Fuego Del Sol Reveals He Got Paid Better For AEW Dark Than WWE RAW
On the latest episode of AEW Unrestricted, Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone sat down with recent AEW signee, Fuego Del Sol. Del Sol recalled working Monday Night RAW, or rather, when his "buddy" KJ Orso worked a match with Erick Rowan as part of Rowan's storyline with the spider cage.
"They came to Oklahoma City. I had done some extra work for them before. I don't know if that was me, per se. I think that was just a buddy of mine," Del Sol joked. "He's the one who got that opportunity, KJ Orso, but it was really just right place right time for him. I remember that day being something of they needed somebody, and my reputation of being that nice guy and not only nice guy. The guy who listens, and can be coachable and be someone that needs to be.
"I remember that day pretty fondly. They had KJ Orso just constantly practice that over and over again, running up the ramp. But they need this visual of the cage squirting some red stuff in the face and running and screaming. So, no mask. I couldn't do it at that time, so he did it. It was a good payday for him, and he went from there. He took this prop guy and they had this little capsule in his mouth, and so, he just had to spit into his hand and rub it all over his face because it couldn't be blood on a PG show. There's no blood.
"It was just red mist, red substance. There was a big man that kept saying this over and over. 'It can't be blood.' You had to cover your face the whole time to kind of hide it. I got part of his money that night. It wasn't that great. I remember getting my first AEW Dark check and thinking, oh man, AEW is taking care of me much better than that that night was. So, I'll tell you that right now."
Del Sol was signed on the night of the debut episode of Rampage when AEW President Tony Khan and Sammy Guevara surprised Del Sol with a contract. Del Sol recalled the night he got signed and what it meant to him.
"Friday, Aug. 13, 2021, a night I'll never forget," Del Sol admitted. "The first ever Rampage. It's kind of hard to put into words. It was such an overwhelming feeling. I remember all day just being excited because I never even wrestled on Dynamite before. To have over 40 matches in the company and never get to be on TV, the pressure was already on just to have a good match, just to perform well that night. And then to be shocked the way I was surprised afterwards, just even thinking about it, I get the chills.
"I get the goosebumps thinking about it because I had no clue. A lot of people online like to joke around, and speculate, and talk about their conspiracy theories, but I had no clue. I was told to lay there through the break and get the reception from the crowd after we come back. And I remember, I'm just sitting there trying to look tough as we come back from break because I just went through hell with Miro, and Sammy Guevara's music hits, and I immediately turned my head and am just overwhelmed with emotion.
"Me and Sammy have never interacted on screen together, and he's a big star in AEW. And I didn't know if they wanted us to ever be even connected on screen at all. So, to let him, my best friend, come out and hand me the contract, and do it on the biggest stage it could possibly be done on the first Rampage was one of the greatest moments of my career. Probably the greatest moment of my career."
Edwards wondered how Del Sol did not know throughout the day that something was planned for him. Del Sol explains that there were signs throughout the day, and he also explains why he didn't initially pay attention to those clues.
"There was a ton of signs all day, but I was so laser focused on having a good match with Miro that I completely just missed every sign," Del Sol revealed. "I went and spoke to The Young Bucks earlier in the day, and all they'd do is touch my knuckles. They wouldn't say a word to me, and I was like, man, maybe The Young Bucks just don't like me today, or, what's going on here? There was a ton of signs that I should have known, but all I thought was, oh, they're gonna let me get more TV time?
"Of course, I'll lay there through the break. No problem. I've never been on TV so let me get all the TV time I can get. I thought nothing of it. I thought it was never gonna happen. I had a talks with management a couple months before we left Daily's Place. They gave me a ton of advice of what I needed to work on and do, and part of that was to go out on the indie scene and get better and make myself better.
"And so, I was fully prepared to do that and I was fully prepared to, when we left Jacksonville, not to go on the road with you guys. That was a surprise to get brought on road for the few weeks that I did, and I feel like the reactions that I got surprised everyone. And I guess it surprised management enough to where it kind of changed their mind. And I understand that from a business sense.
"I feel like, sometimes, fans don't understand that, but as a businessman, to make an investment in someone, you wanna make sure you get your return on investment. And I feel like there was a lot of things up in the air with no fans. Was I just liked by the Jacksonville audience? Was I just liked by this internet audience? Or was I liked by everyone? And I feel like, slowly but surely, I was able to prove that, and the fans kind of won management over for me."
Del Sol primarily is featured on Dark and Dark: Elevation. Schiavone noted how unique it was for Del Sol to be signed under those circumstances, as well as for Del Sol to be signed after the fan support he has received on Sammy Guevara's vlog.
"I think it's very unique. I always joke with people. It definitely wasn't the 40 losses that got me liked by the audience," Del Sol pointed out. "It was totally, 100%, Sammy Guevara because I really didn't have a giant name on the indie scene. Some of these guys have got to come up on the indie scene and really make a name for themselves.
"It's a very unique situation that it was really the vlog that kind of pushed me over the limit with the audience and got me so well liked. And I feel whether it be my personality or not, I feel like I slowly gained respect of the locker room through my matches and things like that. And I slowly gained the respect of the people through the vlog.
"It was just all about winning over management in the end, and I feel like, with a combination of everything, I feel like that's what kind of got me to this point. But definitely just getting to show my personality every week on the vlog, I credit Sammy Guevara so much because he didn't have to do any of this. He's the man with the platform. He was the man with the name, but he's such a giving person and good friend that it did help help me get to this point."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit AEW Unrestricted with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.'