With his wrestling
career in full bloom and a gratifying personal life, Rey Mysterio Jr. is
on top of the world.
Visiting Rey Mysterio Jr.'s new home in
Chula Vista, California, a town southeast of San Diego, and north of the country
that foraged his fame, one has to look no further than Angie, his pregnant
wife, and Dominik, his handsome 4-year-old son, to realize that North America's
most accomplished Luchador lives a storybook life. But it hasn't always been
that way for the 5'3", 140- pound phenomenon.
Standing in his backyard, next to his
beautiful pool and grotto, with a hot tub hidden amidst the rocks and above
the clear blue water, Mysterio reflects on his accomplishments with a few
simple words: "There's nothing more important than being with my family. It
mean everything to me."
Born Oscar Gutierrez on December 11, 1974 in San Ysidro, California,
Mysterio, the youngest of four brothers, was notably-tiny-even for a newborn.
His uncle, Rey Mysterio, Sr., might not have noticed young Oscar's potential
in those early years, but Oscar certainly notice the established Luchador.
Attending showing in Tijuana, Mexico, the border city south of San Diego,
Mysterio Jr. watched in awe as the 6-foot Mysterio, Sr. adorned in a brilliant
mask, worked crowds into a frenzy. "My uncle just made it up," Mysterio
Jr. says of the Mysterio moniker, "but I couldn't imagine any honor greater
than taking the Mysterio name and getting to wear a mask."
At 13, Mysterio jr. began attending
junior high in Tijuana while he trained to wrestle with his uncle and fellow
aspiring wrestlers Konnan and Psychosis. Wearing an original mask and using
the name Colibri-a handle that means hummingbird in Spanish-Mysterio Jr. wrestled
his first professional match in April 1990. Because of his age (15) and size,
Mysterio Jr. started his career wrestling midjets (or "minis" as they are
called in Mexico), but his ability overshadowed his diminutive frame. Mysterio
Jr, absorbed more hits than a batting-cage fence back then, but the punishment
he was subjected to only increased his popularity.
Like Mexican legend Perro Aguayo, Mysterio
Jr. took bumps for any and all opponents, but he never surrendered, leaving
arenas on both sides of the border with more fans and momentum
After two years of success, thanks
in part to his heated feud with Psychosis (then known as El Salvaje), Mysterio
Jr. was rewarded by Mysterio Sr. with a new mask and the Mysterio name.
Mysterio Jr. became an integral part
of the Lucha Libre evolution-a time when the wrestling style captured imaginations
and expanded beyond its homeland. Not only were Mexican wrestlers regularly
competing in Japan, but the AAA promotion in Mexico ran an enormous show at
the Los Angeles Sports Arena on August 28, 1993 in front of 16,416 fans, breaking
the attendance record at the building set more than 20 years earlier. While
Mysterio Jr.'s feud with Psychosis sizzled, an equally vicious war was beginning
to brew between the father-son duo of Fuerza and Juventud Guerrera and the
Mysterios.
Juventud Guerrera and Mysterio Jr. were
fighting to be recognized at the most dazzling small-sized wrestlers ever
to wear a mask. Every match was faster, higher and more dangerous than the
previous one. Fans expected the impossible on a near-nightly basis, and often
were treated to that and a bit more.
WCW and American Fans discovered Mysterio
Jr. during that time, memories of those career-making days can be found in
a special room at his home. marks of fallen opponents and the garish and fantastic
costumes that made Luchadors the villains and heroes of an enamored nation
fill the room.
As Mysterio plays with his son, oblivious
to the intrusion of cameras and questions, the Luchador's priorities become
even more clearer. Mysterio Jr. recalls his first WCW cruiserweight title
win over Dean Malenko, upset victories over big men like Kevin Nash and Bam
Bam Bigelow, and all the antics of the Filthy Animals. But those times seem
as distant as the sound of his manmade waterfall. In about five months, Mysterio
Jr. will be a father again. The very mention if that reality sends him into
thoughtful repose, and a kind of stillness not often associated with the best
high-flyer in the business.
"I'm proud of what I've brought to professional wrestling," he says, "but
this is how I want to be remembered: As a father, and a good one."