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Rey Mysterio

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For his uncle, the original Rey Misterio, see Rey Misterio, Sr.
Rey Mysterio
Born (1974-12-11) December 11, 1974 (age 49)
San Diego, California California
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Colibrí
Rey Mysterio, Jr.
Rey Misterio, Jr.
Super Niño
Rey Mysterio
Billed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Billed weight[undue weight?discuss]
Trained byRey Misterio, Sr.
DebutApril 30, 1989

Óscar Gutiérrez[1] (born December 11, 1974), better known by the ring name Rey Misterio, Jr. or Rey Mysterio, is a Mexican - American professional wrestler signed to World Wrestling Entertainment currently appearing on its SmackDown! brand.

Mysterio is known for having high flying style, which helped kick-start the cruiserweight revolution in the United States of America in the late 1990s - during his time in World Championship Wrestling.

Career

Born in San Diego, California, Gutiérrez trained for professional wrestling with his Uncle, Rey Misterio, Sr.. He debuted as a wrestler on April 30, 1989 at the age of 14 in a small church in Tijuana, Mexico. Technically, he was too young to receive a license, but enforcement was generally low.[citation needed] He began a feud with Psicosis (who had also been trained by Rey Misterio, Sr.) using the ring name Colibrí (Spanish for hummingbird). The feud lasted several years, continuing even after Gutiérrez's career moved to the U.S.

When Gutiérrez 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 Misterio Jr. and Sr. taking on Juventud and his father, Fuerza Guerrera.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

In 1995, Mysterio defeated Psicosis during their debut match on Extreme Championship Wrestling . This match was their first real impact in American professional wrestling - although they had previously been seen on the World Championship Wrestling promoted When Worlds Collide pay-per-view. Mysterio, along with a number of other luchadores, became a featured attraction in ECW. Mysterio later appeared at both of the WWE-promoted ECW One Night Stand reunion shows.

World Championship Wrestling

Mysterio went on to gain fame in World Championship Wrestling in 1996, where he was the flagship of the new "Cruiserweight Revolution" in the United States. His last name was changed to 'Mysterio' to be further marketed as a 'Mystery man'. Mysterio had many famous matches with Ultimo Dragon, Dean Malenko, Psicosis, Eddie Guerrero, and Juventud Guerrera. He would go on to hold the WCW Cruiserweight Championship five times.

Cruiserweight Division

Mysterio quickly made an impact in WCW with his first Cruiserweight title reign. In October 1997, at Halloween Havoc, Mysterio won his second Cruiserweight Championship from real-life friend Eddie Guerrero in a "title vs. mask" match. The match was so highly acclaimed for its utter fluency and technicality that it was voted Match of the Year. At this point, Mysterio was a staple of WCW's roster.

After much feuding, Mysterio would lose the Cruiserweight title to Chris Jericho at WCW/nWo Souled Out on January 24, 1998. After the match, Jericho continued the beating using a toolbox found at ringside. This would put Mysterio on the sidelines for six months before making his return at Bash at the Beach 1998 where he defeated Chris Jericho for the championship. The next night however, the result was overturned and the belt returned to Jericho due to the interference of Dean Malenko.

In 1998, Eddie Guerrero formed a stable known as the Latino World Order (a spin off of New World Order) that included nearly every luchador in the promotion. Mysterio continually refused to join. He was finally forced to join after losing a match to Eddie Guerrero. As the two factions of nWo reformed - nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac - they demanded the LWO's disbanding. Mysterio refused to take off his LWO colors and got beaten down as a result.

Mask Removal

At Superbrawl IX Mysterio,alongside with Konnan would lose a tag team "hair vs. mask match" against the The Outsiders forcing Mysterio to remove his trademark mask. Despite the removal of his mask, Mysterio remained one of the company's most popular superstars.

Mysterio would later become a "giant killer" by scoring upset victories over towering, powerhouse performers like Kevin Nash, Bam Bam Bigelow, The Giant, and Scott Norton. He would also begin a successful tag team with Billy Kidman and join Master P's No Limit Soldiers. After Master P's departure from WCW, a new stable known as the Filthy Animals formed including Konnan, Eddie Guerrero, Kidman, and Mysterio.

Main Eventer

On a 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro a raffle was conducted to decide the challenger for Ric Flair's WCW World title.[citation needed] El Dandy was drawn, but he gave the shot to Mysterio due to an injury he had suffered earlier in the show. Mysterio would win the match via DQ.

Mysterio remained a steady performer, and eventually joined the New Blood faction in early 2000 opposing the "Millionaires Club." Throughout WCW's final months Mysterio and Kidman would then feud with tag teams such as Misfits in Action and Team Canada. Together, they would win the new WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles on the final edition of Monday Nitro before WCW was sold to the WWF in 2001. This would be Mysterio's last TV appearance for over a year.

World Wrestling Entertainment

In 2002, Rey signed with the WWE, and promos began hyping his debut. Vince McMahon 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 regain it (unless they comes back as a different character). Mysterio began his WWE career on SmackDown! as a babyface and feuded with Kurt Angle.

Rey later won the WWE Tag Team Championship with Edge but soon after they lost the titles they stopped tagging together. At WrestleMania XIX Rey challenged Matt Hardy for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship but was unsuccessful after interference by Shannon Moore. Mysterio finally beat Hardy for the title in a match on Smackdown that took place in Anaheim, CA. He later lost the title to Tajiri. Rey later began to feud with Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and his father over the Cruiserweight Championship. During this time, Mysterio teamed on occasion with Rob Van Dam, or Spike Dudley to face off against the Dudley Boyz, and went for the WWE Championship at one stage after winning a gauntlet match to get a shot at the title on the SmackDown after WrestleMania XX. But he lost the match (against Eddie Guerrero who was then the WWE Champion).

However, while Rey Mysterio was Cruiserweight Champion, Spike Dudley turned heel and joined with the other Dudleys before soon taking the Cruiserweight title from Mysterio.

Rey continued to team with Rob Van Dam, and before long the team won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Kenzo Suzuki and René Dupreé. During their title reign, RVD got injured and the team lost the titles to The Basham Brothers. Rey would team up with Eddie Guerrero to win the titles back from the Bashams at WWE No Way Out 2005. 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 . This led to a storyline in which Guerrero turned heel due to being frustrated that he could not beat Mysterio. Guerrero and Rey continued to feud, with Guerrero threatening to reveal a secret he and Rey shared involving Rey's son, Dominic. He threatened to go public with the secret unless Rey deferred to Gurerrero's authority. Guerrero later revealed that he was Dominic's (kayfabe) biological father, giving reason that Rey "fired a lot of blanks".

The storyline went that Guerrero knew Rey was having trouble starting his own family, so Guerrero left Dominic with Rey 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. At SummerSlam 2005, Rey defeated Guerrero in a Ladder match for the custody of Dominic. Rey then became engaged in a brief feud with John "Bradshaw" Layfield with JBL eventually coming out the victor at No Mercy 2005. Rey also debuted a reggaeton entrance song called Booyaka 619 due to a lawsuit filed against the WWE for producing the lyrics "U cant remove tha mask cuz im kickin yo ass" and "I make u wanna tap wit yo bitch on my lap".[citation needed]

On November 13, 2005, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota by hotel security and Chavo Guerrero. 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 the same 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 through which Mysterio, along with friends Chris Benoit and Chavo Guerrero, to dedicated their victories to Eddie either by word or by using his moves during his matches; Eddie chants continue to follow Rey and Chavo Guerrero in their matches for a few months.

SmackDown! vs RAW

Mysterio participated in the main event of Survivor Series (2005) as part of Team SmackDown! along with Randy Orton, (Eddie Guerrero's replacement), Bobby Lashley, Batista and JBL who defeated Team RAW (Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Big Show, Carlito, and Chris Masters). On the Tuesday after Survivor Series, Mysterio faced The Big Show from Raw, 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 Kane and The Big Show in a tag match at Armageddon 2005.

Before Armageddon, Batista and Mysterio defeated MNM to become SmackDown!'s new WWE Tag Team Champions,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. Mysterio and Batista lost this RAW vs SmackDown! match when Kane pinned Mysterio after a chokeslam.

On the December 30, 2005 edition of SmackDown!, MNM invoked their rematch clause, defeating Batista and Mysterio with help from the returning Mark Henry to regain the WWE Tag Team Championship.

Road to WrestleMania 22

On January 29, 2006 Rey Mysterio competed in the Royal Rumble, entering in the number 2 position and later eliminating Randy Orton to win the match. By winning the Royal Rumble, Mysterio earned a World Heavyweight title shot at that years WrestleMania 22. By lasting over 62 minutes in the match, Mysterio also set a Royal Rumble record for longevity.

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 of Eddie Guerrero.

During the February 3, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, an upset Randy Orton interrupted Mysterio's victory speech. As Rey 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.

At No Way Out Randy Orton defeated Rey Mysterio while illegally using the ropes to get the pin. Having lost the title shot at WrestleMania 22, Rey went backstage with a few members of Guerrero's close family. However on the next edition of Smackdown!, the SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long declared the World Title match would include Mysterio, making the match a Triple Threat match.Rey faced off against both Randy Orton and then-World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle. Mysterio won the match and became World Heavyweight Champion.

World Heavyweight Champion

On the April 7, 2006 edition of SmackDown!, Rey Mysterio, who was billed as being an "underdog champion", made his first World Heavyweight Title defense against Randy Orton. Mysterio went on to retain his title again during a WrestleMania rematch on SmackDown! against Kurt Angle, weeks later. The week before the title defense took place saw the start of a feud between 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.

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 WWE Judgment Day 2006. Mysterio was defeated by Mark Henry and The Great Khali in seperate non-title matches before facing RAW's Kane in a match that went to a no contest. Mysterio retained his title against JBL at Judgement Day. 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. This led JBL to vow that if he didn't win his rematch against Mysterio, he would quit SmackDown!. In the main event of the evening Mysterio won and retained the World Heavyweight Championship, causing JBL to leave SmackDown!, until ECW One Night Stand, when JBL announced he would return as color commentator.

At One Night Stand, it was revealed that Rey would have to defend his title against ECW wrestler Sabu. 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. Immediately after WWE vs. ECW, WWE.com reported that Paul Heyman approached Mysterio about switching brands to ECW. Rey announced on the June 9, 2006 edition of SmackDown that he would stay "home", on WWE's SmackDown!. At One Night Stand, Mysterio 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.

Mysterio would later defend his title against Mark Henry. 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. 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 DQ. 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. King Booker attacked Rey from behind backstage with the help of Booker's wife Queen Sharmell. The attack was not shown live and was during the beating of Mark Henry by Batista. The footage was aired the week later on SmackDown! and was followed by Mysterio attacking the King and his "court".

This rivalry continued for several weeks and saw Mysterio defeating King 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. During Saturday Night's Main Event, Mysterio defeated King Booker in a six man tag match and again days later on SmackDown! in singles action. 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.

Feud with Chavo and Vickie Guerrero

Later that week on SmackDown!, Rey got a rematch against Booker for the title, but Chavo once again cost Rey the match. As Rey Mysterio was about to use a Springboard splash upon King Booker, Chavo appeared whilst the referee was distracted and tossed him onto the barriers. King Booker capitalized and finished Mysterio with a Scissors kick.

On the August 4, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, Chavo claimed that he had cost Rey the title because Rey was "disrespecting Eddie's memory" by using his name and his "spotlight" to become champion. Rey came out and attacked Chavo in response, causing Eddie's widow, Vickie Guerrero to break up the fight. In Mysterio's next match against Mr. Kennedy, he looked to have the match won after a series of momentum-building moves and setting his opponent up for a 619. Mysterio was then met with Chavo again, after he came to the ring. This time Rey was prepared and started the assault himself and was then again met by Vickie Guerrero. The incident saw Vickie be inadvertently knocked over.

At SummerSlam 2006, Rey lost to Chavo after Vickie knocked him off the top rope, seemingly by accident. During their match at SummerSlam, Vickie Guerrero pleaded with Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio to stop fighting and slapped Chavo in the face. After Vickie accidentally knocked Rey from the top rope, Chavo delivered a Frog Splash to defeat his former friend and got the three-count. During the SummerSlam match against Chavo, Rey's mask accidentally fell off when Chavo tried to punch Rey. Rey was able to put the mask back on and continue with the match.

On August 25, 2006, Vickie Guerrero made a heel turn by becoming the third Guerrero to turn on Rey. When Chavo grabbed a steel chair from outside the ring and prepared to hit Rey, Vickie tried to stop him, and ended up taking the chair from him and intentionally hitting Mysterio herself. Both Guerreros hugged as Rey lay in the ring. The next week on SmackDown!, Vickie confirmed that she was now Chavo's business manager, slapping Mysterio after the announcement. On October 8, 2006 at No Mercy 2006, Mysterio defeated Chavo in a Falls Count Anywhere match, pinning Chavo after a crossbody off of a guard rail.

On the October 20, 2006 edition of SmackDown, the rivalry ended as Chavo defeated Rey Mysterio in a Loser Leaves SmackDown "I Quit" match (although they did not mention this when he returned) after hanging Rey upside down and hitting Mysterio's knee twice with a chair, using the SmackDown! stage set. This storyline provided an on-camera explanation for Mysterio's real-life knee surgery, which was originally stated to sideline him 3 to 4 months.

2007 - Present

He made an appearance on the February 23, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, in his hometown of San Diego, where he was attacked by Vince McMahon and Umaga, and thus was "re-injured". Rey's scheduled return was on mid-March, on a recent video interview for his webstie Rey stated that he would be returning July or August but no later than august.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Signature moves

Tag team moves

Theme Music

  • In ECW, Mysterio used Metallica's "Sad But True".
  • Once in WWE, he had changed his theme song to an original entitled "619".
  • This was made more personal, as nü metal band P.O.D. made a new song entitled, "Booyaka 619".
  • When he made an appearance on SmackDown! while recovering from knee surgery, Mysterio used a Rock remix of "Booyaka 619"

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record

Luchas de Apuestas
Wager lost/wonWinnerLoserWhereDateNote
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 [2]
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 [3]

Personal life

Rey currently resides in San Diego, California with his wife Angie and two children, Dominik and Aalyah (both of their names are tattooed underneath his left and right biceps). Mysterio is a Catholic, and makes the sign of the cross before every match. He also has a cross sewn onto his mask.

Mysterio has numerous tattoos, including his children's names, his wife Angie's name, various designs, his masks, and the word "Mexican" on his stomach. He also has tattooed a large spine onto his back.

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.[4] WWE has since made a statement on this situation, mentioning that the alegations preceded the Talent Wellness program WWE launched in February 2006.[5]

The Mask

For almost all WWE appearances, Mysterio keeps his face covered by a variety of masks. The colors of the masks vary, and he also wears contact lenses to match the color of his ring attire.

During non-wrestling appearances he generally wears a black mask[citation needed], but has occasionally been seen with highly custom masks such as one made by Louis Vuitton [citation needed].

Mysterio has been unmasked three times while in WWE. The most recent occurred during SummerSlam 2006 where his entire mask came off as the result of a punch delivered by Chavo Guerrero. He also removed his mask in his testimonial video on the Eddie Guerrero RAW tribute show, but put his head down so nobody could see his face.

To keep up with the lucha tradition of the mask, WWE refuses to replay matches of Mysterio while he was unmasked in WCW. Also, on the WWE Home Video Rey Mysterio: 619, when any candid footage is shown where Rey is not wearing a mask (for example, the WWE Confidential segment wherein Rey gives WWE cameras a tour of his home), his face is blurred out.

DVDs

Trivia

  • Rey Misterio Jr. (as he was named in WCW) appeared (unmasked) in the 2000 film Ready To Rumble. Rey also makes an uncredited appearance in the film "Freddy vs. Jason". The Internet Movie Database has his role listed as Jumper. Many fans claim he is in the party scenes unmasked. This is false. Rey appears as one of Freddy Krueger's stunt doubles, most notably in the scene where Freddy launches himself out of Crystal Lake and onto the dock. He also doubles in a few shots of the fight sequences with Jason Voorhees.

References

  1. ^ http://www.gerweck.net/reymysterio.htm
  2. ^ Three way match involving Angel Mortal
  3. ^ The match was scheduled to be Konnan & Mysterio vs. Kevin Nash & Lex Luger, but Luger claimed to be injured and was replaced by Scott Hall. The wager was Mysterio's mask vs. Elizabeth's (who was managing the Outsiders at that point) hair. Since joining WWE, Mysterio has begun wearing the mask again, and WWE makes no mention of his ever having lost it. Although, footage of him without his mask on, is aired on WWE's On Demand service, WWE 24/7.
  4. ^ "Wrestlers allegedly tied to drug ring". Retrieved March 22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "A Statement From World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc". Retrieved March 22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ http://www.wwe.com/shop/dvd/reymysteriodvd