| Rey Mysterio | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | La Lagartija Verde (The Green Lizard)[1] Colibrí[1] Rey Misterio, Jr.[1] Rey Mysterio, Jr.[1] Rey Mysterio[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 175 lb (79 kg)[2] |
| Born | December 11, 1974 Chula Vista, California[3] |
| Resides | San Diego, California[1] |
| Billed from | San Diego, California |
| Trained by | Rey Misterio, Sr.[1] |
| Debut | April 30, 1989[4] |
Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974)[5] is a Mexican American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Rey Mysterio. He is signed to WWE competing on its Raw brand. Gutiérrez was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio, Sr. and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the Lucha Libre high flying style that has been his trademark.
Gutiérrez originally worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in Mexico, from 1992 to 1995. He wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1996 and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1996 to 2001, as Rey Misterio, Jr./Rey Mysterio, Jr. but dropped the "Junior" from his name when he began working for WWE in 2002.
Mysterio is known for having a high flying style, which helped kick-start the cruiserweight wrestling revolution in the United States in the late 1990s during his time in WCW. In WCW, Mysterio won the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship five times, the WCW World Tag Team Championship three times, and the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship once with Billy Kidman as part of the Filthy Animals. In WWE, Mysterio is a three time world champion having held the World Heavyweight Championship twice, the WWE Championship once and is currently listed as the lightest world champion in WWE history. He has also held the WWE World Cruiserweight Championship three times (a record eight times overall when added with his WCW reigns), the WWE Tag Team Championship four times (also a record—shared with two others), and the WWE Intercontinental Championship twice. All totaled, he has won 21 titles between WWE and WCW. Mysterio was the 21st person to win the WWE Triple Crown Championship, and was the winner of the 2006 Royal Rumble.
Mysterio made his debut in Mexico on April 30, 1989 when he was only 14 years old. He was trained by his uncle Rey Mysterio and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the Lucha Libre high flying style that has been his trademark. He had ring names such as "La Lagartija Verde (The Green Lizard)" and "Colibrí" before his uncle gave him the name of Rey Misterio, Jr./Rey Mysterio, Jr.
In Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), Mysterio feuded with Juventud Guerrera. Mysterio's uncle Misterio, Sr. also took on Juventud in a tag match: Misterio, Sr. and Mysterio, Jr., taking on Juventud and his father Fuerza Guerrera. Mysterio commonly teamed with the similarly undersized high flyer known as Romy "Romeo" Magruder.
Mysterio signed with Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1995.[6] He debuted in September at Gangsta's Paradise, defeating Psicosis, who was also making his ECW debut.[6][7] A feud between the two began, which included a two out of three falls match and a Mexican Death match.[6] Mysterio also had a series of matches with ECW-newcomer Juventud Guerrera during the first half of 1996.[6]
Rey Mysterio, Jr. made his World Championship Wrestling (WCW) debut on June 16, 1996 at The Great American Bash, challenging Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, which Malenko retained by cheating to win. In July at Bash at the Beach, he defeated longtime rival Psicosis in a number one contender's match to earn another opportunity at the Cruiserweight title.[8] The next night, on the July 8 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, he defeated Malenko to win his first Cruiserweight Championship.[9] He reigned as champion for three months, which included title defenses against the likes of Ultimate Dragon, Malenko, and Super Caló before he lost the title to Malenko at Halloween Havoc.[10][11][12][13] Following his Cruiserweight Championship reign, Mysterio challenged Ultimate Dragon for the J-Crown Championship, but was unsuccessful in his title match at World War 3 in November.[14]
In early 1997, he feuded with Prince Iaukea over the WCW World Television Championship. Mysterio was defeated in his title match against Iaukea at SuperBrawl VII after Lord Steven Regal attacked him.[15] Mysterio also lost a championship rematch at Uncensored in March.[16] Mysterio soon began a feud with the New World Order (nWo), which culminated when he lost a Mexican Death match to nWo member Konnan at Road Wild in August. Mysterio then became involved in a feud with his real-life friend and Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero. He defeated Guerrero in a Title vs. Mask match at Halloween Havoc to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the second time.[17] On the November 10, 1997 edition of Nitro, he lost the title back to Guerrero. They had a rematch at World War 3, which Mysterio also lost.[18]
On the January 15, 1998 edition of WCW Thunder, Mysterio defeated Juventud to win his third Cruiserweight Championship, but lost it nine days later to Chris Jericho at Souled Out.[17][19] After the match, Jericho continued the beating by using a toolbox he found at ringside. This storyline was used to cover Mysterio's need for a knee operation that kept him out of the ring for six months. He made his return at Bash at the Beach, where he defeated Jericho for his fourth Cruiserweight championship.[20] The next night, however, the result was overturned and the belt returned to Jericho due to the interference by Dean Malenko.[20] 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 the LWO members, including winning a match against longtime rival and LWO member Psicosis in a match at Road Wild.[21] He, however, was finally forced to join the group after losing a match to Eddie Guerrero. Mysterio's on-and-off tag team partner Billy Kidman joined him during the feud with LWO, wrestling against the LWO despite Mysterio being a part of the group. His alliance with Kidman was formed after Mysterio helped Kidman defeat Juventud for the Cruiserweight Title at World War 3. Mysterio went up against Kidman for the Cruiserweight title at Starrcade 1998 but was unsuccessful winning back the title in a Triangle match that also involved Juventud. Kidman once again defeated Mysterio for the Cruiserweight title at Souled Out 1999 in a Fatal Four-Way match that also included Psicosis and Juventud.[22][23]
In 1999, after the two factions of nWo reformed – nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac – they demanded that the LWO disband. Mysterio refused to take off his LWO colors and was attacked by the nWo as a result. This led to a match at SuperBrawl IX where Mysterio and tag partner Konnan lost a "Hair vs. Mask match" against Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, forcing Mysterio to remove his mask. After the match, he phoned his uncle to tell him the news. Mysterio has publicly expressed his disappointment over being unmasked:
| “ | I was strongly against it! I don't think WCW understood what the mask meant to me, to my fans and to my family. It was a very bad move on their behalf. 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. The same thing happened to Juventud and Psicosis and psychologically wise it was a bad move by Eric Bischoff. I think the fans understand that I was in a position where I had no option. I either had to lose my mask or lose my job.[24] | ” |
Mysterio later became a "giant killer" by defeating large opponents such as Kevin Nash,[25] Bam Bam Bigelow, and Scott Norton.[26] He faced Nash at Uncensored in a match where Lex Luger interfered and helped Nash in winning the match. Although he participated in several notable matches with some of the heavyweight top card wrestlers, it was made very clear to him that he would never receive a push to become a main eventer. This was due to Eric Bischoff utilizing cruiserweights as alternative, mid-card entertainment as opposed to the more conventional style that led WCW programming. As one of the top wrestlers in the cruiserweight division, Mysterio would go on to voice his disdain in regards to not being pushed:
| “ | The division kicked off to a certain point but they never put us on top, and when they unmasked us it all came tumbling down. Those in charge of WCW had the mindset that only big men could draw and didn't create new superstars. But wrestling now has changed so much. Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho have all been world champions, but back in WCW they were mainly cruiserweights. Also the top guys in WCW were scared that fans were more interested in watching luchadore action and high-flying moves than big men just going out there and stomping on each other for 10 minutes. The heavyweights were getting into Eric Bischoff's ear, saying: "We can't let these guys be on top. They're small and wrestling has never been about this, we've got to keep the tradition going." It was stupid for Eric Bischoff, who was running a huge company like WCW, to listen to other people. Vince McMahon runs his own company and does what he wants to do, as did Paul Heyman. Wrestling is about what the fans want, not what the boys want.[24] | ” |
The next night on the March 15 Nitro, he defeated Billy Kidman to win his fourth Cruiserweight Championship.[17] On the March 22 Spring Breakout edition of Nitro, Mysterio got his first shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against champion Ric Flair when the names of (allegedly) nearly everyone in the company were put into a hat and a lottery was held. El Dandy was the lottery winner, but he was injured, and Mysterio took the shot instead. The match ended with a disqualification win for Flair, even though Arn Anderson's interference on Flair's behalf should have theoretically disqualified Flair.[27] The following week, Mysterio and Kidman teamed with each other and defeated Flair's Four Horsemen stablemates Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship,[28] making Mysterio a double champion. Mysterio successfully defended his Cruiserweight Title against his tag team partner Kidman at Spring Stampede[29] before losing the title on the April 19 edition of Nitro to Psicosis in a Fatal Four-Way match that also involved Juventud Guerrera and Blitzkrieg.[30] On the following edition of Nitro, he defeated Psicosis to win his fifth Cruiserweight Championship.[17] At Slamboree, Mysterio and Kidman lost the World Tag Team titles to Raven and Perry Saturn in a Triangle match, also involving former champions Benoit and Malenko.[31]
In the summer of 1999, Mysterio teamed with longtime friend Konnan, becoming members of Master P's No Limit Soldiers, feuding with the West Texas Rednecks. At The Great American Bash, they defeated Rednecks members Curt Hennig and Bobby Duncum, Jr. in a tag team match.[32] At Bash at the Beach, they defeated the Rednecks in a four-on-four Elimination tag team match when Mysterio pinned Hennig.[33] After Master P's departure from WCW, Mysterio formed a stable with Eddie Guerrero and Billy Kidman known as the Filthy Animals.[34] The three wrestlers soon began a feud with the Dead Pool. The Filthy Animals defeated the Dead Pool in a six-man tag team match at Road Wild and at Fall Brawl.[35][36] On the August 19 edition of Thunder, Mysterio lost the Cruiserweight Title to Lenny Lane.[37]
On the October 18 edition of Nitro, Mysterio and Konnan teamed up together (after Konnan joined the Filthy Animals) to defeat Harlem Heat for the World Tag Team Championship.[28] Mysterio, however, 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 the Filthy Animals went on to lose the title back to Harlem Heat.
Mysterio returned in the spring of 2000 and remained a steady performer, eventually joining the New Blood faction in early 2000 opposing the Millionaire's Club.[38] On the August 14 edition of Nitro, Mysterio and Juventud defeated The Great Muta and Vampiro to win the World Tag Team Championship.[39] They were stripped of the title, however, after Ernest Miller pinned Disco Inferno with the stipulation that if he pinned Disco, Mysterio and Guerrera would be stripped of the title. The Filthy Animals then feuded with the Natural Born Thrillers in the fall of the year. At Fall Brawl, the Filthy Animals fought the Thrillers to a no contest in an Elimination tag team match.[40] Mysterio reformed his tag team with Kidman and the two challenged for the World Tag Team Championship in a Triangle match at Halloween Havoc, facing the champions Natural Born Thrillers and the Boogie Knights, where the Thrillers retained.[41]
At the beginning of 2001, the Filthy Animals feuded with Team Canada, to whom they lost in a Penalty Box match at Sin.[42] At SuperBrawl Revenge, Mysterio unsuccessfully challenged Chavo Guerrero, Jr. for the Cruiserweight Title.[43] Kidman and Mysterio participated in a Cruiserweight tag team tournament for the newly created WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship and advanced to the final round where they ended up losing to Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo.[44] On the March 26 (and the final) edition of Nitro, they defeated Skipper and Romeo in a rematch to win the Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles before WCW was sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[45] http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTblp-IhAer1vGs2KvLKVusTLZmSgax8T0arUqKzRBPeJqxJDWZQA
In June 2002, Mysterio signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and promos that hyped his debut began airing. The "Jr." was dropped from his name and was billed simply as Rey Mysterio. Mysterio made his WWE debut on the July 25, 2002 edition of SmackDown! as a fan favorite in a match against Chavo Guerrero, which Mysterio won.[46] He eventually began a feud with Kurt Angle, which culminated in a match at SummerSlam that Angle won after forcing Mysterio to submit to the ankle lock.[47] He later formed a tag team with Edge; the two participated in a tournament for the newly created and SmackDown!-exclusive WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost to Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit in the finals of the tournament at No Mercy;[48] the match was voted match of the year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. After they failed in winning the title, Mysterio and Edge defeated Los Guerreros in a number one contender's match on the October 24 edition of SmackDown! to earn a title shot.[49] On the November 7 edition of SmackDown!, they defeated Angle and Benoit in a two out of three falls match to win their first Tag Team Championship.[50] They soon lost the tag titles to Los Guerreros in a Triple Threat Elimination match that also involved former champions Angle and Benoit at Survivor Series.[51] Shortly after the loss, Mysterio and Edge disbanded as a tag team.
On the March 6, 2003 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio defeated Tajiri and Jamie Noble in a Triple Threat match to earn a shot at the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.[52] At WrestleMania XIX, he challenged the champion, Matt Hardy, for the title but lost after Shannon Moore interfered.[53] On the May 22 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio defeated Shannon Moore and Crash Holly in a Handicap Elimination match to become the number one contender for the Cruiserweight title.[54] On the June 5 edition of SmackDown!, he defeated Hardy to win his sixth Cruiserweight Championship.[55] Mysterio's reign ended when he lost the title to Tajiri on the September 25 edition of SmackDown!.[56]
On the January 1, 2004 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio defeated Tajiri to win his seventh Cruiserweight Championship.[57] After a successful title defense against Jamie Noble at Royal Rumble,[58] Mysterio lost the title to Chavo Guerrero at No Way Out in February.[59] At WrestleMania XX, Mysterio took part in a Cruiserweight Open for the title, but lost as Chavo retained the title.[60] On the June 17 edition of SmackDown!, he defeated Chavo Classic for a record-setting eighth Cruiserweight Championship.[61] He successfully defended the title against Classic's son Chavo Guerrero at The Great American Bash.[62] While Mysterio was Cruiserweight Champion, Spike Dudley turned heel after plowing Mysterio through a table and joined the other Dudleys before winning the Cruiserweight Title from Mysterio on the July 29 edition of SmackDown!.[63] At Survivor Series, he participated in a Fatal Four-Way match for the Cruiserweight Title involving the champion Spike, Chavo Guerrero, and Billy Kidman. Mysterio lost when Dudley pinned Guerrero to retain.[64]
Rey Mysterio had a tag team with Eddie and they were also best friends. After an unsuccessful attempt at regaining the Cruiserweight Title, Mysterio formed a tag team with Rob Van Dam, and went on to win the Tag Team Championship from Kenzo Suzuki and René Dupreé on the December 9 edition of SmackDown!.[65] They successfully defended the title against the former champions at Armageddon,[66] before losing the title to the Basham Brothers on the January 13, 2005 edition of SmackDown! after Van Dam was injured.[67]
Mysterio then teamed up with Eddie Guerrero to win the Tag Team Championship back from the Bashams at No Way Out. During this time Rey had a video camera, which was called the "619 cam", during his entrance he taped members of the audience with this. In a departure from traditional booking, the new champions did not defend their title at WrestleMania 21, but instead had a match against each other which Rey won. Two months later, at ECW One Night Stand, Mysterio faced and defeated long-time rival Psicosis for the first time in nearly five years.
The match at WrestleMania was part of a storyline in which Guerrero turned on Mysterio and beat him up after abandoning him during a match against MNM for the Tag Team Championship. Then after a no disqualification match against Chavo, Eddie came out and slammed Mysterio on the steel steps, displaying Eddie's increasing frustration with being unable to defeat Mysterio. Guerrero and Mysterio continued to feud, with Guerrero threatening to reveal a secret he and Mysterio shared involving Mysterio's real life son Dominik, unless Mysterio deferred to Guerrero's authority. Guerrero later revealed that, in the storyline, he was Dominik's biological father. The storyline went that Guerrero knew Mysterio was having trouble starting his own family, so Guerrero left Dominik as a baby with Mysterio and his wife Angie to raise. In subsequent weeks, Guerrero threatened to take custody of Dominik, drawing up custody papers and having his lawyer present them to Mysterio. At SummerSlam, Mysterio defeated Guerrero in a ladder match for the custody of Dominik. Their feud ended when Guerrero gained a victory over Mysterio in a steel cage match. 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 Guerrero.
Mysterio participated in the main event of Survivor Series 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). After Survivor Series, Mysterio faced Big Show in a match billed as "David vs. Goliath" in a SmackDown! special show. 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 the December 19 edition of SmackDown! to win the Tag Team Championship in a match they both dedicated to Eddie Guerrero. Now the Tag Team Champions, Mysterio and Batista's match with Big Show and Kane was billed as "Champions vs. Champions." At Armageddon, Mysterio and Batista lost this "Raw vs. SmackDown!" match when Kane pinned Mysterio after a chokeslam. On the December 30 edition of SmackDown!, MNM invoked their rematch clause, defeating Batista and Mysterio with help from Mark Henry to regain the Tag Team Championship. Mysterio and Batista lost a Steel Cage match in an effort to reclaim the titles the following week, again courtesy of interference by Henry. On the January 10, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, Mysterio was involved in a 20 man battle royal for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. He was eliminated by Mark Henry, Kurt Angle eliminating Henry to win the World Heavyweight title.
At the 2006 Royal Rumble match, Mysterio entered as the number 2 entry. He would go on to win the match and earn a world title shot, last eliminating Randy Orton, he lasted 62 minutes making him the person to last longer in the Royal Rumble.[68] Orton urged him to put the title shot at stake in a match at No Way Out.[69] In the weeks preceding No Way Out, Orton made disparaging remarks about Eddie Guerrero. Many fans felt the comments were unwarranted and highly distasteful so soon after Guerrero's death in November 2005.[70][71][72] Orton won at No Way Out, earning Mysterio's title shot for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22.[73] General Manager Theodore Long re-added Mysterio to the WrestleMania 22 title match, however, making it a Triple Threat match between Orton, Mysterio, and then-champion, Kurt Angle.[74] At Wrestlemania 22, Mysterio pinned Randy Orton to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. On the April 7 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio – who was billed as being an "underdog champion", made his first successful World Heavyweight title defense against Randy Orton.[75] Mysterio went on to retain his title again during a WrestleMania rematch on SmackDown! against Kurt Angle, three weeks later.[76] 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. The rivalry kicked off after JBL stated he deserved the World Heavyweight title during his celebration of becoming the U.S. Champion.[77] 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.[78] Mysterio was defeated by Mark Henry and The Great Khali in separate non-title matches before wrestling Kane to a "no contest";[78][79][80] Mysterio retained his title against JBL at Judgement Day.[81] The feud intensified when JBL lost the U.S. Title to Bobby Lashley five days later on SmackDown! after being tricked by Mysterio to take on all comers like he himself had.[82] This led JBL to vow that if he did not win his rematch against Mysterio, he would quit SmackDown!.[82] In the main event of the evening, Mysterio retained the World Heavyweight Championship, causing JBL to leave SmackDown!, until ECW One Night Stand, when JBL announced he would return as a color commentator.[82][83]
It was revealed that Mysterio would have to defend his title against ECW wrestler Sabu at One Night Stand.[84] In the weeks leading up to his title defense, Mysterio defeated Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms in a Champion vs. Champion match but was defeated by Rob Van Dam at WWE vs. ECW Head to Head on June 7.[85][86] At One Night Stand, Mysterio retained his title in a match after he and Sabu were ruled unable to continue following a triple jump DDT through a table from Sabu. Mysterio then retained his title against Mark Henry, winning by disqualification after Chavo Guerrero handed Henry a chair and Mysterio acted as if he was hit, thus Guerrero stole a trick from his uncle Eddie Guerrero.[83]
Mysterio began a feud with King Booker after Booker won a battle royal to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.[87] Booker attacked Mysterio from behind backstage with the help of Booker's wife Queen Sharmell.[88] The next week on SmackDown!, Mysterio gained revenge by attacking Booker and his "court".[88] This rivalry continued for several weeks and saw Mysterio defeating Booker's court member William Regal on an edition of SmackDown!, moments before attacking the challenger and hitting him with a 619 around the steel post.[88]
At The Great American Bash, Mysterio lost the World Heavyweight Championship after Chavo Guerrero turned on Mysterio and hit him with a steel chair, thus Chavo turned heel once again. Chavo cost Mysterio his rematch the following week. This culminated in a match at Summerslam where Mysterio lost to Guerrero after Vickie Guerrero tried to stop both men from fighting but accidentally knocked Mysterio off the top turnbuckle. Vickie then along with Chavo turned on Mysterio after she hit him in the back with a steel chair, thus, siding with Guerrero. Mysterio then defeated Guerrero in a Falls Count Anywhere match at No Mercy.[89][90] Subsequently Guerrero challenged Mysterio to an "I Quit" match.[91] In that match, Chavo injured Mysterio's knee, using the match to write Mysterio out of the storyline for a while to get knee surgery.[92]
Mysterio made his in-ring return at SummerSlam, defeating Guerrero with the 619, after Guerrero obsessed over Mysterio's return as well as wanting to injure Mysterio again.[93]
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.[94] On the September 7 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio had an "I Quit" match with Chavo Guerrero,[95] which he won after hitting Guerrero's knee with a chair repeatedly in a similar manner to which Mysterio had been put out of action.[95] 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 also involving Batista, but was unsuccessful in recapturing the title.[96]
Mysterio then began a feud with Finlay, an opponent chosen by JBL.[97] 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 Mysterio.[98] On October 28, after fighting to a "no contest" at No Mercy,[99] followed by a double-disqualification in a number one contender's match for Batista's World Heavyweight title on the next SmackDown![100] (The Undertaker would succeed the pair), he defeated Finlay in a Stretcher match at Cyber Sunday.[101] During this feud, he conceded one match to Finlay on an episode of SmackDown! and was part of the winning team at Survivor Series which consisted of both wrestlers on opposing sides (although Mysterio was second to be eliminated). The rivalry ended after Survivor Series as Finlay turned face. At Tribute to the Troops 2007, Rey Mysterio faced and defeated former rival Mark Henry.[102][103][104]
He re-entered the world title picture when he emerged victorious in the Beat the Clock challenge for the chance to face the World Heavyweight Champion Edge at Royal Rumble.[105] However, he was unsuccessful in winning the championship.[106] WWE.com announced on February 14 that Mysterio suffered a biceps injury during an overseas tour.[107] Despite the injury, Mysterio faced Edge for the title again at No Way Out.[107] On the February 22 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio announced that his injury would keep him out of action for at least six months, and he eventually underwent three surgeries within the space of a month.[108][109]
Mysterio made his return on the June 23 episode of Raw, as Mysterio was the first wrestler to be drafted in the 2008 WWE Draft from the SmackDown brand to the Raw brand.[110] 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.[111] Mysterio made his Raw in-ring debut the next week, pinning Marella after a 619.[112] General Manager Mike Adamle announced that John Cena was injured and that his replacement in the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven was Mysterio. The next week, Mysterio made his return to Raw after an extended absence by attacking Kane, turning back numerous claims that Kane had "ended his career".[113] Mysterio then made his in-ring return at Unforgiven, competing in the Raw Championship scramble match. Mysterio began a feud with Kane next which lasted until Survivor Series. Kane called Mysterio a coward who hides behind a mask. As a result, Mysterio put his mask on the line against Kane at No Mercy, Mysterio won the match via disqualification after Kane hit Mysterio with a steel chair. Kane and Mysterio were once again booked in a No Holds Barred match at Cyber Sunday, Mysterio defeated Kane. The next night on Raw, Mysterio faced off against Evan Bourne in which Mysterio became victorious. After the match, he and Bourne were attacked by Kane and Mark Henry. Few weeks later, Rey Mysterio teamed up with Kofi Kingston in a losing effort against Kane and Henry, Kane once again made an attempt to attack Mysterio but he was saved by The Great Khali. At Survivor Series 2008, Team HBK which consisted of Shawn Michaels (the team captain), Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali and Cryme Tyme (JTG & Shad) defeated Team JBL (John Bradshaw Layfield, Kane, Montel Vontavious Porter, John Morrison & The Miz), thus ending the feud between Kane and Mysterio. He would shortly participate in an Intercontinental Championship tournament to determine the No.1 Contender for the William Regal's championship. Mysterio defeated The Miz and Kofi Kingston to advance to the finals of the tournament but ended up losing to CM Punk at Armageddon. Mysterio participated in the 2009 Royal Rumble match where he entered at the No.1 position. He spent 49 minutes and 24 seconds in the match before being eliminated by the No.30 and final entrant Big Show. He qualified for Elimination Chamber spot the next night for the World Heavyweight Championship. He started at the No.1 position and survived to the final two before being eliminated by the winner Edge who attacked the original participant Kofi Kingston before and replaced him.[114] Later, Mysterio accepted John "Bradshaw" Layfield's (JBL) challenge for Layfield's Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XXV, which Mysterio won in 21 seconds.[115] With this win, Mysterio became the twenty first Triple Crown Champion in WWE history.
Mysterio was drafted back to SmackDown! during the 2009 WWE Draft on the April 13 episode of Raw, in the process making the Intercontinental Title exclusive to SmackDown for the first time since mid-2002.[116]
He then began a long-time feud with Chris Jericho, resulting in Mysterio defending and retaining his title at Judgment Day. At Extreme Rules, Jericho managed to unmask Mysterio and pin him for the Intercontinental Championship, however his face was never shown, as he covered it. As a result, Mysterio and Jericho were booked in a Title vs. Mask match at The Bash, in which Mysterio was victorious after tricking Jericho with a second mask. On the July 10, edition of Smackdown, following a successful title defense against Chris Jericho, Mysterio was attacked by Dolph Ziggler. This began a rivalry between the two which culminated in a title match at Night of Champions where Mysterio retained. Mysterio once again defeated Ziggler to retain the Intercontinental title at Summerslam. On August 2, WWE announced that Mysterio would be suspended for 30 days, effective September 2, for violating the company's Wellness Policy.[117] In an interview with Mexican newspaper Record, Mysterio stated that he was suspended for a drug he was using for his knee and arm.[117] Mysterio stated that he had a prescription for the drug, but was unable to produce it in time to prevent his suspension due to being on vacation and doing a promotional tour.[117] On the September 4 episode of SmackDown (taped on September 1), Mysterio lost the Intercontinental Championship to John Morrison.
Mysterio returned from his suspension at Hell in a Cell to face Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and Big Show) for the Unified Tag Team Championships with former tag team partner Batista, but they failed to win the title after Mysterio was pinned by Big Show.[118] At WWE Bragging Rights, Mysterio was unsuccessful in winning the World Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal Four-Way match including Batista, CM Punk, and then-champion The Undertaker. During the match, Mysterio broke up Batista's pin on Undertaker possibly costing him the match and the title. After the match, Batista turned heel by attacking Mysterio.[119] Mysterio faced Batista at Survivor Series where Batista delivered three Batista Bombs on Mysterio leading to the referee stopping the match.[120] Mysterio was defeated by Batista again in a street fight on the 11th December episode of SmackDown.[121] A few weeks later Mysterio defeated Batista to be named the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.[122] Mysterio's title match against The Undertaker ended as a no-contest after interference from Batista.[123] On January 1, 2010 Mysterio participated in a Beat the Clock Tournament for the #1 contendership of The Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship at Royal Rumble. In the tournament, he defeated his former rival Chris Jericho, beating CM Punk's time. During Batista's "Beat the Clock" challenge against R-Truth, Batista was about to beat Mysterio's time, but Mysterio pulled the referee out of the ring during a pinfall as time ran out, costing Batista the tournament. Later it was announced that Mysterio and Batista would face each other the following week to decide the Number #1 Contender. However, this match also ended in a no-contest, following interference from the Undertaker.[124][125] The following week in a rematch, Mysterio managed to win the title shot for the championship by defeating Batista in a Steel Cage match. At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker successfully defended the championship against Mysterio.
Following the Rumble, Mysterio qualified for an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. In the weeks leading up to the Elimination Chamber, Mysterio began a feud with CM Punk that also involved Punk's Straight Edge Society. During the Elimination Chamber match, Mysterio eliminated Punk, but was ultimately eliminated by John Morrison. In the weeks following the Elimination Chamber event, Mysterio would continue to get the better of CM Punk, costing him a Money in the Bank qualifying match and defeating SES member Luke Gallows. During the on-screen celebration of Mysterio's daughter's ninth birthday, Punk interrupted, taunting Mysterio and challenging him to a match at WrestleMania XXVI. Mysterio later accepted the challenge. Punk later added the stipulation that if Mysterio were to lose at WrestleMania, he would be forced to join the SES. However Mysterio successfully defeated Punk at WrestleMania. Five days later on SmackDown, Punk challenged Mysterio to another match at Extreme Rules, with the stipulation that if Mysterio won, Punk would have his head shaved bald. At Extreme Rules, Mysterio lost to Punk. At Over the Limit, Mysterio faced CM Punk again with both previous stipulations in place (Mysterio's allegiance to The SES vs Punk's hair.) Mysterio defeated Punk, resulting in Punk's hair being shaved.[126]
On the May 28 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio fought The Undertaker unsuccessfully, to qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship title match at Fatal 4-Way but in the process, accidentally injured the Undertaker and took him out of the competition. On June 4, 2010, Mysterio won a Battle Royal involving the whole SmackDown roster by lastly eliminating Kane to earn The Undertaker's vacated spot, joining then-champion Jack Swagger, Big Show, and CM Punk at the pay-per-view. At Fatal 4 Way, Mysterio defeated Big Show, CM Punk and Jack Swagger to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time in his career. For the next month, Swagger continuously assaulted Mysterio using his ankle lock. At Money in the Bank, Mysterio successfully defeated Swagger to retain the World title, however Swagger continued attacking the ankle after the match until Kane, who had earlier won the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match, came to the ring to chase Swagger away, seemingly to protect Mysterio. However, Kane returned with a referee and cashed in his title shot, quickly defeating Mysterio to win the World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 20 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio defeated Swagger in a 2 out of 3 falls match to remain the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, earning a title match against Kane at SummerSlam. However, during the weeks before SummerSlam, Kane had marked Mysterio as the one who had attacked The Undertaker putting him in a vegetative state (which was a storyline put in place to explain Undertaker's absence due to the injury he had sustained against Mysterio in the Fatal Four Way qualifying match). Mysterio retaliated by saying that Kane was the true culprit. After the match at SummerSlam, which Mysterio ultimately lost, Kane had attempted to put Mysterio in a casket, only for The Undertaker to emerge from the casket. Mysterio ended up clearing his name The Undertaker revealed Kane to be the real attacker.
On the August 20 edition of SmackDown, he lost via submission to the debuting Alberto Del Rio.[127] On the August 27 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio lost a No Disqualification match to Kane, and afterwards was attacked by Alberto Del Rio on his injured left arm, sparking a feud between the two.[128] Mysterio returned on the first episode of SmackDown on Syfy and confronted Alberto Del Rio. After Del Rio escaped the ring, he hit his personal ring announcer with a 619. On the October 8 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio defeated Del Rio, and thus ending his undefeated streak.[129] At Bragging Rights, Mysterio represented Team SmackDown, and despite an attack by fellow teammate Del Rio, he and Edge managed to defeat the rest of Team Raw, giving Team SmackDown the victory. At Survivor Series, Mysterio led a team consisting of himself, Big Show, Chris Masters, MVP and Kofi Kingston to defeat Team Del Rio ( Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, and Cody Rhodes). At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010), Mysterio participated in a fatal four way match for the World Heavyweight title against Kane, Edge and Del Rio, in a losing effort as Edge won the match to become the new champion. Mysterio would continue his feud with Del Rio which culminated on the January 7, 2011 edition of SmackDown in a 2 out of 3 falls match, which Del Rio ultimately won by countout due to interference from his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, ending the feud.
On the January 21 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio defeated Cody Rhodes. During the match, he also broke Rhodes' nose when he hit Rhodes with a 619 with his exposed knee brace, causing Rhodes to miss the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber pay-per-views, thus sparking a feud. Mysterio participated in in the Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble, though he was eliminated by Wade Barrett. The match would later be won by his rival, Alberto Del Rio. Five days later on SmackDown, Mysterio qualified for a spot in the Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view for the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Jack Swagger. At the event he made it to the final two but was finally eliminated by Edge.[130] On the February 25 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio was tricked and attacked by Cody Rhodes and his father, Dusty Rhodes, resulting in Mysterio being unmasked by Rhodes. Mysterio accepted Rhodes' challenge to a match at WrestleMania XXVII, but was defeated by Rhodes. On the April 23 edition of Smackdown Mysterio defeated Rhodes in a rematch. Mysterio's feud with Rhodes ended at Extreme Rules when Mysterio defeated Rhodes in a Falls Count Anywhere match.[131]
In the 2011 WWE Draft, Mysterio was drafted to Raw. On the May 9 edition of Raw, Mysterio lost a Triple Threat match to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship. Following the match, Mysterio was attacked by R-Truth[132] which led to a match between the two at Over the Limit, which R-Truth won.[133] From May, Rey Mysterio started feuding with CM Punk, with the pair exchanging victories on successive episodes of Raw.[134] Their feud ended at WWE Capitol Punishment when Punk beat Mysterio. Rey Mysterio failed to capture the Raw Money In The Bank briefcase, eventually the match was won by Alberto Del Rio by unmasking Mysterio as a distraction. Mysterio advanced to the finals of a one night tournament on the July 18 edition of Raw, which culminated into a match between The Miz and Mysterio for the WWE Championship. The following week, Mysterio defeated Miz to win his first ever WWE Championship, nine years to the day of his WWE debut, also becoming a three-time world champion. Later that night, John Cena defeated Mysterio to become WWE Champion. On the August 8, 2011 edition of Raw, Mysterio was brutally attacked by The Miz, leaving him with a storylined injury. At SummerSlam 2011, Mysterio competed in a six man tag-team match with Kofi Kingston and John Morrison to defeat The Miz, Alberto del Rio and R-Truth. The following night on Raw, Rey Mysterio was unsuccessful in his WWE Title rematch against Alberto Del Rio.[135]
Mysterio suffered an in-ring injury at a house show but was written out-of-action with an injury inflicted by Alberto Del Rio following a match.[136]
Rey Mysterio returned at the Slammy Awards to present the Superstar of the Year Award which was won by CM Punk, but due to injury, was accepted by Interim Raw GM John Laurinaitis.
Mysterio has been a subject of several DVDs during his wrestling career, including "Rey Mysterio: 619", a documentary of Rey's career and personal life, which was released on DVD and VHS. The DVD featured ten additional matches and other special features, and was released in 2003. WWE also produced "Rey Mysterio: The Biggest Little Man", a three disc set featuring Rey's best matches. Rey also shares his thoughts about the matches he's had and the feuds that he's been in, the DVD was released on October 23, 2007. He was also featured on the DVD "Before They Were Wrestling Stars: Rey Mysterio Jr" in 2007 which featured matches from his time in Mexico.
In the UK, Silver Vision released a Rey Mysterio DVD as part of their Best of WWE collection. This featured his matches from SummerSlam 2005, Wrestlemania 22, No Mercy 2006, and SummerSlam 2007.[137]
On July 12, 2011, WWE released Rey Mysterio: The Life of a Masked Man, a three disc set which is presented by Matt Striker, the DVD includes exclusive interviews with Rey and over two dozen of his past matches.
Mysterio and his wife Angie have three children.[138] He has tattoos of his two oldest children's names on his right and left biceps. He also has tattoos dedicated to his wife, Angie.[139]
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 Mysterio who was alleged to have obtained nandrolone and stanozolol.[140] WWE subsequently stated that the allegations preceded the Talent Wellness program WWE launched in February 2006.[141] On August 27, 2009, WWE announced that Gutiérrez would receive a 30 day suspension due to a violation of the wellness program.[117] Days later Gutiérrez defended himself in a newspaper interview by explaining the drugs as being on a prescription for his knee and arm. While the Wellness Policy allows for prescribed drugs, Mysterio further contested he had been on a family holiday and subsequently in Europe promoting SummerSlam, giving him only a day to provide the prescription after being notified.[142]
He is a devoted Roman Catholic, frequently crossing himself before every match and bearing numerous religious tattoos on his body, most notably a cross on his chest attached to rosaries as well as other crosses and allusions to God.[139] Gutiérrez is friends with Noah "Wuv" Bernardo of P.O.D., who performed the original version of Booyaka along with Mysterio, and several other of Mysterio's themes in WCW again.
| Wager | Winner | Loser | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mask | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Mr. Cóndor | Acapulco, Guerrero | August 14, 1992 | [158] |
| Hair | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Rocco Valente | Tampico, Tamaulipas | October 18, 1992 | [158] |
| Hair | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Tony Arce | Acapulco, Guerrero | November 6, 1992 | [158] |
| Mask | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | El Bandido | Querétaro, Querétaro | May 28, 1993 | [Note 1][158] |
| Hair | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Vulcano | Monterrey, Nuevo León | September 11, 1993 | [158] |
| Mask | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Misterioso | Tijuana, Baja California | December 19, 1996 | [158][159] |
| Mask | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Eddie Guerrero | Las Vegas, Nevada | October 26, 1997 | [Note 2][158] |
| Mask | Kevin Nash and Scott Hall | Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Konnan | Oakland, California | February 21, 1999 | [Note 3][158] |
| Custody of Dominic | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Eddie Guerrero | Washington D.C | August 21, 2005 | |
| Title | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | Chris Jericho | Sacramento, California | June 28, 2009 | |
| Hair | Rey Mysterio, Jr. | CM Punk | Detroit, Michigan | May 23, 2010 | [Note 5] |