Rey Mysterio, Jr. | |
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Rey Mysterio during a WWE house show held in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada on January 15, 2005. | |
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Ring name(s) | Colibrí[1] Rey Mysterio, Jr.[1] Rey Misterio, Jr. Super Niño[1] Rey Mysterio[1] |
Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2] |
Billed weight | 165 lb (75 kg)[2] |
Born | December 11, 1974 [3] San Diego, California[1] |
Resides | La Jolla, San Diego, California |
Billed from | Tijuana, Mexico San Diego, California[2] |
Trained by | Rey Misterio, Sr.[1] |
Debut | April 30, 1989[3] |
Website | http://www.reymysterio.com |
Oscar Gutierrez[3][4] (born December 11, 1974)[3] better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is a Mexican American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestling on its Raw brand. He trained in and started his career in the lucha libre style of Mexico and has achieved success in heavyweight, cruiserweight and tag team divisions throughout his career. He is perhaps best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1996 to 2001 as well as a short-lived tenure with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1996.
Mysterio is known for having a high flying style, which helped kick-start the cruiserweight revolution in the United States, in the late 1990s during his time in WCW. His total Cruiserweight Championship reigns are record-setting 8 (5 in WCW, 3 in WWE).[5] In WWE, he was a 1 time World Heavyweight Champion,[6][7] a 3 time Cruiserweight Champion[5][7] and a 4 time WWE Tag Team Champion[8][7] as well as the winner of 2006 Royal Rumble.[9] In WCW, he was a 5 time Cruiserweight Champion,[5][7] a 3 time World Tag Team Champion[10][7] and a 1 time Cruiserweight Tag Team Champion with Billy Kidman as part of Filthy Animals.[11][7]
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Born in San Diego, California, Gutierrez trained for pro wrestling with his uncle, who wrestled under the name Rey Misterio. He debuted as a wrestler on April 30, 1989 at the age of 14 in a small church in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.[3] Technically, he was too young to receive a license, but enforcement was generally low. He began a feud with Psicosis using the ring name Colibrí (Spanish for hummingbird). The feud lasted several years, continuing even after Mysterio's career moved to the United States of America.[12]
When Gutierrez turned 18, his uncle allowed him to use the ring name Rey Misterio, Jr.. In Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) he feuded with Juventud Guerrera including a tag match with Rey Mysterio and Rey Misterio taking on Juventud and his father, Mr. Guerrera.[13]
In 1995, Misterio defeated Psicosis during their debut match at Gangstas Paradise on Extreme Championship Wrestling and became the new ECW Television tag team champions(ECW).[14] This match was their first real impact in American professional wrestling - although they had previously been seen on the WCW promoted When Worlds Collide pay-per-view. Misterio, along with a number of other luchadores, became a featured attraction in ECW.[15] Misterio and Psicosis had a very popular and very brutal Mexican Death match at November to Remember 1995, which Misterio won.[15][16] Misterio would later appear at the first two WWE-promoted ECW One Night Stand reunion shows.
Misterio went on to gain fame in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1996, where he was the flagship of the new "Cruiserweight Revolution" in the United States. The spelling of his name was partially anglicized as "Rey Mysterio, Jr." to further market him as a "mystery man." He debuted in WCW at The Great American Bash 1996, challenging Dean Malenko for the Cruiserweight Championship. Malenko cheated to win the match and retained his title.[17][18] At Bash at the Beach 1996, he defeated longtime rival Psicosis in a #1 contender's match to get a shot at the Cruiserweight title.[19] The next night on WCW Monday Nitro, he defeated Dean Malenko for his first WCW Cruiserweight Championship, only three weeks after his debut in the company.[17][20][21] He reigned as champion for three months which included title defenses against the likes of The Ultimate Dragon,[22] former champion Malenko[23] and Super Calo[24] before he lost the title back to Malenko at Halloween Havoc 1996.[25]
After his first Cruiserweight title reign ended, Misterio began a feud with Ultimate Dragon over the J-Crown Championship, unsuccessfully challenging him at World War 3 1996.[26] In early 1997, he feuded with Prince Iaukea over the WCW World Television Championship. He challenged Iaukea for the title at SuperBrawl VII, which Misterio lost after Lord Steven Regal attacked him.[27] Misterio lost again in a rematch for the title at Uncensored 1997.[28] He had short feuds for the rest of the year before he began a feud with real-life friend and Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero. He defeated Guerrero in a Title vs. Mask match at Halloween Havoc 1997 for his second WCW Cruiserweight Championship.[29][5] On November 10 edition of Nitro, he dropped the title to Guerrero.[30] They had a rematch at World War 3 1997, which Misterio lost.[31] However, at this point, Misterio was a staple of WCW's roster.
On the January 15, 1998 edition of Thunder, Misterio defeated Juventud Guerrera for his third WCW Cruiserweight Championship[32][5] which he lost only nine days later to Chris Jericho at Souled Out 1998.[33] After the match, Jericho continued the beating using a toolbox found at ringside.[34] This would put Mysterio on the sidelines for six months[34] before making his return at Bash at the Beach 1998 where he defeated Jericho for the championship.[35] The next night, however, the result was overturned and the belt returned to Jericho due to the interference by Dean Malenko.[35]
Later that year, Eddie Guerrero formed a Mexican stable known as the Latino World Order (LWO) (a spin off of New World Order) that included nearly every luchador in the promotion. Mysterio continually refused to join and feuded with Guerrero and LWO members. He defeated long time rival Psychosis in a match at Road Wild 1998.[36] He was finally forced to join after losing a match to Eddie Guerrero.[34] Misterio and his on-and-off tag team partner Billy Kidman joined him during the feud with LWO despite Misterio being a part of the group. His alliance with Kidman was formed after Misterio helped Kidman in defeating Juventud Guerrera for the Cruiserweight title at World War 3 1998. At Starrcade 1998, he faced Guerrera and Kidman in a triangle match for Kidman's Cruiserweight title which Kidman retained.[37] At Souled Out, he again challenged Kidman for the Cruiserweight title in a fatal four way match also involving Psychosis and Juventud, which Kidman retained.[38] As the two factions of nWo reformed - nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac - they demanded the LWO's disbanding. Misterio refused to take off his LWO colors and was physically beaten as a result.[39]
At SuperBrawl IX, Misterio, alongside with Konnan, lost a tag team "Hair vs. Mask match" against the The Outsiders forcing Misterio to remove his mask.[39][40] After the match, he phoned his uncle to tell him the news. Mysterio has publicly expressed his disappointment over being unmasked, "the fans wanted Rey Mysterio with the mask and losing it hurt me a lot. It was also frustrating that it didn't come as the climax to a feud with another masked wrestler, but in a throwaway match."[41]
Mysterio would later become a "giant killer" by scoring upset victories over towering, powerhouse performers like Kevin Nash,[42] Bam Bam Bigelow,[39] and Scott Norton.[43] He faced Nash at Uncensored 1999 in a match, where Lex Luger interfered and helped Nash in winning the match.[39][44] The next night on Nitro, he defeated Billy Kidman to win his fourth WCW Cruiserweight Championship.[45][5] Two weeks later, both men teamed with each other and defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship.[46][10] Mysterio successfully defended his Cruiserweight title against his tag team partner Kidman at Spring Stampede 1999[47] before losing the title on April 19, 1999 edition of Nitro to longtime rival Psychosis in a fatal four way match that also involved Juventud Guerrera and Blitzkrieg.[48] On the following edition of Nitro, he defeated Psychosis to win his fifth WCW Cruiserweight Championship.[49][5] At Slamboree 1999, Mysterio and Kidman lost the titles to Raven and Saturn in a triangle match, also involving former champions Benoit and Malenko.[50]
In the summer of 1999, Mysterio joined forces with longtime friend Konnan, and the two became members of Master P's No Limit Soldiers. They constantly feuded with the West Texas Rednecks. At The Great American Bash 1999, they defeated Rednecks members Curt Hennig and Bobby Duncum, Jr. in a tag team match.[51] At Bash at the Beach 1999, they defeated Rednecks in a 4-on-4 elimination tag team match when Mysterio pinned Hennig in the end.[52] After Master P's departure from WCW, Mysterio formed a stable with Eddie Guerrero and Billy Kidman, known as the Filthy Animals.[53] The three wrestlers got involved in a feud with Dark Carnival. At Road Wild 1999, Filthy Animals defeated Dark Carnival in a six-man tag team match.[54] On the August 19 edition of Thunder, he lost the Cruiserweight title to Lenny Lane.[55] At Fall Brawl 1999, Filthy Animals defeated Dark Carnival in a rematch.[56] Konnan later joined the group and then Mysterio and Konnan teamed up together on October 18 edition of Nitro to defeat Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Championship.[57][10] However, Mysterio was injured during the match and was sidelined due to injury. Billy Kidman substituted for Mysterio and teamed with Konnan during their title defense against Harlem Heat and The First Family, in which Filthy Animals went on to lose the titles back to Harlem Heat.
Mysterio returned in the spring of 2000 and remained a steady performer, and eventually joined the New Blood faction in early 2000 opposing the "Millionaires Club."[58] On August 14, 2000 edition of Nitro, Mysterio and Juventud defeated The Great Muta and Vampiro to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship.[59] However, they were stripped of the titles after Ernest Miller pinned Disco Inferno with the stipulation that if he pinned Disco, Mysterio and Guerrera would be stripped of the titles. Filthy Animals feuded with Natural Born Thrillers in the fall of the year. At Fall Brawl 2000, Filthy Animals fought Thrillers to a no contest in an elimination tag team match.[60] Mysterio reformed his tag team with Billy Kidman and the two challenged for the WCW Tag Team Championship in a triangle match at Halloween Havoc 2000, facing the champions Natural Born Thrillers and Boogie Knights. Thrillers retained their titles.[61]
At Mayhem 2000, the duo defeated Alex Wright and KroniK in a 3-on-2 handicap match after KroniK left the ring and abandoned Wright.[62] Konnan, Kidman and Mysterio started a feud with Jeff Jarrett and Harris Brothers, which culminated in a Bunkhouse Street Fight at Starrcade 2000 won by Jarrett's team.[63] In the beginning of 2001, Filthy Animals feuded with Team Canada, to whom they lost in a Penalty Box match at Sin.[64] At SuperBrawl Revenge, Misterio unsuccessfully challenged Chavo Guerrero, Jr. for the Cruiserweight title.[65] Kidman and Mysterio participated in a cruiserweight tag team tournament for the newly created Cruiserweight Tag Team titles and advanced to the final round where they ended up losing to Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo.[66] On March 26, 2001 edition of Nitro (the final episode of Nitro), they defeated Skipper and Romeo in a rematch to win the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship[67][11] before WCW was sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). This would be Mysterio's last TV appearance for over a year.
For a short time Rey wrestled for the short lived XWF promotion. During this time, Rey also made some appearances for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion in Mexico, wrestling without his mask.
In June 2002, Rey signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and promos were aired hyping his debut. In WWE, he is known only as Rey Mysterio, with no 'Jr.' suffix. Vince McMahon also requested that Mysterio wear his mask again. In Mexico, one could be fined or even have their license suspended in lucha libre by the Box y Lucha Commission for this; there, once a wrestler loses his mask, they cannot traditionally regain it. Mysterio began his WWE career on July 25, 2002 edition on SmackDown as a babyface, in a match against Chavo Guerrero which Rey would win.[68] After, he joined John Cena and Edge to feud with The Un-Americans.[1] He eventually began feuding with Kurt Angle, which culminated in a match at SummerSlam 2002 which Angle won after forcing Mysterio to submit with the ankle lock.[69][70] He formed a tag team with Edge in October and the two participated in a tournament for the newly created Tag Team Championship. They defeated Tajiri and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in the quarterfinals[71] and Ron Simmons & Reverend D-Von in the semi-finals[72] before they lost to Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit in the finals of the tournament at No Mercy 2002.[73][74][75]
After they failed in winning the titles, Mysterio and Edge defeated Los Guerreros in a #1 contender's match on October 24 edition of SmackDown! to earn a title shot at the tag titles.[76] On November 7 edition of SmackDown!, they defeated Angle and Benoit in a two out of three falls match to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship.[77][78] They became the shortest reigning champions in the title's history with a reign of 12 days as they lost the tag titles to Los Guerreros in a triple threat elimination match that also involved former champions Angle and Benoit at Survivor Series.[79][80] After losing the titles, Edge and Mysterio stopped tagging together.
On March 6, 2003 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio defeated Tajiri and Jamie Noble in a triple threat match to earn a shot at the Cruiserweight Championship.[81] At WrestleMania XIX, he challenged the champion Matt Hardy for the title but lost after Shannon Moore interfered.[82][83] He had a short feud with The Big Show, culminating in a match at Backlash 2003, which Show won.[84][85]
On May 22 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio defeated Shannon Moore and Crash in a handicap elimination match to become the number one contender to the Cruiserweight title.[86] On June 5 edition of SmackDown!, he defeated Hardy to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[87][88] He defended the title against cruiserweights on a regular basis,[1] before he lost the title to Tajiri on September 25 edition of SmackDown!.[89] They both started feuding with each other and they had a rematch for the title at No Mercy, where Tajiri cheated to retain his title.[90][91] On January 1, 2004 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio defeated Tajiri to win his second WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[92][93]
After a successful title defense against Jamie Noble at Royal Rumble 2004,[94][95] Rey lost the title to Chavo Guerrero at No Way Out 2004.[96][97] At WrestleMania XX, he challenged Chavo for the title in a Cruiserweight Open but lost.[98][99] On March 18 edition of SmackDown!, he won a Gauntlet to earn a shot at the WWE Championship against the champion and Rey's friend Eddie Guerrero. Later that same night, he lost to Guerrero in the main event for the WWE title.[100]
At Judgment Day 2004, Mysterio teamed with future partner Rob Van Dam and defeated Dudley Boyz.[101] On June 17 edition of SmackDown!, he defeated Chavo Classic for record-setting his eighth WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[102][103] He successfully defended the title against Classic's son Chavo Guerrero at The Great American Bash 2004.[104] While Rey Mysterio was Cruiserweight Champion, Spike Dudley turned heel after plowing Rey through a table and joined the other Dudleys before taking the Cruiserweight title from Mysterio on July 29 edition of SmackDown!.[105] At Survivor Series 2004, he participated in a fatal four way match for the Cruiserweight title involving the champion Spike, Chavo Guerrero and Rey's longtime friend Billy Kidman.[106]
Rey formed a tag team with Rob Van Dam, and went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Kenzo Suzuki and René Dupreé on December 9, 2004 edition of SmackDown!.[107][108] They successfully defended the titles against the former champions at Armageddon 2004,[109] before losing the titles to the Basham Brothers on January 13, 2005 edition of SmackDown! after Van Dam got injured.[110] Rey would team up with Eddie Guerrero to win the WWE Tag Team Championship back from the Bashams at No Way Out 2005.[111][112][113] In a departure from traditional booking, the new champions did not defend their titles at WrestleMania 21, but instead had a match against each other which Rey won.[114]
This led to a storyline in which Guerrero turned heel and beat him up after abandoning him during a rematch against the heel tag team MNM for the Tag Team Championship.[115] Then after a No DQ match against Chavo, Eddie came out and hit a brainbuster on the steel steps, which left Rey lain on the floor. Eddie was becoming increasingly frustrated that he could not beat Mysterio.[116]
Guerrero and Mysterio continued to feud, with Guerrero threatening to reveal a secret he and Rey shared involving Mysterio's son, Dominic. He threatened to go public with the secret unless Rey deferred to Guerrero's authority. Guerrero later revealed that he was Dominic's kayfabe biological father. The storyline went that Guerrero knew Mysterio was having trouble starting his own family, so Guerrero left Dominic as a baby with Mysterio and his wife Angie to raise. In subsequent weeks, Guerrero threatened to take custody of Dominic, drawing up custody papers and having his lawyer present them to Mysterio.[1] At SummerSlam 2005, Mysterio defeated Guerrero in a ladder match for the custody of Dominic.[117] Mysterio then became engaged in a brief feud with John "Bradshaw" Layfield with JBL eventually coming out the victor at No Mercy 2005.[118] On November 13, 2005, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That same day at a WWE "Super Show" where SmackDown! and Raw were both taped, Mysterio gave an emotional speech about Eddie, and in a show of respect removed his mask (though he put his head down, so no one could see his face). Mysterio went on to defeat Shawn Michaels in an interpromotional match later that night. After the match, Michaels and Mysterio hugged in the ring and Mysterio pointed up to the sky, crying, in memory of Eddie Guerrero. This began a span of weeks wherein Mysterio, along with friends Chris Benoit and Chavo Guerrero, dedicated their victories to Eddie either by word or by using his moves during his matches; "Eddie" chants continued to follow Rey and Chavo Guerrero in their matches for a few months.[1]
Mysterio participated in the main event of Survivor Series 2005 as part of Team SmackDown! along with Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, Batista and JBL who defeated Team Raw (Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Big Show, Carlito, and Chris Masters).[119][120] On the Tuesday after Survivor Series, Mysterio faced Big Show from Raw, in a match billed as "David vs. Goliath" in a SmackDown special show.[1]
The match stemmed from Mysterio eliminating Big Show at Survivor Series, and ended as a "no contest" when Big Show's tag team partner, Kane, interfered in the match. Mysterio continued to feud with Raw's World Tag Team Champions, even finding a tag team partner in World Heavyweight Champion Batista who, along with Mysterio, would be set to face Raw's Kane and The Big Show in a tag match at Armageddon. Before Armageddon, Batista and Mysterio defeated Mysterio's longtime rivals MNM on December 19 edition of SmackDown! to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, in a match they both dedicated to Eddie Guerrero.[121][122] Now the Tag Team Champions, Mysterio and Batista's match with Big Show and Kane was billed as "Champions vs. Champions." At Armageddon 2005, Mysterio and Batista lost this Raw vs SmackDown! match when Kane pinned Mysterio after a chokeslam.[123]
On December 30 edition of SmackDown!, MNM invoked their rematch clause, defeating Batista and Mysterio with help from the returning Mark Henry to regain the Tag Team Championship after an assault on Batista by Henry. Rey and Batista lost a steel cage match in an effort to reclaim the titles the following week, again courtesy of interference by Mark Henry.[124][125]
At Royal Rumble 2006, Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match entering in the number two position, and later eliminating Randy Orton to win the match. By winning the Royal Rumble, Mysterio earned a World Heavyweight title shot at that year's WrestleMania. By lasting over sixty-two minutes in the match, Mysterio also set a Royal Rumble record for longevity and size.[9][126] Rey dedicated his performance at the Royal Rumble to Eddie Guerrero. After his win, he was congratulated by Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Chavo Guerrero and Rob Van Dam - all close friends and family of Eddie Guerrero.
During the February 3, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, an upset Randy Orton interrupted Mysterio's victory speech. Orton challenged Mysterio to a match for his WrestleMania world title shot.[127] As Mysterio looked upward for guidance on this decision Orton verbally attacked him and the memory of Guerrero, saying "Eddie ain't in heaven, Eddie's 'down there' - IN HELL!" Mysterio attacked Orton and later accepted the challenge.[127] Orton defeated Mysterio at No Way Out 2006, illegally using the ropes to get the pin.[128] Having lost the title shot at WrestleMania 22, Mysterio went backstage with a few members of Guerrero's close family. However, on the next edition of SmackDown!, General Manager Theodore Long added Rey, making the match a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight title.[129] At WrestleMania 22, Rey faced off against both Orton and then-World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle. Mysterio won the match by pinning Randy Orton using the West Coast Pop to win his first World Heavyweight Championship.[130][131]
On the April 7, 2006 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio - who was billed as being an "underdog champion" - made his first World Heavyweight title defense against Randy Orton.[132] Mysterio went on to retain his title again during a WrestleMania rematch on SmackDown! against Kurt Angle, three weeks later.[133] The week before the title defense took place saw the start of a feud between the then-United States Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Mysterio.[134] The rivalry kicked off after JBL stated he deserved the World Heavyweight title during his celebration of becoming the US Champion.[134] The feud with JBL saw Mysterio face off against any opponent of JBL's choosing in the three weeks leading up to his title match against Mysterio at Judgment Day 2006.[135] Mysterio was defeated by Mark Henry and The Great Khali in separate non-title matches before facing Raw's Kane in a match that went to a no contest.[135][136][137] Mysterio retained his title against JBL at Judgement Day.[138] JBL lost the US Championship to Bobby Lashley five days later on SmackDown! after being tricked by Mysterio to take on all comers like he had.[139] This led JBL to vow that if he did not win his rematch against Mysterio, he would quit SmackDown.[139] In the main event of the evening Mysterio won and retained the World Heavyweight Championship, causing JBL to kayfabe leave SmackDown!,[139] until ECW One Night Stand, when JBL announced he would return as color commentator.[140]
It was revealed that Rey would have to defend his title against ECW wrestler Sabu at One Night Stand.[141] In the weeks leading up to his title defense, Mysterio defeated WWE Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms in a Champion vs. Champion match and was defeated by Rob Van Dam at WWE vs. ECW Head to Head on June 7, 2006.[142][143] Immediately after WWE vs. ECW, WWE.com reported that Paul Heyman approached Mysterio about switching brands to ECW. Mysterio announced on the June 9, 2006 edition of SmackDown! that he would stay "home," on SmackDown.[144] At One Night Stand, Mysterio (who was wearing a mask with the letters "ECW" written on the back, despite being a face and booed by ECW fans) retained his title in a hard fought match after he and Sabu were ruled unable to continue following a triple jump DDT through a table from Sabu.[140]
Mysterio would later defend his title against Mark Henry.[145] Mysterio won the match, after Chavo Guerrero came to the ring as the referee was down and hit the "World's Strongest Man" with a steel chair.[145] When the referee regained consciousness, Rey had used a trick of Eddie Guerrero's and pretended to be knocked out and left the challenger holding the chair and eventually won via disqualification.[145] Mysterio would then start a feud with King Booker after Booker won a Battle Royal to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.[146] King Booker attacked Rey from behind backstage with the help of Booker's wife Queen Sharmell.[147] The attack was not shown live and was during the beating of Mark Henry by Batista.[147] The footage was aired the week later on SmackDown! and was followed by Mysterio attacking the King and his "court."[147]
This rivalry continued for several weeks and saw Mysterio defeating Booker's royal court member William Regal on an edition of SmackDown!, moments before attacking the challenger and hitting him with a 619 around the steel post.[147] On the July 15, 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Mysterio defeated King Booker in a six man tag match and again days later on SmackDown! in singles action.[148][149] At The Great American Bash, Rey lost the World Heavyweight Championship to King Booker after Chavo Guerrero turned on Rey and hit him with a steel chair, who would also cost him his rematch at SmackDown!.[150][151] Then on an edition of SmackDown!, Guerrero challenged Rey Mysterio in an "I Quit" match.[152] In that match, Chavo injured (kayfabe) Mysterio's knee, causing him to take time off wrestling.[153]
Mysterio made a successful in-ring return at SummerSlam 2007, defeating Chavo Guerrero with the 619, after Guerrero had obsessed over Mysterio's return, wanting to injure Mysterio again.[154] On the August 31 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio won a "Championship Competition" to become the number 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Batista and Finlay.[155] On the September 7 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio had a "I Quit" match with Chavo Guerrero.[156] Mysterio won the match by hitting Guerrero's knee with a chair repeatedly, winning the match in a similar manner to which Mysterio had been put out of action.[156] Mysterio then began a feud with The Great Khali which would lead to a match at Unforgiven where he would face Khali for the World Heavyweight Championship (the match was eventually made a Triple Threat match involving Batista)[157] but was unsuccessful in capturing the title.[158]
Rey would then begin a feud with Finlay, an opponent chosen by JBL.[159] The rivalry was marked as "Fight vs. Flight," a competition between the two contrasting fighting styles of both wrestlers - Finlay's physicality, versus the high-flying Rey.[160] On October 28, after fighting to a no-contest at No Mercy[161] followed by a double-disqualification in a #1 Contender match for Batista's World Heavyweight title on the next SmackDown! program[162](The Undertaker would succeed the pair), he defeated Finlay in a Stretcher match at Cyber Sunday 2007.[163] During this feud, he conceded one match to Finlay on an episode of SmackDown! and was part of the winning team at Survivor Series 2007 which consisted of both wrestlers on opposing sides (although Rey was second to be eliminated), but the rivalry was brought to an abrupt end when Finlay was placed in a feud with The Great Khali stemming from that same pay-per-view.[164][165][166]
Mysterio then began a feud with MVP by expressing his disdain over MVP's actions towards his former tag team partner and then-Number One contender for his U.S. Championship title, Matt Hardy.[167] Mysterio was granted a title match at Armageddon 2007, which he won via countout, though he was unable to claim the belt due to the stipulations of the match.[168] Rey Mysterio re-entered the world title picture when he emerged as victor of the Beat the Clock challenge aired on January 4, 2008, for the chance to face the World Heavyweight Champion Edge at Royal Rumble 2008.[169] However, he was unsuccessful in winning the championship.[170] WWE.com announced on February 14, 2008 that Mysterio suffered a biceps injury during an overseas tour.[171] He was sent back to the United States that night for evaluation.[171] Despite the injury, Mysterio was determined to face Edge for the title again at No Way Out 2008.[171] He seemed to have the upper hand when he hit the 619 on Edge but his torn biceps slowed him down and Edge pinned Mysterio after a spear in mid air.[172] On the February 22 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio announced that his injury would keep him out of action for at least 6 months, and he eventually underwent three surgeries within the space of a month.[173][174].
Mysterio then made his return on the June 23, 2008 episode of Raw, as Mysterio was the first superstar to be drafted in the 2008 WWE Draft from the SmackDown brand to the Raw brand.[175] On the June 30 edition of Raw Mysterio came to make an announcement to all the Raw fans which led to a minor fight with Santino Marella.[176] Mysterio made his Raw in-ring debut the next week, pinning Marella after a 619.[177]
General Manager Mike Adamle announced on Raw that John Cena was injured and that his replacement in the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven was Mysterio. The next week, in St. Louis, Missouri on September 1, Mysterio made his return to Raw after an extended absence by attacking Kane, turning back numerous claims that Kane had "ended his career".[178] Mysterio then made his in-ring return at Unforgiven competing in the Raw Championship scramble match.[179] His feud with Kane lasted through No Mercy and Cyber Sunday with Mysterio winning both times.
In an episode of the television show Heroes entitled "The Kindness of Strangers," the character Monica sees Mysterio give Randy Orton the 619 on a televised match. Later in the show, she uses her power to recreate any physical activity she sees to perform a modified 619, similar to Mysterio giving the 619 around a ringpost, to stop a robbery.[180]
He was the Mexican flag carrier at Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales III. He was shown on camera early in the pay per view when Morales was entering the arena, during the singing of the Mexican national anthem, and when Morales was entering the ring for the main event.
Mysterio has been a subject of several DVDs during his wrestling career, including "Rey Mysterio: 619", which was released in 2003, the WWE produced "Rey Mysterio: The Biggest Little Man", which was released on October 23, 2007.[181] He was also featured in "Before They Were Wrestling Stars: Rey Misterio Jr" in 2007.
Gutierrez and his wife, Angelica, have two children, Dominik (who was involved in the Eddie Guerrero and Gutierrez storyline) and Aalyah .[3][182] He has tattoos of his two children's names on his right and left biceps. He also has tattoos dedicated to his wife and Eddie Guerrero.
On March 19, 2007, Sports Illustrated posted on its website an article in its continuing series investigating a steroid and HGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. That article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Gutierrez who was alleged to have obtained nandrolone and stanozolol.[183] WWE has since made a statement on this situation, mentioning that the allegations preceded the Talent Wellness program WWE launched in February 2006.[184]
Wager lost/won | Winner | Loser | Where | Date | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mask | Rey Mysterio | Mr. Condor | Acapulco, Guerrero | 8/14/92 | - |
Hair | Rey Mysterio | Rocco Valente | Tampico, Tamaulipas | 10/18/92 | - |
Hair | Rey Mysterio | Tony Arce | Acapulco, Guerrero | 11/6/92 | - |
Mask | Rey Mysterio | El Bandido | Querétaro, Querétaro | 5/28/93 | [193] |
Hair | Rey Mysterio | Vulcano | Monterrey, Nuevo León | 9/11/92 | - |
Mask | Rey Mysterio | Eddie Guerrero | Winston Salem, North Carolina | 9/14/97 | - |
Mask | Rey Mysterio | Misterioso | Tijuana, Baja California | 12/19/97 | - |
Mask | Kevin Nash & Scott Hall | Rey Mysterio & Konnan | Oakland, California | 2/21/99 | [194] |
Mask | Rey Mysterio | Kane | Portland, Oragon | 10/5/08 | - |
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