Professional wrestler Jose Alberto Rodriguez, better known as current Global Force Wrestling Champion Alberto El Patron and formerly Alberto Del Rio in WWE, is being investigated for possible domestic violence Sunday at the Orlando International Airport. Citing witnesses who said they saw an argument he escalated, TMZ first reported the investigation today, and then confirmed it with the Orlando Police Department. When reached by Deadspin, Orlando police issued this statement:
There was an incident at Orlando International Airport at about 3 p.m. Sunday involving Jose Rodriguez. The reported incident was a domestic violence battery, and it is still under investigation. No arrests have been made as of this time, but the case remains open. That is all the information we have for release at this time.
While not named by police, Rodriguez’s fiance is Saraya-Jade Bevis, best known as Paige, a WWE-contracted wrestler. The two have been a couple since at least May 2016, when they went public with their relationship. Alberto’s then-wife, Angela Velkei, has claimed in divorce papers that she and her husband broke up two weeks later. The couple has been engaged since last fall, though Paige’s father, Roy “Ricky Knight” Bevis, has been very public about not approving of the relationship.
Paige tweeted the following after TMZ’s report:
She then elaborated on the family news she had received:
Paige’s mother tweeted this:
Hours after its first report, TMZ posted audio it said it got from a wrestling fan who recognized the couple at the airport and recorded what happened. In the audio, a distraught Paige is repeatedly heard telling Alberto to stay away from her and “stay out of my life” while he threatens to call the police. At one point, she adds, “Press charges! It gets me the fuck away from you!”
Alberto no-showed an independent show he was booked for on Sunday night.
Saturday night, less than 24 hours before they went to the airport, Alberto lashed out against WWE on Instagram. Angry about a rap battle on SmackDown
in which Paige’s stolen sex tape with wrestler Xavier Woods (real name Austin Watson) was referenced, he singled out the wrestlers involved and WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque:
(Hip Hop DX has reported that the line about the sex tape was run by a WWE producer ahead of time, but not Woods.)
There have been numerous public incidents involving Paige and Alberto, including one in June of 2016 in Las Vegas where, after a WWE pay-per-view event, bystanders flagged down police when they saw Paige run into oncoming traffic. Paige was taken to a local hospital when police deemed the incident medical as opposed to criminal. She wrestled the next night on Monday Night Raw, and the whole thing was largely forgotten. Alberto’s account, given through his friends at the MLW podcast, did not match the police comments in any way.
Four months later, Alberto said he was stabbed. He told TMZ that “it was an incident with a guy who disrespected my girl and I just got involved in a street fight,” and “I got a little bit hurt, but thank God I’m fine right now.” At the time, TMZ said there was “lots of speculation” about Alberto’s story and noted there was “no confirmation from police.”
At a December event in Naucalpan, Mexico, where the couple was present to watch Alberto’s brother wrestle, Paige passed a wrestler who works as Tortuga Ninja Rafy in a narrow hallway, and something happened that led to Alberto attacking him. Rafy, also known as Alan Xtreme, claimed he just said something to the effect of “Excuse me, beautiful,” while Alberto alleged that Rafy touched his girlfriend inappropriately. Days earlier, there was a nearly identical incident in Puerto Rico with Alberto and Rob “Robbie E” Strauss, but that one didn’t get violent.
Global Force Wrestling has released a statement (obtained by Pro Wrestling Sheet) on the current investigation:
Global Force Wrestling takes all legal situations very seriously and is looking into this matter. GFW is a privately-held company and will thoroughly investigate this incident and fully cooperate with law enforcement.
Deadspin has reached out for comment from representatives of Combate Americas, an MMA promotion of which Alberto is the president. This blog will be updated if they respond.