from Pro Wrestling Illustrated June 99
Rey Mysterio, Jr. is on the fast track to Wrestler
of the Year accolades for 1999. Not to mention Cruiserweight of the Year
and maybe even Tag Team of the Year (with Billy Kidman). And if there were
Comeback Wrestler of the Year and Inspirational Wrestler of the Year awards,
he’d probably win them, too.
As we hit the mid-way mark in ‘99, Rey Mysterio, Jr. is having his best
season to date, arguably the best run of anyone in the sport. And that does
mean anyone, not just cruiserweights.
Mysterio has proven this year that he isn’t just a cruiserweight. Sure,
at 5-foot-4, 165-pounds, he always will be a cruiserweight contender-- if
not the division’s champion. But “Little Rey-Rey” can clearly play with the
big boys.
Like Kevin Nash.
Like Bam Bam Bigelow.
Like Scott Norton.
Even Marcus “Buff” Bagwell.
“This past year has really been great,” Mysterio said. “God has given me
the blessings to perform so well in the sport I love so much, the career
I belong in. Having my opportunity to wrestle with the giants of WCW, being
able to prove myself to everyone has been exciting, thrilling.”
And who would have guessed Mysterio’s meteoric rise to “Giant Killer” status
after SuperBrawl this past February in Northern California? With his wife
and son Dominik in the crowd that Sunday evening, Mysterio teamed with longtime
friend Konnan against The Outsiders, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall (subbing
for the injured Lex Luger). Nash & Luger, the original team for SuperBrawl,
put Elizabeth’s hair on the line. Mysterio answered with his mask.
Big mistake. The Mexican tandem lost and Mysterio was unmasked.
Nash, Hall, and Luger laughed hysterically. Their mission was accomplished.
Konnan consoled Mysterio.
Mysterio hit rock bottom.
“SuperBrawl was a very, very, very big step in my life,” Mysterio said.
“I knew going in (to the match) that was a risk, but I wanted to get my hands
on those guys. Maybe I wasn’t fully prepared; maybe it was just a bad night.
Who knows? Only the Lord knows. But it didn’t happen (in my favor) and I
didn’t back down like a punk. I did what I had to do after losing: I took
off my mask. The fans know how I lost; I didn’t lose straight. But I don’t
cry about things like that. They got their way. But I’ll get them. I’ll get
them my way.”
Mysterio confessed that the impact of losing his mask, which he had worn
for nine years and had been a part of his family heritage (through his uncle,
Rey Mysterio, Sr.) for a quarter of a century, didn’t hit him at first.
Not as the fans cheered him in consolation as other wrestlers greeted him
backstage in Oakland with a hug of encouragement. Not as luchadors like
Psychosis, Super Calo and Damian asked for a photo with Mysterio as he walked
into the backstage area.
It wasn’t until he sat on a chair there at the Oakland Arena, about an
hour after the match. With the impact of two freight trains colliding head-on,
that’s when-- and how-- it struck Mysterio.
“I grew up with the idea that wrestlers are masked,” Mysterio said. “I
talked to my uncle before the match and he gave me a lot of encouragement.
I also spoke with him after the match; he gave me encouragement then, too.”
Mysterio’s doldrums lasted 24-hours, almost the minute.
At Arco Arena in Sacramento, Mysterio challenged Nash. Yes, the near-7-foot
Nash. The same Nash of World Heavyweight Championship fame.
Mysterio vs. Nash? A mismatch of epic proportions-- on paper, at least.
But obviously Mysterio doesn’t subscribe to that edition.
After about five minutes, Mysterio pulled the biggest upset in WCW history.
Score one for the “Little Star” over “Big Sexy.”
“I think God made me lose my mask, but He then rewarded me with the win
(over Nash),” Mysterio said. “Kevin Nash was tough competition, no doubt about
it. He’s a great wrestler, but I was so ticked about what had happened the
night before... I just went out there and didn’t care about what happened,
whether they’d have to take me to the hospital, or if Kevin ended my career.”
Up next on Mysterio’s monster-mash? The man-mountain from Asbury Park,
NJ known worldwide as Bam Bam Bigelow, who had a 250-pound edge over Mysterio.
“When I signed to face Bam Bam, I had to get my head really thinking straight;
I knew I had to do what I can do best,” Mysterio said. “Bam Bam wasn’t easier
than Kevin Nash, but I used Kevin Nash as motivation. As I looked across
at Bam Bam, I pictured Kevin Nash.”
He did the same shortly thereafter against international sensation Scott
Norton, the former IWGP Champion.
“Norton was so strong. So, so strong. I’ve got a lot of respect for him,”
Mysterio said. “There was no way I could do my style of wrestling against
him; I knew that.” (Mysterio ultimately resorted to the ever popular “low-blow,”
and the 3-count was imminent.)
“I’ve had so many victories where I think, ‘Man, I can’t believe this is
happening, that it’s a one-time experience.’” Mysterio said. “I know I’ve
got to keep it going, although that’s gonna be tough.”
“I want more competition. I want more big names thrown at me. I think I’ve
proved I have the ability to be on any card. I know I can be the first match
and get the people rocking, or be the last match of the card, the main event.
I think the fans fell they’re getting their money’s worth when they’re watching
me. At least that’s what I hope.”
“This is not to say the cruiserweights aren’t competition, because they
certainly are, but I like proving myself against the bigger competition, in
terms of size.”
Mysterio battled Nash at UnCensored in Louisville this past March and the
nWo megastar scored the win.
“That was a big disappointment, a big loss,” Mysterio said. “By the same
token, I look at it as the same thing that happened at SuperBrawl: a loss
only due to interference.”
Mysterio moved into the “Tag Team Champion” category of the Wrestling Almanac
with his Nitro win with partner Kidman in Toronto.
Is there longevity for the Mysterio/Kidman crew or will their cruiserweight
war eventually divide the team?
“You’ve got rivals in the business and you’ve got to have someone you can
trust. If you are part of a tag team, that person has to be your tag partner.
When I had the cruiserweight belt, it didn’t really matter if it was Kidman
holding it or myself, because we worked as a unit and we watched each other’s
backs. It isn’t easy to trust people these days but I have to try to give
Kidman the benefit of the doubt and hope that in the ring, he will be there
for me like I am for him.”
What role will Konnan play? You can’t count him out of the picture, that’s
for sure.
“Me and Konnan go back to the day, back to when I was 15-years-old. I was
skinny and so young, but we hit it off. That’s when our friendship was formed;
it’s grown ever since,” Mysterio said. “Konnan’s helped me a lot and I’ve
helped him. He’s taken me to Mexico, to ECW and, eventually, into WCW. Konnan
has always stuck by me. I think the best thing we have between us is, the
ability to hang together.”
“We also love the same type of music. I was in both of K-Dogg’s videos,
although people probably didn’t recognize me. Look at the second video where
there are a bunch of people in zoot suits, I have the grey and black one on,
in the far end. If you look hard enough, you’ll see me,” he laughed.
So, Rey, what about the new look? “The new look goes with who I am. I like
dressing hip-hop. I’ve always worn baggy pants and loose clothes; that’s
my style,” he said. “I always thought if I lost the mask, I would have to
change my clothes; I wasn’t gonna come out with the (same) tights and now
mask; that’s not Rey Mysterio, Jr.”
“Rey Mysterio, Jr., was the masked wrestler in tights and boots, with bands
around his arms.”
“This today is the ‘OG’ Rey Mysterio, Jr. I love to shop at crazy places
like Mr. Raggs. That’s a store that has a ton of hip stuff, a lot of rave
stuff. In one way I am deeply sorry I lost the mask, yet in another, I sense
the fans can identify with me easier now that I am no longer hidden. What
they see is what they get.”
He added: “I feel as though I’m representing all those small people out
there who always thought they never could make it in this sport, or any sport,
because they were too small, because a coach told them they were too small.”