmackDown " , Del Rio defeated Randy Orton via submission to once again become number contender to the World Heavyweight Championship . On the September 7 episode of " SmackDown " , Del Rio filed assault charges against Sheamus , after Sheamus had attacked him and Rodriguez on the previous " Raw " , which led to Booker T banning the " Brogue Kick " with the caveat that Sheamus would be stripped of the World Heavyweight Championship if he used the move again . However , on September 16 at Night of Champions , Booker T announced that he had concluded his investigation into the dangers of the move and uplifted the ban . In the match that followed , Sheamus used the " Brogue Kick " to defeat Del Rio and retain the World Heavyweight Championship . With his rivalry with Sheamus behind him , Del Rio moved on to feuding with Randy Orton , with the two attacking each other on the September 28 episode of " SmackDown " . The rivalry built to a singles match on October 28 at Hell in a Cell , where Orton emerged victorious . At Alberto turned face when he saved Ricardo Rodriguez from 3MB and also team with The Miz and The Brooklyn Brawler to defeat 3MB . On December 17 edition of " Raw " , Alberto Del Rio and The Miz teamed for the second time , this time with The ECW Legend Tommy Dreamer and defeated 3MB . Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez then began entering a feud with World Heavyweight Champion Big Show when Show was bullying Rodriguez . He faced Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship for the honor of his friend . Del Rio and Sheamus got the best of Big Show . On the December 31 , New Year ' s Eve edition of " Raw " , he saved Ricardo from Big Show and then he winked at him . On January 8 , 2013 , at the tapings of the January 11 episode of " SmackDown " " , " as Del Rio ' s character transitioned into a hero of the Latino fanbase , he defeated Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match to win his first World Heavyweight Championbship . Del Rio made his first successful title defence at the 2013 Royal Rumble , defeating Show in another last man standing match , after Rodriguez duct taped Show ' s feet to the ropes , after repeated attacks by Show on Rodriguez and himself , Del Rio and show faced off in a singles match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber , where Big Show submitted to the " Cross Armbreaker " to retain his title . Del Rio then would begin a feud with his new number one contender Jack Swagger over his opposing political views on immigration in America . The feud escalted on the March 18 episode of Raw , when Swagger broke Rodriguez ' s ankle with his " Patriot Act " submission . At Wrestlemania , Del Rio forced Jack Swagger to tap out , retaining his title . The next day however , after an attack by Swagger , Dolph Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated him for the title . At the Extreme Rules 2013 PPV Del Rio defeated Swagger in an I Quit match to become the number 1 contender for Ziggler ' s World Heavyweight Championship . Del Rio went on to defeat Ziggler at the Payback PPV to regain the World Heavyweight Championship on June 16th . On the following night on " Raw " , Del Rio went on to defend the championship against CM Punk . He fled from the ring , resulting in a count - out and thus retaining his title . However , he was attacked by Ziggler on the stage and chased out of the arena . On the June 21 episode of " Friday Night Smackdown " , Del Rio faced Chris Jericho , resulting in a disqualification when Ziggler attacked Del Rio yet again . After Jericho struck Ziggler with a " Codebreaker " after losing his title shot , Del Rio returned to the ring and attacked Ziggler , thus adding further momentum into their renewed rivalry . Del Rio and Jericho had a rematch the following week on RAW where after the match Ziggler would come out and attack Del Rio again and after the match gave his " Zig - Zag " finisher to Jericho . Since winning the championship again , Del Rio stated that he no longer cared about wrestling for the fans , believing it got him nowhere . After the events of Payback and the following shows on Raw and Smackdown , Del Rio has now embarked on a rivalry between Ziggler and Chris Jericho , both men whom Del Rio has used dishonest tactics against to retain his title . This has further pushed him as current heel again . On Smackdown during the June 28 episode , Del Rio celebrated his Championship reign with a fiesta that went into a diatribe addressed to the crowd . The party was disrupted by Dolph Ziggler who charged the ring , attacked Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez . At Extreme Rules , Del Rio retained his championship against Ziggler via inadverted interference by AJ Lee who attempted to assist Ziggler . Del Rio went on to retain his title at SummerSlam against Christian who became No . 1 Contender after a triple - threat match involving Randy Orton and a returning Rob Van Dam . Del Rio later turned on his loyal ring announcer Ricardo , going as far as smashing his head between the ring steps . This led to Ricardo joining forces with Rob Van Dam during the latter week of August . Van Dam , being the new No . 1 contender defeated Del Rio on the August 26 episode of " Monday Night Raw " , via a distraction by Ricardo at ringside . On the September 13 episode of " SmackDown " , Del Rio defeated Rodriguez in a single match . Two days later at Night of Champions , Del Rio and Van Dam ' s title match ended in a disqualification win for Van Dam , after Del Rio refused to relinquish the cross armbreaker , retaining the World Heavyweight Championship as a result . After the match , Van Dam attacked Del Rio and hit him with the " Van Terminator " . On October 6 at Battleground , Del Rio defeated Van Dam in a Hardcore match via submission to again retain his title . The following night on 7 October edition of " Raw " , Del Rio was defeated by Ricardo Rodriguez after being distracted by Vickie Guerrero announcing his Hell in a Cell opponent , John Cena . Afterwards , Del Rio brutally attacked Rodriguez . On October 27 at the pay - per - view , Del Rio lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Cena . Del Rio received his rematch for the title on November 24 at Survivor Series , but was again defeated by Cena . Various feuds ( 2013 - 2014 ) . On the December 2 and 9 episodes of Raw , Del Rio suffered upset losses to the returning Sin Cara . Del Rio finally defeated Sin Cara on the January 6 , 2014 , episode of Raw . After the match , Del Rio insulted the soon - to - be returning Batista and that he would eliminate Batista in the Royal Rumble to get everyone talking about him . On the January 13 episode of Raw , he defeated Rey Mysterio and after the match , once again confronted Batista . On the January 20 episode of Raw , after he defeated Rey Mysterio , Batista returned and attacked Del Rio with a " Batista Bomb " . Six days later at the Royal Rumble , Del Rio entered the Rumble match at number 27 and performed well , but was eliminated Batista who went on to win the match . On the February 3 episode of Raw , Del Rio confronted and ultimately assaulted Batista , which led to Batista powerbombing Del Rio through the announce table the following week . Before that , Del Rio squashed Dolph Ziggler . This led to a match between Del Rio and Batista at Elimination Chamber , which Batista won . The following night on Raw , Del Rio defeated Batista in a rematch from the previous night . On June 2 episode of Raw , Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler to qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder match . On August 7 , 2014 , he was released from his WWE contract due to unprofessional conduct and an altercation with an employee . Return to AAA ( 2014 – 2015 ) . On August 11 , 2014 AAA announcer Arturo Rivera stated that Del Rio will be returning to the promotion at Triplemanía XXII . AAA officially confirmed Del Rio ' s return later that same day and started advertising him for the event . In a press conference on August 14 , Rodríguez acknowledged that WWE owned the Alberto Del Rio name and revealed that he would be working for AAA under the new ring name El Patrón ( " The Boss " ) . Rodríguez also announced that for the moment he was under a 90 - day no - compete clause , which would prevent him from wrestling for AAA . He later also revealed that as part of his release from WWE , he is banned from wrestling in the United States for a year . At Triplemanía XXII , El Patrón and his father Dos Caras appeared to open the show , speaking on coming to AAA and addressing WWE , claiming that the company was racist . They were then confronted by the " Los Perros del Mal " stable . After one of the members laid his hands on Caras , El Patrón ran after the stable and cleared house , while officials reminded him that he has the no - compete clause from WWE . The show ended with El Patrón attacking " Los Perros del Mal " leader El Hijo del Perro Aguayo , after his win in the main event . In early September , Rodríguez announced that his lawyers had resolved his issues with WWE and he was no longer restricted by the 90 - day no - compete clause . On September 14 , Rodríguez , now billed as " El Patrón Alberto " , made his AAA in - ring return teaming with Myzteziz and La Parka in a six - man tag team main event , where they defeated Aguayo , Averno and El Texano , Jr . Alberto then began feuding with El Texano , Jr . over the AAA World Heavyweight Championship . On November 28 , Ricardo Rodriguez made his AAA debut , once again becoming Alberto ' s personal ring announcer . On December 7 at Guerra de Titanes , Alberto defeated El Texano , Jr . to become the new AAA World Heavyweight Champion . With the win , Rodríguez became the first wrestler to have held both the CMLL and AAA World Heavyweight Championships . ROH and other promotions . On December 11 , 2014 , Ring of Honor ( ROH ) announced that Rodríguez , billed as Alberto el Patron , had signed to make his debut for the promotion on January 3 , 2015 . [ 11 ] He defeated Christopher Daniels in his debut match . Other promotions . On November 1 , 2014 , Rodríguez , working under the ring name " Alberto " , made his debut for the Japanese Wrestle - 1 promotion , defeating Masakatsu Funaki . On November 15 , 2014 , Rodríguez made a surprise appearance at Tommy Dreamer ' s House of Hardcore VII show , where he cut a promo expressing his delight of being in the former ECW Arena for the first time . Rodríguez would then fend off an attack from Brian Myers . Lucha Underground . On January 17 , 2015 , Rodríguez made his Lucha Underground debut at a set of TV tapings in Los Angeles , California . The episode featuring his debut is scheduled to air on the El Rey Network in early February . Return to WWE ( 2015 – 2016 ) . Del Rio made a surprise return to the WWE at Hell in a Cell on October 25 , 2015 , with Zeb Colter as his manager , and defeated John Cena to win the WWE United States Championship . The next night on " Raw " , Del Rio revealed that he and Zeb Colter had started their new country " MexAmerica " and unofficially renamed the United States Championship the " MexAmerican Championship " . Del Rio went on to defeat Neville in a singles match the following night on " Raw " and again on " SmackDown " . In November , Del Rio took part in the tournament for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship , defeating Stardust in the first round and Kalisto in the quarterfinals , before being eliminated by Roman Reigns in the semi – finals at Survivor Series . On the November 30 episode of " Raw " , Del Rio joined Sheamus ' s new stable , " The League of Nations " , and a week later ended his association with Zeb Colter . After retaining his championship against Jack Swagger , in a chairs match , at the pay - per - view , Del Rio reignited his feud with John Cena , after the latter returned on December 28 . On the January 11 episode of " Raw " , Del Rio lost the United States Championship to Kalisto , regained the championship on the January 14 episode of " SmackDown " , but lost it again to Kalisto at the Royal Rumble . After scoring three tag team victories over Kalisto and his partner Sin Cara , Del Rio demanded a two - out - of - three falls match for the United States Championship at Fastlane , which Del Rio then lost 1 - 2 . At WrestleMania 32 , Del Rio was part of a six - man tag match along with his fellow League of Nations members Sheamus and Rusev , against The New Day , where his team won when Sheamus pinned Xavier Woods . After WrestleMania , The League of Nations began to dissolve when King Barrett was ejected from the group on the April 4 episode of " Raw " , where Del Rio and the rest of the group attacked him . On the April 28 edition of " Smackdown " , the group officially disbanded after Del Rio and Rusev walked out on Sheamus during a six - man tag match against Kalisto , Sami Zayn and Cesaro . On the May 2 episode of " Raw " , Del Rio was involved in a Battle Royal to determine the # 1 contender for Kalisto ' s United States Championship , but was eliminated by Zack Ryder . On the May 26 episode of " SmackDown " , Del Rio defeated Zack Ryder to qualify for the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match . At the event , Del Rio was unsuccessful as the match was won by Dean Ambrose . On July 19 , at the 2016 WWE Draft , Del Rio was drafted to " SmackDown " . On August 18 , 2016 , Rodríguez was suspended for thirty days for his first violation of WWE ' s wellness policy . On August 30 , it was reported that WWE and Rodríguez had come to terms on his release from the company . Reportedly , Rodríguez was unhappy with WWE , claiming he had been given empty promises , including a main event push , when he made his return in 2015 . Impact Wrestling debut 2017 . During the " Impact Wrestling " tapings on March 2 , 2017 , Rodríguez debuted for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) , under the ring name Alberto El Patrón . He interrupted Bruce Prichard and Lashley in an attempt to insert himself into the TNA World Heavyweight Championship picture . El Patrón was then interrupted by Ethan Carter III , who insisted that Alberto had to earn his shot at the title , but Lashley disagreed and granted El Patrón a world championship match . Later that night , El Patrón defeated Lashley in controversial style to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship . However , El Patrón relinquished the title the following night due to the controversial victory and faced EC3 in a world championship number one contenders match , which he won , becoming the number one contender in the process . Mixed martial arts . After making his professional wrestling debut in 2000 , Dos Caras , Jr . decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts ( MMA ) . After training with MMA fighter and trainer Marco Ruas , Caras , Jr . made his debut for Japanese MMA organisation Deep using both his wrestling name and luchadore mask . In his first match he demonstrated his professional wrestling background by executing a Belly to belly suplex on opponent Kengo Watanabe , a move that broke Watanabe ' s arm to end the match . In Caras , Jr . ' s second match he lost to Watanabe by submission in the second round . In 2003 Japanese MMA organization Pride Fighting Championships put out an open challenge for anyone to face their top star Mirko " Cro Cop " Filipović in a match . Over 50 competitors stepped forward , including a couple of Japanese professional wrestlers , out of the group Dos Caras , Jr . was chosen since he had an MMA background and also a " name " due to his and his father ' s association with professional wrestling . Pride rules were amended to allow Dos Caras , Jr . to wear his signature mask in the match against Filipović . On October 5 Dos Caras , Jr . faced Cro Cop with his father , Dos Caras , and his cousin , Sicodelico , Jr . in his corner . The match lasted 46 seconds before Filipović hit Dos Caras , Jr . with one of his signature moves , the left high kick , and knocked him out . Following the quick loss , Dos Caras , Jr . has competed in eight further MMA matches , attaining six wins and only two defeats with seven overall wins coming via submission .