Rey Mysterio Jr. is tiny in stature.
But everything else about him is larger than life.
His physique compares to anyone's in WCW -- he's like Scott Steiner in miniature.
His aerial attack is awesome. He's half of the world tag-team champions.
He's held the cruiserweight title on many occasions. He's a giant killer
-- despite his size, he managed to knock off Kevin Nash, Bam Bam Bigelow
and Scott Norton in a memorable run. He went through the humiliation of being
unmasked and came out of it stronger than ever, getting over with the fans
by coming up with one of wrestling's few true '90s personas.
He's just 24, but he's a veteran. He's been wrestling since he was 14. He
was wrestling when he was a freshman in high school.
He's not the biggest guy in WCW. In fact, he's the smallest at 5-foot-6.
But he has the biggest heart.
No one knows the physical pounding Rey takes. He's already had a couple knee
surgeries. He knocked himself silly on the ring steps during his Spring Stampede
match against Billy Kidman, yet hung on to retain the cruiserweight title
in a very exciting bout.
He competes every second of every match. How many wrestlers can say that?
Rey looks like a teenager. Everybody in WCW pretty much treats him like a
little brother.
Yet he's wise beyond his years.
Most wrestlers are isolated. When they update their gimmick from the '70s,
it ends up being a gimmick from the '80s because they're so far removed from
the streets.
Rey isn't isolated. Rey still hits the streets. That's why Rey is so popular
among young people. He keeps it real, as the kids say. Teenagers and twenty-somethings
especially relate to Rey. You don't see many teenagers dressed like Hollywood
Hogan or Sting. You don't see many twenty-somethings who look like Diamond
Dallas Page.
But teens and twenty-somethings look like Rey. Rey looks at home at the mall,
on the street corner, or in the ring. He's a normal kid. That's why the fans
give him abnormal support.
As for wrestling, well, who does it better than Rey? Depending on the day
and match, the best in-ring performer in WCW is either Rey Misterio Jr.,
Billy Kidman or Juventud Guerrera. Their flying and blurry fast work on the
mat has changed wrestling. No knock on the other two, but you have to give
Rey high marks for his physique and strength, which make his style all the
more effective.
Rey has curbed his flying a bit. He just can't keep blowing his knees out.
He wants to have a long career.
But fans have hardly noticed it. That's because Rey does everything at full
speed, whether it's a springboard huracanrana or a simple dropkick. Flying
isn't the only thing that makes the fans gasp in wonder. Intensity does,
too, and Rey's got a lot of that.
So, what does the future hold for Rey Misterio Jr.?
Good question.
In some respects, he's at a career crossroads. He's been a giant killer,
a cruiserweight champ and a tag-team champ. It would be a little too demanding
to keep doing all three.
The giant-killer role seems to have a limited shelf life. Oh, Rey can beat
big guys. But, as Kevin Nash showed in his rematch with Rey, sometimes a
big guy is going to get hold of Rey and drive him right through the mat.
Cruiserweight is probably the smart way to go, and probably the way Rey will
go. You can make a strong argument for Rey already being one of the best
cruiserweights of all time, right up there with guys like Jushin Liger, Dynamite
Kid and Tiger Mask.
Yet the tag-team path intrigues me. If Rey can keep Kidman as a partner --
or, if that doesn't work out, if he can team with Juvi or Psychosis -- Rey
would have a chance to help reinvent tag-team wrestling, to breathe life
into a division that's been stale for years.
Which way will Rey go?
I don't know.
I do know it'll be a lot of fun watching.
I've been a wrestling fan for 30 years. I've watched every major star over
the last three decades. But I can honestly say I enjoy watching Rey as much
as anyone I've ever seen. No one has ever quite combined agility, power and
intensity the same way.
And he's only 24. Rey's best is yet to come.