Alberto El Patron KEPT Andrade 'Cien' Almas in WWE

Published: Mar 19, 2018 by Wrestle Talk | Last Updated: Mar 19, 2018 by Wrestle Talk

Alberto El Patron KEPT Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas in WWE

Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas has revealed in an interview that advice from Alberto Del Rio (now Alberto El Patron on Impact! Wrestling and the independent circuit) helped keep him at WWE when he considered leaving the company.

Almas stated that his tricky start in the company almost convinced him to return home to his native Mexico, wherein CMLL he was the longest reigning NWA World Historic Middleweight Champion in history as El Sombra.

Almas states:

“When I came to WWE I thought about coming back, because of the lack of opportunities and criticisms. But I talked to Alberto [El Patron] and he told me to stand up for my chance and I kept fighting for what I wanted.”

Since teaming with Zelina Vega in the summer of 2017, Almas has risen to the top of NXT. His bland babyface persona has been swapped for a swaggering, arrogant heel, and with a new sense of focus under Vega, he captured the NXT Championship from Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Almas, alongside Johnny Gargano, also received five stars from Dave Meltzer for their championship match at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia, the first time a WWE match has received this rating since CM Punk and John Cena wrestled at Money in the Bank 2011. Just one day later, Almas made his main roster debut in the 2018 Royal Rumble, lasting for almost 30 minutes in the match.

If El Patron’s advice to Almas was a key part of his decision to stay in NXT, we should all be grateful for Almas’ rise to the top of the NXT card has been one of the highlights on a brand that has recovered brilliantly from the loss of so many key members like Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura in 2017.