September 1996
by OMG
Rey Misterio Jr. Is 5-foot-5, 175 pounds and he has these dreams.
The dreams don't involve winning the WCW Cruiserweight title. He's already
done that. They don't involve dominating the lighter weight divisions in
Mexico's AAA promotion. He's already done that. No, Rey Jr.'s dreams involve
hunting bigger game.
"I'd like to wrestle some heavyweights, too," he said. "Maybe a guy would
be a lot taller than me, and a lot heavier, but I think he'd have a pretty
hard time catching me. And since I can jump on the ropes and fly, do a lot
of things a heavyweight can't do, who's to say I wouldn't have a chance?
Who's to say it wouldn't be a good match?
"I think it would do the cruiserweight division a lot of good, to have
us wrestle outside the division. And I think we're good enough to wrestle
anyone."
Before you envision Rey Jr. being squashed like a bug by, say, Lex Luger,
keep in mind that Rey Jr. can indeed do many things heavyweights can't do.
And keep in mind that while he's small, he's a ball of muscle, as strong
as they come for his size.
"I'm 175 now. I have weighed more," Rey Jr. said. "I'd like to gain some
weight, to look bigger on TV and so maybe they'll let me wrestle heavyweights.
But size isn't really important. What you do is important. What you know
how to do."
Rey Jr. can do it all. And he's only 22.
WCW has tried to launch facsimiles of its current cruiserweight division
before. All met with quick and absolute failure after receiving no fan interest
whatsoever. But then Rey Jr. came to WCW from Mexico and made the cruiserweight
division his own, captivating fans with his high-flying, suicidal style.
"The fans in WCW like the Mexican style," said Rey. Jr. "They get into
it, because they've never really seen it before. Now they've seen it, they
like it, and they want to see more.
"It's the same as it was in Mexico. There used to be only one style. A
lot of mat wrestling. Then a lot of lighter wrestlers came in and brought
the high-flying style, and the fans liked it and started to get into it.
Now, in WCW, there had been one style for a long time. But the Mexicans
and guys like Dean Malenko are changing that. And the fans like it. "Rey
Jr. points out that the WCW cruiserweight division has only scratched the
surface of its potential: "A lot of guys that could compete as cruiserweight,
guys like Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, haven't yet. I'd love to wrestle
those guys."
Rey Jr. has sent announcers like Tony Schiavone and Eric Bischoff home
with headaches because they just don't know how to describe his moves. They
don't even know what to call them. He'll dive from the top rope, from the
ringpost, from the apron, from everywhere but the arena balcony. His agility
and speed make his moves that seem impossible come alive in the ring.
How does Rey Jr. come up with his moves?
"I watch a lot of wrestling tapes, but I don't copy," he said. "I copied
in school. Not in wrestling. My favorite move is the Frankensteiner, so
in my head I just figured out different ways to bring it in. I use the Frankensteiner
from a lot of different spots: From the apron, from the post, from the ropes,
from the turnbuckle. And I dream up different dives in my head. That's the
spirit of wrestling. Do what pops into your head.
"I can't really practice my moves. I might get hurt. I use them in my matches.
If I get hurt, it might as well be in a match."
Rey Jr. does get his share of injuries. Right now he's nursing a bad knee.
He's just getting over two injured ankles, one sustained when Psicosis landed
on his ankle during a dive when the two met in a AAA match in Tijuana.
"The other one got bad just from carrying all my weight, I think," Rey
Jr. said. "I was limping on both for a while. But I still got in the ring
and did my job. My name was on the card and I didn't want to let the people
down. I couldn't do as much as I would like. I probably could have used
a break."
Rey Jr. thinks wrestling in WCW will be conducive to staying healthy.
"In Mexico, the rings are harder," said Rey Jr. "Outside, there aren't
any mats - just a little dirt, maybe a little rock. I've always done my
stuff whether the ring's good or bad, bet it's a little easier on me in
WCW because there are mats outside the ring, and they have security barriers
- the only time AAA has that stuff is for television tapings. There's less
chance of getting hurt wrestling in WCW.
"Also, in AAA they want you to do everything every night. It's a lot faster,
you have to do a lot of stuff really fast. A lot of times you do one move
after the other. In WCW it's a little more deliberate. It seems like there's
more time between moves. That's good because I don't have to kill myself
every second - and because I can get an advantage by speeding things up."
Rey Jr. also pointed out that the WCW style often involves focusing on
one body part: "For example, when I wrestle Dean Malenko, he goes for a
weakness. He tries to take my legs out so I can't fly as much. A lot of
guys in WCW wrestle that way, babyfaces as well as heels. The psychology's
a lot different.
"In Mexico, we aren't really into takedowns. We just do a lot of moves
really fast, like in a chain. In WCW, things are done slower, so the fans
can see what you do. There's more pauses. But I love both styles. And I
love to combine them.
"In WCW, I'd love to do a lot of high-flying moves every night. But I don't
have to. I do in AAA. Like I said, they want you to do everything every
night. They never get tired of it. In WCW, I take out some moves. Try to
vary things every night."
Rey Jr. harkens back to his Mexican style, however, when facing fellow
AAA alumni like Juventud Guerrera and Super Calo. "It's great, having those
guys here," Rey Jr. said. "They have the Mexican style, same as me. It's
one move after another. No one ever slows down when we wrestle each other.
We're all getting the WCW style, too. I think our matches are good."
No arguing that.
And there's no arguing that Rey Misterio Jr. is one of the most exciting
wrestlers in WCW ... and in the entire wrestling world.
He has no intention of playing it safe, either.
"I've never came up with a move I thought was too daring or too dangerous,"
said Rey Jr. "I might be afraid, you could say, of doing a certain move.
But I just do it and do it until the fear goes away. And sometimes I feel
a little heavy out there, but then I just train harder until I don't feel
heavy."
Some might think Rey Jr. is acting more suicidal than ever when he talks
about wrestling heavyweights. I say he can do it.
And I also say there's no thought more inviting than Rey Misterio Jr. running
circles around some big stiff, tiring him out, then taking him out with,
say, a springboard Frankensteiner off the middle of the top rope. Rey Jr.
is right to have his dreams. I just hope we all get to see them realized.