by Ross Forman
March 3, 1999
He's on the biggest win-streak of his career: two.
Well, not just any two. We're talking Kevin Nash and Bam Bam Bigelow, two
behemoths with an incredible weight-advantage.
So few wrestlers have defeated -- by pinfall, no less -- Nash and Bigelow,
let alone in back-to-back weeks.
Yes, Rey Mysterio, Jr., is the hottest wrestler in the sport.
The memory of SuperBrawl's loss -- the tag match with Konnan against The
Outsiders and, of course, his fabled mask -- is a distant memory.
Rey Mysterio, Jr., has clearly established himself as a player!
Don't think for a split-second that, just because he's only 165-pounds and
stands 5-foot-6, that he's a preliminary wrestler. Rey Mysterio, Jr., has
established himself as a superstar -- among all wrestlers, not just the cruiserweights.
"I think I proved myself, that I'm able to wrestle against anyone, no matter
how big or strong they are," said Mysterio, 24. "This is a rough sport and
once I decided to be a part of it, I realized that I was going to have to
face big guys, bad guys, guys with more experience than me, but the beauty
of it is: when you have matches against veterans of that kind, you make mistakes
and learn from them.
"People have seen me in the cruiserweight division for years and I've wrestled
the best of the best from that Division, including Dean Malenko, Billy Kidman,
Chris Jericho and Juventud Guerrera. Now it's time to take a step up, into
the Heavyweight Division. I want all the competition I can face. I want to
challenge everyone. That means Lex Luger, Scott Hall and possibly even 'Hollywood'
Hogan. I'm young; I'm healthy; I have the energy to go all the way."
Mysterio was at his career-low February 21, in Oakland, when he stood mid-ring
on a major pay-per-view and, with Konnan's help, removed his mask. His wrestling
identity, er, mystery was over.
Twenty-hour later, when Mysterio shocked Nash on Monday Nitro, Mysterio
was sky-high. So was Konnan. So were all the luchadors.
This past Monday, Mysterio pulled another shocker, upending Bigelow.
"What a week," Mysterio said of the eight-day span. "It was a shocking moment
when I lost at SuperBrawl -- not initially, but more so when I was in the
locker room. When I was in the ring at SuperBrawl, I don't really think I
realized what had just happened, what I had just done, (taking off my mask).
An hour or so later, after I had showered, that's when it really hit me. It
was anxiety and a real sad moment for me. I had grown up with the myth about
a wrestler wearing a mask and here I was, without my mask."
Mysterio said "shock" really set in when he re-played tapes of SuperBrawl
and the Nash match, when he saw himself mid-ring without a mask.
"It was just amazing that I took off my mask and just dropped it. That was
a tough moment for me. I don't know if the fans really knew what that meant
to me," Mysterio said. "It was a bunch of emotions at the moment: weird, different,
sad and shocking. I wasn't humiliated; I just felt I could have done better.
I felt we could have won that match."
"If Lex wrestled, as opposed to Scott Hall, I would have taken advantage
of Lex's arm ... and maybe that would have given me the advantage. But that
didn't happen."
So, Rey, what about the win over former World Heavyweight Champion Kevin
Nash?
"Whether he had help or not doesn't matter, Kevin Nash defeated Goldberg
to capture the World Heavyweight Championship and thus ending Goldberg's undefeated
streak. That win puts me in a good position," Mysterio said. "When the ref
counted to three, I couldn't believe it."
Mysterio and Konnan will team more in the coming months, Mysterio said.
And the new-look to Mysterio will stay.
What about returning to the mask, especially since the pre-match stipulation
was simply remove the mask for that match?
"I don't know," Mysterio answered. "As a true sportsman, I bet the mask
and lost the match, so I took it off. In Mexico, if I had lost it, I never
would put it back on; that's the whole idea behind the mask. Personally,
I wouldn't feel comfortable putting it back on because I would feel awkward;
I would feel like a punk, like I was trying to play the people."
"There's no reason for me to put it back on."
"SuperBrawl was the end of Rey Mysterio, Jr., as you once knew him. Now
there is no mystery to me. Now it's just me, Oscar Gutierrez."