Alberto El Patron spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview. Some highlights are below:
On why he signed with iMPACT! Wrestling: “I am excited to be with Impact Wrestling because I get to work with talents like EC3 again. I had the opportunity to be with him in FCW when we were in developmental in that other company. We worked together once when they were trying to make him a part of the main roster in WWE, then he went to Impact Wrestling and made a name for himself. He’s a good guy with a lot of talent, and he’s fantastic on the microphone. The entire office went crazy for our promos, and then it was easy in the ring. I’m happy to see the young talent is taking the torch to continue doing good stuff in the business. I will stay in Impact as long as the fans want me there. They were so happy to have me there and treated me with a lot of respect. The office, talent, and staff are treated with respect by everyone, regardless of your position in the business.”
On WWE having a monopoly on wrestling: “It’s horrible for the business, but you cannot blame that company. That company is doing what a company is supposed to do—monopolize, get the best talent from everywhere, and try to destroy the competition. They’re smart, you cannot blame them. The problem is with the talent. Just going there to be there with the promise of being on TV, but not even charging good money for your work, is not good business. We as wrestlers need to remember that this is a business. We started because we love the business and we stay in it because we have a lot of passion for it, but you have to be rewarded for your work. I was there and saw some of the main guys, new top heels and new top babyfaces, get paid nothing for their matches. The new talent joining NXT is taking pay cuts to work there, sometimes even 80 percent less. You need to be rewarded for your work in a business.”
On when he plans to retire: “I’m planning on retiring in two years. I’m still good to go and I don’t have any major injuries, but I always promised myself I would leave on top. I started wrestling when I was eight years old with the amateur wrestling team in Mexico. I love the business with all my heart, but my body is getting tired. It’s all the travel. I’m going to do my last two years with Impact Wrestling. I’ll continue to do some indie shows here and there, and I have a lot of projects outside the business. I am going to continue running Combate Americas, the MMA company that I work for, and I am going to start a soap opera in Mexico in two months. We also have a reality show produced by Combate Americas that was sold to Amazon. People should be able to see that in three more months. I opened a restaurant and bar in San Antonio in November. We are the place to go on Fridays and Saturdays. God is blessing me. I’m getting married pretty soon. We changed the date twice, but we’re getting married in the last week of July, so I am keeping very busy outside the business.”
