Current WCW cruiserweight champ Rey Misterio Jr.
has fast become one of the more popular stars in WCW... Continually amazes
people with his speed, ingenuity, and ability to absorb punishment with a
5'3" 140-pound frame... Has been a favorite in Mexico's AAA for years... Was
born December 11, 1974, in San Ysidro, California, and grew up in San Diego...
A big fan of both Mexican and American wrestling while growing up, he idolized
his uncle, wrestler Rey Misterio Sr.... Started training with his uncle at
age 13, weighing just 105 pounds... Also training with him were Konnan, Psicosis,
Halloween, Misterioso, and Torero... Wrestled his first pro match in April
1990 in Tijuana against Shamu using the ring name Colibri (Spanish for hummingbird)...
Wrestled under that name in Southern California and Baja, California, for
the next two-plus years... Impressed fans with his high flying moves... First
big match was in Los Angeles in 1992 against El Salvaje... That match marked
the beginning of one of Mexico's greatest rivalries; Salvaje would later
change his name to Psicosis... Later that year in Tijuana, his uncle surprised
him by presenting him with a mask in the ring and giving him the name Rey
Misterio Jr.... Promoter Antonio Pena formed AAA later that year, and after
leaving EMLL for the new promotion, Konnan recommended to Pena that he bring
in Misterio, who was just 17 years old and 125 pounds... Pena (wisely, it
turns out) took Konnan's advice... Misterio began his AAA career as Super
Nino (Spanish for Super Kid) and soon got involved in a feud with veteran
AAA tag team champs Tony Arce and Vulcano... Gained national acclaim by beating
both in mask vs. mask matches... Still only 17, he won the AAA welterweight
title from Fantasma de la Quebrada Jr. on October 28, 1992 in Aguascalientes...
Lost it on February 26, 1993, to Heavy Metal in Mexico City... Meanwhile,
Misterio, Psicosis, Heavy Metal, Volador, La Parka, Winners, and Super Calo
were doing wonders for AAA's popularity by seemingly inventing new aerial
moves in every match... Misterio teamed with Volador and Misterioso to defeat
Arce, Vulcano, and Rocco Valente at the first TripleMania card on April 30,
1993 (50,000 fans attended)... He, Misterioso, and Volador lost to Psicosis,
Heavy Metal, and Jerry Estrada on August 28, 1993, at the Los Angeles Sports
Arena in front of the largest crowd to watch a wrestling card on the West
Coast in 22 years... Remained a top AAA star for the remainder of that year
and beyond... Teamed with Winners and Heavy Metal and lost to Espectro, Fuerza
Guerrera, and Jerry Estrada on March 12, 1994, in Los Angeles... Continued
feuding with Psicosis... Teamed with his uncle and Winners to beat Arce,
Vulcano, and Valente at the TripleMania card on April 26, 1994, in Aguascalientes..
The two Misterios and Volador lost to Misterioso, Fuerza Guerrera, and Juventud
Guerrera (Fuerza's son) at a TripleMania card on May 15 in Guadalajara...
That marked the beginning of Rey Jr.'s feud with Juventud.. Rey Jr. beat
Juventud for the AAA lightweight title on November 30 in Matamoros.. That
ignited a feud betweet the Guerreras, who held the AAA tag team title, and
the Misterios... Rey Sr. put up his middleweight title and Rey Jr. his lightweight
belt against the Guerreras' tag team belts in a match on March 2, 1995, in
Xalapa... The Guerreras won and took home all three titles... Rey Jr. teamed
with his uncle and Torero to beat Fuerza Guerrera, Fishman, and Pirata Morgan
on the TripleMania card in May 1994... Teamed with Octagon and midget Octagoncito
(known as a "mini" in Mexico) to beat Fuerza Guerrera, Juventud Guerrera,
and Fuercita Guerrera on September 28... Made his debut on American pay-per-view
TV on the "When Worlds Collide" show on November 6, 1994, when he, Heavy
Metal, and Latin Lover lost to Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis, and Louie Spicolli...
It was on that card that he first got noticed by many Americans fans... Misterio,
Octagon, and El Hijo del Santo lost to Fuerza and Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis
in what many in Mexico say was one of the best six-man matches in that nation's
history on April 30, 1995, in Guadalajara... Regained the AAA lightweight
title from Juventud Guerrera on June 16, 1995, in Queretearo and also became
AAA welterweight champion by beating Psicosis on September 22... Psicosis
regianed the belt six nights later only to see Misterio win it again one night
after that... Made his debut in Japan in December 1995 and beat Psicosis in
his first match there... By this time, he was also wrestling regularly in
ECW, where fans loved his high-risk style... Had some outstanding matches
with Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera there, too... Occasionally teamed with
Konnan in ECW... In one unusual match in January 1996, Misterio teamed with
911, who stands 7', to beat The Eliminators... WCW officials soon became very
interested in Misterio... He lost the welterweight title to Guerrera early
in 1996, but got some revenge by beating him in Mexico's first-ever car vs.
car match... Regained the title from Guerrera on July 21 in Tokyo... Was
noticed by WCW Senior Vice President Eric Bischoff at the World Wrestling
Peace Festival in June, where he teamed with Ultimo Dragon to beat Psicosis
and Heavy Metal... Soon after, Bischoff convinced him to sign with WCW...
Immediately got a shot at cruiserweight champ Dean Malenko upon his arrival,
but ended up losing the first two times he faced "The Man Of 1,000 Holds"...
Finally pinned Malenko for the belt on July 8... One week later, Psicosis
beat him for the AAA welterweight belt in Phoenix, but Misterio regained it
three days after that... Has looked sharp in rematches with Malenko, as well
as in WCW matches with Guerrera and Super Calo... If he can avoid serious
injury, Misterio should remain an international superstar for years to come.