M&F is in Los Angeles masking all of the motion and pleasure of WrestleMania 39 week in Hollywood and with Friday’s WWE Hall of Fame induction lower than 24 hours away, we felt it solely proper to have a good time one of the crucial iconic figures and inductees in professional wrestling historical past: Rey Mysterio Jr!
When Mysterio gained the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22, he actually did obtain the unthinkable. If you recall (and who doesn’t) the WWE was as soon as a spot the place giants reigned supreme. Especially within the Nineteen Eighties, when the promotion first discovered international success, man mountains like Hulk Hogan, King Kong Bundy, the Ultimate Warrior and naturally, Andre “The Giant” himself have been the kind of grapplers that discovered a seemingly unshakeable footing on the very prime of the cardboard.
In time, with these pillars of the principle occasion both passing their prime within the ring or falling foul of firm administration for a wide range of totally different causes, the early nineties served to usher in a brand new era of smaller in stature, however equally large in coronary heart performers.
Bret “Hitman” Hart’s work ethic and plain storytelling, whereas weighing comparatively lower than his larger-than-life predecessors at 235 kilos, proved that the evolving “sports entertainment” viewers wished athleticism and technical ability to go together with their muscle repair. And, because of Hart’s shattering of the glass ceiling, by the mid-’90s, Shawn Michaels was capable of comply with swimsuit, toppling “The Hitman” whereas weighing in at 235 kilos.
Progress was undoubtedly being made for the smaller man, besides, the concept a high-flying luchador may comply with swimsuit appeared prefer it is likely to be a step too far for the bodybuilding fanatic, and supreme choice maker: Vince McMahon. It would take some large shifts within the professional wrestling universe for perceptions to vary. But change they did.
Rey Mysterio’s Performances Influenced ECW, WCW, and WWE
With WWE’s “New Generation Era” starting to lose viewers within the latter half of the nineties to the then edgier rival; World Championship Wrestling, there was a 3rd, smaller, wrestling promotion primarily based out of Philadelphia that was extra innovative than each of these greater promotions mixed. Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling didn’t constrain itself with conventional “wrasslin” traditions just like the observe of utilizing lighter guys as fodder to be squashed by the larger marquee expertise. Instead, ECW centered on a full throttle, balls to the wall type, that went on to affect WWE’s a lot heralded comeback with its “Attitude Era.”
Few true wrestling aficionados can low cost Rey Mysterio’s affect throughout this era. First there have been these basic confrontations with Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis in ECW, then got here his superlative cruiserweight performances on WCW’s “Monday Nitro” present after signing with WWE’s greatest menace — serving to Nitro to trounce WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” within the rankings for 83 weeks straight. Then, when WWE lastly rebounded and put their competitors out of enterprise, Mysterio was signed to Vince McMahon’s group and made a splash there.
The “Attitude Era” viewers was chomping on the bit to see someone recent like Mysterio shake up the established order and win wrestling greatest prize, and people prayers have been answered when he gained the 2006 Royal Rumble and earned himself a profitable shot on the gold in a triple menace match in Madison Square Garden. On that fateful evening, Mysterio had already cemented his legacy as a future WWE Hall of Famer. And but right here we’re, almost twenty years on from that groundbreaking win, and this superhero in human type remains to be enthralling followers with a few of his most emotional moments but.
Mysterio grew to become an plain champion as a result of he’s relatable as an underdog, however he’s additionally been one of many persistently hardest staff within the mat recreation. “Rey Rey’s” enduring recognition has re-written the components of wrestling bosses reserving their winners and losers primarily based on measurement. And, after speaking to his friends right here in Hollywood, there’s no scarcity of affection for him within the WWE locker room.
The WWE Locker Room is Excited for Rey Mysterio to Go into the WWE Hall of Fame
“I think he should have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago,” says NXT Superstar Alba Fyre, who explains that for her, Rey Mysterio introduced escapism and pleasure to her tv display screen as a child, making her need to comply with in his footsteps. Fyre’s tag workforce companion Isla Dawn couldn’t agree extra. “For me, he was just one of the people that I wanted to be,” she says. “Me and my sisters would go into the back garden and play wrestle and argue about who would play the part of Rey!” No doubt, this workforce will channel Mysterio’s vitality and pleasure after they head to NXT Stand & Deliver of their quest to change into tag workforce champions.
It’s not simply up and coming WWE Superstars that respect the person. Even athletes that got here from totally different circles to him can nonetheless recognize his artwork. “I think the thing that people forget about the lucha style is that they have really technical stuff,” says Shayna Baszler, who got here to professional wrestling from the world of MMA and has a deep respect for Myseterio. “In the back, talking to Rey about some of that is something people probably wouldn’t expect.”
Of course, at WrestleMania, Rey Mysterio is about to wrestle his son Dominik. While the 2 will go to battle on display screen, it’s truthful to say that he has change into a terrific mentor to his personal subsequent era behind the scenes. Mysterio’s unselfishness in honoring his legacy whereas sharing his success with others just isn’t misplaced on Santos Escobar and the Legado Del Fantasma secure. “We respect Rey. We admire Rey. And now we protect Rey” says Escobar. “If you talk about big or small, he’s the smallest of them all, but he’s a giant. His heart, huge. His talent even bigger than that. You can’t ignore that.” Mysterio has unquestionably opened the door for others to comply with. “So, when I got here (WWE) the first thing was, I don’t wanna be like the American superstars. I don’t wanna be like, with all due respect, the Hulk Hogan’s. I don’t wanna be like The Rock. I don’t wanna be like the John Cena’s.”
Wouldn’t all of us need to step inside Rey Mysterio’s excessive flying footwear for the day? Watch Rey Mysterio’s WWE Hall of Fame induction March 31 on Peacock within the United States and WWE Network in all places else.