WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio recently reflected on the first time he was unmasked, which happened during his WCW run.
While speaking to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Rey Mysterio looked back on his unmasking in WCW in 1999. He revealed that he and Konnan fought with Eric Bischoff to prevent it.
“My god, that was one of the conversations that we battled for it not to happen,” Rey Mysterio. “And not just me, Konnan was probably the first one that said no you don’t understand there’s a history here. Not just the history, but the fact that Rey is marketable with the mask, like the kids.
“And I wish that WCW would have known how to market the character of Rey Mysterio. It’s something that maybe at the time, because there was so much going on and so many big names, I was nobody back then, I was just given an opportunity. But I truly believe that at the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and it didn’t happen in WCW because it wasn’t meant to be.”
Rey Mysterio on his initial run in WWE
In the same interview, the WWE Hall of Famer also recalled getting signed by WWE for the first time.
“As soon as I came to WWE everything just started happening. Funny thing is that when I got signed by WWE, I remember going to OVW training a week prior to my debut. Somebody came up and asked me Rey, they’re asking what outfit Are you planning to use on your debut? I said while I was thinking of using this right here, and they were like, What about the mask? I said I’m not wearing a mask, I don’t wear a mask anymore. They go no no, no. Vince wants you to come back with the mask.
“So my idea was already taken. ‘Okay, I’m gonna come back with the baggy pants, the horns that I was wearing at the time.’ And they’re like, ‘No, no, no, we want the old Rey Mysterio.’ So right then and there I thought, ‘Okay, this is now the time to just kick it back in gear and then start moving forward. I guess they probably subconsciously thought well, he’s gonna come back with the mask. But at the time I was wrestling without it. So I kind of started getting used to not using the mask for a while,” Rey Mysterio said.
What are your thoughts on Rey Mysterio removing his mask?
