Alberto Del Rio "changed absolutely everything" after losing to former WWE star (Exclusive)

Alberto Del Rio has wrestled several matches for Mexican promotion AAA in recent months. In an exclusive interview, the four-time WWE world champion revealed how he changed his approach after losing to Nic Nemeth.

Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler in WWE, defeated Del Rio for the vacant AAA Mega Championship at Triplemania on April 27. At the third Triplemania event of 2024 on August 17, Del Rio beat his former WWE rival in a rematch to capture the title.

Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Del Rio highlighted how important the first Triplemania match was to him and how difficult the loss in front of his home crowd and family was.

"For everyone it was the night where Alberto was going to tell the world, 'I'm back and nobody can stop me.' But Nic Nemeth/Dolph Ziggler had a different idea. He came to Monterrey, he came to my country, and he said, 'No. Not tonight, brother,' and he ended up winning the match fair and square in the middle of the ring in front of my people, in front of my wife, my kids. It was a really difficult night for me," he said. [7:44 – 8:14]

Alberto Del Rio added that he "changed absolutely everything" regarding his lifestyle and training methods between his two Triplemania matches against Nemeth. He also mentioned going back to his roots and likened his situation to Sylvester Stallone's character from the famous film, Rocky III.

"That made me go back to my roots. I went back to my hometown, the place where I was born, San Luis Potosi, and I went back to those old beat-up gyms where I started training, amateur wrestling, and boxing and lifting weights in a different way. Changed my diet. Changed absolutely everything. Pretty much like Rocky the Third, the movie. Went back to my roots and it worked. It paid off," he added. [8:19 – 8:50]

Watch the video above to hear Del Rio reveal what he thinks about John Cena announcing his retirement from wrestling in 2025.

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Alberto Del Rio reflects on his AAA title win

The AAA Mega Championship rematch created a lot of buzz on social media after John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) appeared alongside Nic Nemeth as his manager.

Alberto Del Rio was pleased with how the match panned out, especially as his partner was there to watch his title victory:

"We packed the place with 23 thousand people and we gave them a hell of a match, a beautiful match with a beautiful story, and at the end of the night I ended up winning this in front of my people, in front of my wife. I couldn't do it in front of my children because they were in school, but I brought it [AAA Mega Championship] home and gave it to them," he said. [9:08 – 9:29]

Del Rio's next match will take place against Ray Gonzalez for the Puerto Rican promotion World Wrestling Council (WWC) on September 21.

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Do you have any favorite memories from Alberto Del Rio's battles with Nic Nemeth? Hit the Discuss button and let us know.

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WWC presents Black September this Saturday at the Trujillo Alto Coliseum in Puerto Rico. For the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship, Puerto Rico's Greatest of All Time, Mr. Rayting, Ray Gonzalez, defends against AAA's Mega Champion, Alberto Del Rio.

On September 29, fans can also watch WWC's 51st Anniversary show on PPV on Triller TV.

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