Alberto el Patron AWOL from autism benefit he was allegedly paid in advance to headline

The man most know from his WWE run as Alberto Del Rio has kept a busy schedule since his explosive exit from that company. Work in Ring of Honor and other United States independents as well as prominent role in both Lucha Underground and Mexico's AAA have made the man now called Alberto El Patron almost as prominent outside of Vince McMahon's employ as he was in it.

That was to include a gig at Lone Star Championship Wrestling's Bustin for Autism charity event in the Houston-area this weekend. El Patron was headlining the event against Houston Carson. According to Clutch City Productions, a promoter of the show, the AAA Mega Champion was given an advance and had his air fare and accomodations paid for, and had been in touch as recently as the day before the July 12 Pasadena event.

And, then...nothing.

Not only did Alberto no show the event, organizers say they still haven't heard from him a day later.

Here's Clutch City's statement, released after the show:

We would like to sincerely apologize to all the fans that came out expecting to see Alberto "El Patron" (Del Rio) in action tonight. Alberto was advertised as the main event for the "Bustin for Autism" charity event in Houston (Pasadena) TX and he did not show up.

Fans in the Houston area are familiar with our company and know that we have an excellent reputation. We would never false advertise any talent or mislead the fans. We will always state the facts, as of 11:55PM we have not received any information from Alberto's "camp" as to why he did not appear at the event. Alberto helped us promote the event through his social media and as of 9:00PM yesterday there has always been constant communication. Alberto was given money up front as a deposit, he was provided with a four-star hotel, as well as first class air-fare. We followed through with all the terms that were required by Alberto and have numerous e-mails, and text with all this information.

We understand that unforeseen circumstances sometimes happen and we are hoping that Alberto is doing well. It is unclear what caused the "no-show" but it is very difficult to comprehend as to why we weren't notified by a member of his camp. Alberto was to appear at an autograph session before his match from 4:00PM-6:00P, we have been attempting to contact him since 12:00PM today. Nevertheless, we scrambled and did everything possible to make sure that the fans of LoneStar Championship Wrestling left satisfied. Special thanks to professionals such as Tommy Dreamer & Lance Hoyt (who put on a hardcore match as the main event), and Gene Snitsky (who faced Carson in Alberto's place).

Again, we thank all the fans that came out tonight and supported a great cause!

It's bad when I'm actually hoping that this is a case of a wrestler being a jerk and not something worse.

More on the story as we have it, gang.