In a WrestleMania for the ages Alberto Del Rio has defeated Jack Swagger
to remain WWE’s World Heavyweight Champion. Standing alone in front of a sold
out MetLife Stadium, the Mexican champion proved once again why he
deserves to be #1. Del Rio continues to uphold a family wrestling tradition that includes father Dos Caras and uncle Mil Mascaras. His penchant for the finer things in life- clothes,
cars, food- is well deserved, and he embodies all the ideals of
a true Hombre.

Del Rio, who has
dabbled in martial arts, began his rise to fame overseas in Japan, where he was
discovered by talent agents from the WWE. With his larger than life persona and
impressive skills, he quickly became a celebrity in the mainstream wrestling
world. With his infinite potential and ambition, you can continue to expect big
things from him; don’t be surprised if he becomes a star in Hollywood over the
next few years.

HOMBRE: Congratulations on being named champion! You must be
excited.

Alberto Del Rio: Yes! It’s the reason I came here. I left
everything in Mexico, my family, my friends, for WWE.

H: Was being a wrestler something you’ve always wanted to do?

ADR: Yes, my entire life. In my case, it’s a little bit different
then the rest of the guys because I’m a third generation wrestler. My grandfather
was a wrestler, my father was a wrestler, so I can say it runs in my veins,
it’s in my blood. That’s the reason I’m a wrestler.

H: How did first become involved with the WWE? I know you were in
the CMLL for a while.

ADR: They (WWE) found me while I was working in Japan 3 years ago.
I was working for a company over there, and WWE was doing a tour at the same
time. The head of talent relations went to the place where I was doing my show,
saw me, and offered me a contract. He invited me to come here. Now I’m here, I’m happy,
and everything’s going well.

H: You come from a family of wrestlers, and they must be very
proud of you right now. Is there a lot of pressure to uphold the family name?

ADR: Well yes, because my dad and my uncle aren’t so popular
in the United States because they wrestled here 35, 40 years ago. But in
Mexico, they’re a big dynasty. They’re the most popular wrestlers in
Mexican history. So in Mexico there was a lot of pressure for me. But I’m sure
I’m doing a great job now; I’m the first Mexican in history to
become the WWE champion, and actually this year I won it all: the Money in the
Bank, the Royal Rumble, the WWE title. I can just say that this year’s been
perfect for me.

H: Who were some of your heroes growing up?

ADR: Of course my dad. I always wanted to be like my dad. I
remember when I was a little kid and all my friends were Batman, Superman,
Robin, and I was always Dos Caras, which was my father’s wrestling name. I
always wanted to be like him.

H: Having your own action figure is a pretty big deal in the WWE.
What was your reaction when you were first approached about it?

ADR: I was just waiting for it to happen, it was great. I was excited when they told me…and when I saw the action figure for the first time
it was amazing, because it looks like me: the face, the hair, the smile… they
captured me all the way in that action figure.

H: Can you talk a little bit about the creative process behind it,
how it was to work with Matel on this?

ADR: It was great! We took, like, 100 pictures, and then they did
the scan of my entire body in order to capture everything, the moles the
tatoos, the facial expressions, everything.

H: What tattoos do you have?

ADR: I have two small tattoos on my upper back. One of them says
“Made in Mexico” which is the seal that every Mexican product has. When I was
younger and I was having a great time in Cancun and I did it, and that’s the same
story for the other one.

H: You like to arrive on stage in style; if you could pick any car
to go along with your action figure, what would it be?

ADR: I would say the Rolls Royce, because for me it just has class
written all over it.

H: What would you be doing if you weren’t a wrestler?

ADR: I’m also an architect. I finished my career in Mexico, but
that was really for my father. I’m really glad that I finished my school, but when I was younger I dropped school in my second year because I
was so crazy to become a wrestler and my dad forced me to go back. He talked to
all the promoters in Mexico after I did that and told them, “Don’t give this
guy a job because I want him to finish school.” Of course when I was younger I was mad that my father did that, but I’m just grateful that he did because
now I have something else. Probably if I
wasn’t a wrestler right now I’d be designing buildings or building houses in
Mexico. 

H: What are your expectations for the future?

ADR: Like I said, this year’s been great for me, I won it  all, starting with the Royal Rumble then the
Money in the Bank. Then I conquered the WWE title. At the beginning of the year
we had WrestleMania, which is like the Superbowl of wrestling. In WrestleMania I competed for the World Heavyweight title; unfortunately, I lost
against Edge, and actually that was Edge’s last match, So that’s something
that’s stuck in my mind, I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about it all the
time. It was my biggest night and my biggest failure because we were in front
of 80 something thousand people and  we
sold 2 million pay-per views. My plans are to keep the WWE title as long as I
can and if someday I lose this title I will try to go back to the other brand,
which is Smackdown, and compete for the World Heavyweight title because that’s
something I need to do. I must be the first Mexican wrestler in history to win
everything in one year.

H: Do you plan on following in the footsteps on those like Hulk
Hogan and the Rock, who’ve ventured into other forms of entertainment?

ADR: Definitely. Now I’m totally focused on the WWE and my
wrestling career, but that’s something I want do. I’m planning to
do the WWE for another five or six years, no more than that, and of course if
they invite me to do movies, soap operas, whatever, I’m down for it!

H: How does your training for wrestling transfer into your
personal life?

ADR: I’m like this all the time, 24/7. I’m a person who’s very
professional, always training because that’s the basis of success: if you want
to do something good, you’ve got to work hard. Nothing comes free. That’s my philosophy. I’ve been working hard since I’m a little kid, and I use that
every single day, inside and outside the ring. I think that’s the reason why
I’m so successful in this business and especially in this company, which is
like the NFL or NBA of pro wrestling. If you ever want to say that you were
someone in this business you have to be here in the WWE; you can’t just work in
Japan or in Mexico and say you’re the greatest of the great when you’ve never
been here. I was a huge star in Mexico, Europe and Japan and now I’m here doing
it in the big leagues of wrestling. So I work hard, inside and outside the
ring.

H: What advice do you have for people who look up to you and
admire you?

ADR: Just work hard; like I said before, nothing comes free.
You’ve got to wake up early and start your day like it’s your last day, and
whatever you do- if you’re a bartender, a doctor, a lawyer, a wrestler, a
runner, whatever- you just work hard because nothing comes free.

Alberto Del Rio Photographed Exclusively for HOMBRE by
Paul Tirado

Styling: Kathleen Muldoon

Hair: Crews

Grooming: Hiro Yonemoto

Imaging: Jeff Fogarty

Photographer’s Assistant: Dale Jagabat

Location: ZENGO, New York, NY www.richardsandoval.com/zengony
Special Thanks: WWE, Marcy Vernier, Gail Schoenberg, Zengo staff

FASHION CREDITS

SUIT W TIE

Suit: Ermenegildo Zegna; Shirt: Perry Ellis; Tie: Kenneth
Cole; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Calvin Klein; Wristwatch: Modus

GREY SUIT W TURTLENECK

Suit: Ralph Lauren; Sweater: French Connection; Shoe:
Calvin Klein; Wristwatch: Philip Stein

V NECK SWEATER

Sweater:  Joseph
Abboud Joe for JC Penney; Wristwatch: Philip Stein

SHIRT & TIE

Shirt: Basile; Tie: Claiborne; Pants: Banana Republic;
Shoes: Calvin Klein; Wristwatch: Philip Stein