http://www.digitalspy.ca/ustv/s216/...d-heel-has-to-be-an-a$$hole-and-thats-me.html
WWE Alberto Del Rio: 'A good heel has to be an a$$hole - and that's me'
In an age of fast-moving titles at the WWE,
Alberto Del Rio can be proud of holding on to the World Heavyweight Championship for an impressive 133 days.
His reign
came to an end at Hell in a Cell with the shock
early return of John Cena, but Del Rio will attempt to regain his crown at Survivor Series later this month.
Ahead of the WWE Live event at The O2 last week,
Digital Spy went head-to-head with Del Rio in a London hotel to ask him all about it.
John Cena took your Heavyweight title at Hell in a Cell - why is it going to be different at Survivor Series?
"Last time I was in the ring with John Cena I got a little bit cocky because I thought he was hurt and he was not 100%. But as we all know he's a great athlete and he was ready for me and obviously I was not ready for him, but it's going to be different."
Cena divides the WWE Universe like no-one else, why is that?
"Because he's important. He's been the face of the WWE for years and years. Every time you have a guy like that, that's what happens. It's the same in any other sport. In football you have Real Madrid, you either love them or hate them. Here it's the same with Manchester United."
Both you and John have at one time had the Heavyweight title and the WWE Title - what do you think about the idea of unifying the belts?
"Of course that can happen, but I don't think it's something that we need right now. I think it's okay if we've got the WWE Title with one person and the World Heavyweight title with another one. That way you have two different storylines and you're talking about two major titles to be defended and be present in every single pay-per-view."
You were the first Mexican-born WWE Champion - what was that like?
"It was fantastic. My family is proud of all the things I have accomplished. My country's completely proud of me because like you said, I'm the first one, and I don't know if there's going to be another one. We have a lot of Mexican-Americans with a lot of talent. I'm sure we're going to have another Rey Mysterio in the future, I just don't know when.
"For Mexicans it's really difficult to find another one doing what I'm doing for a lot of reasons. Not for talent because there's a lot of talented wrestlers in Mexico. Just the fact that the styles are so different and they have to come here and adapt and change and learn the language and have the guts to perform over 200 shows per year. It's pretty difficult. I see some other Superstars in the future, but I don't know when."
How hard was it for you to adapt for the in-ring stuff when you came to America?
"For me it was pretty easy because I'm from Mexico but I didn't start in Mexico, I started in Japan. My first six months were in Japan, then I went to Mexico and then went back to Japan. I had the opportunity to wrestle all the wrestlers from the United States, Europe and Japan when I was there.
"Then I went back to Mexico and a few years after, the WWE found me. Because of that the transition for me from the Mexican and Japanese style to WWE style was pretty easy. I just needed to work on a few things, that's why I was in the FCW [Florida Championship Wrestling] performance center for a few months and the rest was pretty easy."
We've still not had a WWE Champion from the UK - William Regal and Wade Barrett think it's overdue - will it ever happen or will the Americans never allow a British champion?
"You think they're happy to have a Mexican WWE Champion?! Nah, it's going to happen. Wade Barrett is going to be a WWE champion one day, I'm 100% sure of that. I just don't know when, but he's going to have one of the major titles in the future. After that you guys can be proud of Wade Barrett for the rest of his life."
WrestleMania 30 tickets are on sale now - it's a while away yet, but do you know where you want to be and what you want to be doing in New Orleans?
"To be honest, no. It's the same for everybody else, we don't know what we're going to be doing. I know I'm gonna be there, that's for sure. I'm going to be in one of the main matches. I don't know if it's going to be for one of the major titles or if it's going to be against one of the important Superstars from the WWE, but I'm definitely going to be there."
You've been a good guy and a bad guy out there - which is more fun?
"I love being the bad guy. I think that the audience prefer me as a bad guy. That's the reason we don't have too many good heels in the company, because to be a real heel you have to be a little bit of an a$$hole in real life, and that's me.
"I'm a good person. But if you mess with me I'm the biggest a$$hole in the world. That's the reason I'm playing the character so well. Plus being the bad guy you control everything - you control the ring, the audience, your opponent, and I like to be in control. So being the bad guy."
Do you have a favorite Survivor Series memory?
"All the pay-per-views are special for me because I was there either defending my title or trying to get the title. It's the same for WrestleMania, I know that's the Super Bowl for us but my first WrestleMania was fantastic because it was the first one against Edge. The last one was great too, because I was defending the title against Jack Swagger."
The WWE has changed so much, from the beginnings through the Attitude Era to today - where do you see it going in future? More international styles?
"Oh, that's going to happen, because now we're a global company. In the Attitude Era it was just American wrestlers, with a few guys from Europe and Mexican-Americans, but they weren't doing anything spectacular.
"Back then the company just had one market, and they were working the United States. Now the market is the world, so they have to have wrestlers from everywhere to have sponsors from those countries, to have followers from those countries. That's why I see more and more and more world Superstars coming to WWE.
"At the moment in NXT, the performance center, we have over 100 talents. They're getting ready. Some of them are going to have the chance to be with us in the main roster, some of them are going to be fired probably in two or three months, but that's the story in every single sport."
You've toured around the world - what's it like going back to Mexico as a champion?
"It was amazing. Just the fact that you can go there with the title and tell everybody in your country, 'I made it. I'm on top! I'm better than any other luchador wrestler in Mexican history'. Of course my favorite wrestler was my dad [Dos Caras] but my uncle Mil [Máscaras] is the one who made a lot of money, who had a big mansion and cars and he was always traveling around the world. I always grew up watching him and dreaming of that.
"Today I can say I passed my uncle in an incredible way. I have all of that. Thanks to the WWE I have money, I have houses, I have cars, I have traveled the world. All my family including my uncle Mil are proud of me. My country's proud of me, so every time I go to Mexico I can tell them, 'I'm your champion. I'm the one representing the lucha libre style around the world'. It's great."
$1.7 million of that was their video catalog. 
