Rey Mysterio
- Rey Mysterio redirects here. For the original Rey Misterio, see Rey Misterio, Sr.
| Oscar Gutierrez | |
|---|---|
| File:Reymysterio54.jpg | |
| Born | December 11, 1974 San Diego, California |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Colibri Super Niño Rey Misterio, Jr. Rey Mysterio, Jr. Rey Mysterio |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (169 cm) |
| Billed weight | 170 lb (76 kg) |
| Trained by | Rey Misterio, Sr. |
| Debut | April 30, 1989 |
Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio, better known by his ring names Rey Misterio, Jr., Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Rey Mysterio (born December 11, 1974 in San Diego, California) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler currently performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on the SmackDown! brand.
Career
Mexico
He is a luchador as is his uncle, Rey Misterio, Sr. He debuted as a wrestler in April 1989 at the age of 14 in Tijuana, Mexico because he was too young to wrestle in the United States (no US athletic commission would give him a license at his young age, and technically he was also underage in Mexico but enforcement was generally lax). There, using the stage name Colibri (hummingbird in Spanish) he feuded with another luchador, Psicosis which carried over in to the States and lasted several years. When Oscar turned 18, his uncle admitted the familial relationship and allowed him to use the ring name "Rey Misterio, Jr." Which Oscar later changed the spelling to "Rey Mysterio, Jr." Rey Mysterio translates to "King of Mystery."
Extreme Championship Wrestling
In 1995 he defeated Psicosis when they both had their debut matches on Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), making their first real impacts in American professional wrestling, outside of the WCW-promoted When Worlds Collide PPV. Their feud stopped for a while after a Mexican Death Match in November 1995 at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia. Rey also appeared at ECW One Night Stand reunion show and defeated Psicosis once again.
World Championship Wrestling
In 1996, he joined Psicosis in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), continuing their feud on and off for a few years. Rey would find success there, winning the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on numerous occasions.
In 1999 he was involved in a feud with Kevin Nash. During this feud Rey showcased his willingness to put his body on the line to put across a good product when he allowed Nash to launch him into the side of a truck in a brutal fashion. The footage of this incident was shown on WCW TV for weeks to both show the sadisticness of the nWo wrestlers and the heart of the luchadores and more specifically Rey Mysterio Jr.. Their feud culminated in a Caballera vs. Mascara Match (Hair vs. Mask) which Rey lost (to the disgust of many internet purists). Now unmasked, he still found moderate success in WCW with The Filthy Animals until it was sold to the WWF in 2001.
Rey then went back to Mexico to work for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, unmasked, being involved in some high profile matches.
World Wrestling Entertainment
In 2002, Rey was then signed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), but was asked to wear the mask again, which can have one fined and even have one's license suspended in lucha libre by the Box y Lucha Commission because once a wrestler loses his mask, he cannot regain it. However, donning the mask again wasn't Mysterio's decision. In deference to this tradition, Rey continues to not wear a mask while performing in Mexico, including non wrestling appearences in the WWE procuced Rey Mysterio: 619 DVD.
A popular performer and multiple-time WWE Cruiserweight champion, Rey has already made his mark in WWE. He is considered a great aerial wrestler and many also consider him a legend in the making. He has held the WCW/WWE Cruiserweight championship eight times, more than anyone else in history.
Rey also had a performace on the WWE Originals CD released in early 2004 with a bilingual song called "Crossing Borders." The song served as the official theme song for 2004's No Way Out pay-per-view event.
On February 20, 2005, Rey won his third WWE Tag-Team Championship along with long time friend, and former rival, the late Eddie Guerrero when they defeated Doug Basham and Danny Basham at the No Way Out PPV.
However, in a surprising departure from traditional booking, the new champions did not defend their titles at WrestleMania 21 on April 3, 2005, but instead faced one another, with Rey getting the victory.
This would lead to a storyline in which the team would break up and see Guerrero turn heel due to Guerrero's inabillity to defeat Mysterio.
Absent from SmackDown! due to an attack by Guerrero, Mysterio returned at Judgment Day and won a match against Eddie, who went on to attack Mysterio repeatedly with a steel chair.
Guerrero and Mysterio continued to feud, with Eddie threatening to reveal a secret he and Mysterio share involving Mysterio's son, Dominik, unless Mysterio defers to Eddie's authority. A match was scheduled for the July 24 Great American Bash, with the stipulations being that if Rey won, Eddie would not tell, but if Eddie wins, he would tell. Mysterio defeated Guerrero with his son at ringside.
After the Great American Bash, Eddie Guerrero broke his promise and revealed to the world that he is Dominick's (Mysterio's son) biological father. In the storyline, Eddie knowing Mysterio was having trouble starting his own family, Eddie left Dominick with Rey and his wife to raise. (However, in reality Rey is really Dominic's father as the "custody dispute" was an example of kayfabe). In subsequent weeks, Eddie threatened to take custody of Dominick, drawing up custody papers and having his lawyer present them to Mysterio. At SummerSlam 2005, Rey defeated Eddie in a Ladder Match for the custody of Dominic.
On the first edition of Friday Night Smackdown!, Rey Mysterio had his second loss (the first being a WWE Championship match on the SmackDown after WrestleMania XX) to Eddie Guerrero in a steel cage match, after first missing a crossbody from the top of the cage, and then being hit with Eddie's Frog Splash.
On the September 16 2005 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Rey debuted a new entrance theme - "Booyaka 619", a reggaeton song in which he sings along with Mad One.
Mysterio also had a feud with John Bradshaw Layfield, which culminated in a match at No Mercy where JBL came out victorious. In the coming weeks to the match at No Mercy, the storyline had JBL making statements about being a true American, and stated that Mysterio was not a citizen.
The feud continued past No Mercy on the October 21 2005 edition of SmackDown! where the two were set to face off in a singles contest, which was interupted by RAW wrestlers Edge and Chris Masters, who speared and masterlocked Mysterio. Mysterio got revenge appearing on RAW the following Monday, nailing Edge with a springboard drop kick and Lita with a 619. Taboo Tuesday featured a RAW versus SmackDown! tag team event which featured Snitsky and Chris Masters lost to Rey Mysterio & Matt Hardy in which the fans voted who the two Smackdown! superstars would be. Ironically, Taboo Tuesday was performed in San Diego, California, Rey's "background".
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, Rey gave an emotional speech about Eddie, and even took off 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 in the night. After the match, Michaels and Rey hugged in the ring and Rey 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, Dave Batista and JBL) who defeated Team RAW (Shawn Michaels, Kane, Big Show, Carlito, and Chris Masters. On the Tuesday after Survivor Series, Mysterio faced RAW's giant The Big Show in a match billed as David vs. Goliath. The grudge match, stemming from Mysterio pinning the Big Show at Survivor Series, ended as a no contest when Show's tag team partner Kane interfered in the match. On the December 2 edition of Friday Night SmackDown!, Mysterio teamed with JBL to take on Big Show and Kane, but JBL left the match claiming that the referee had poked him in the eye, leaving Rey all alone with Big Show and Kane, eventually losing the match. After the match, Big Show and Kane continued to attack Mysterio, when Batista ran in to save him. It was announced later that Mysterio and Batista would team up to face The Big Show and Kane at WWE Armageddon on December 18 2005.
On the December 16, 2005 edition of SmackDown!, Batista and Rey Mysterio got a title shot at SmackDown!'s Tag Team Champions, MNM. Batista and Mysterio defeated MNM, to become WWE Tag Team Champions in a match they dedicated to the late Eddie Guerrero. With Batista and Mysterio becoming the Tag Team Champions it turned the clash with The Big Show and Kane at Armageddon into a Champions vs. Champions encounter. Rey Mysterio and Batista lost due to Kane giving Mysterio a very powerful Chokeslam. On the December 30, 2005 edition of Smackdown! MNM defeated Batista and Rey Mysterio, after help from the returning Mark Henry, to regain the WWE Tag-Team Championships.
The following week on January 6, 2006, Smackdown! saw a match for the WWE Tag-Team Championships with Batista and Mysterio against MNM. The match took place in a Steel cage that could only be won by pinfall or submisson in order to prevent Mark Henry from interfering and prevent MNM from winning by escaping the cage. While the match saw Batista and Mysterio dominate MNM and thwart several futile attempts to escape. Melina once again called out Mark Henry, who after some reasoning and taunts from Batista, broke the lock with his bare hands and used the door of the cage as weapon against Mysterio and knocked out Batista. After Henry's assault he dragged Joey Mercury onto Mysterio for the 3-count.
On January 13, 2006, Mysterio was one of the contenders in the Over-the-top-rope Battle Royal for the World Heavyweight Championship, after Batista vacated it due to a serious injury. Although Rey failed in this attempt, being eliminated by Henry, he was the second last man to be eliminated and during his time in the ring managed to almost simitaneously take out Mercury and Nitro.
Trivia
- He is married to "Angie", and has two children, namely, Dominik and Aaliyah.
- If spelled properly as Rey Misterio, his ring name translates to "Mystery King" in Spanish.
- He dropped "Jr." from his name in the early 2000s. Permission for this was given to him by his uncle, the original Rey Misterio.
- Has numerous tattoos, including the numbers "619" on his arm, his two children's names, various designs, and the word Mexican on his stomach.
- Due to the WWE's committment to keeping Rey Mysterio's identity a secret (and to hide the fact that he lost the mask before) the WWE cannot air any matches of Mysterio in WCW after he lost his mask on their WWE 24/7 pay-per-view service.
Finishing and signature moves
- 619 (Tiger feint kick)
- West Coast Pop (To follow the 619|Springboard hurricanrana)
- Frog Splash (In dedication to Eddie Guerrero)
- Droppin' The Dime (Springboard legdrop)
- Springboard splash
- 1904 (Bronco buster)
- Springboard seated senton
- Sunset flip powerbomb
- Crossbody press / Twisting crossbody press
- Wheelbarrow counter (bodyscissors) to moves like bulldogs, roll-ups and arm drags
- Super frankensteiner
- Springboard diving headbutt
- Huracanrana from the ring apron to an opponent standing on the floor
- Baseball slide to headscissors takedown
- Missile dropkick
- Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown
- Crossbody from the ring apron to an opponent standing on the floor
- Moonsault attack to a standing opponent
- Sitout facebuster
Championships and accomplishments
- 8-Time WWE Cruiserweight Champion
- 4-Time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Edge, Rob Van Dam, Eddie Guerrero and Batista)
- 5-Time WCW Cruiserweight Champion
- 3-Time WCW World Tag Team Champion (with Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera and Konnan)
- 1-Time WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champion (with Billy Kidman)
- 1-Time WWC Junior Heavyweight Champion
- Mexican Titles
- 1-Time Mexican National Welterweight Champion
- 1-Time Mexican National Six-Man Tag Team Champion (with Octagón & Super Muñeco)
- 2-Time IWC Middleweight Champion
- 1-Time IWAS Tag Team Champion (with Konnan)
- 3-Time WWA Light Heavyweight Champion
- 3-Time WWA Welterweight Champion
- 1-Time WWA Tag Team Champion (with Rey Mistiero)
- PWI ranked him # 56 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
Championship succession
Luchas de Apuestas record
| Wager lost/won | Winner | Loser | Where | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mask | Rey Mysterio | Mr. Cóndor | 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 | 1 |
| Hair | Rey Mysterio | Vulcano | Monterrey, Nuevo León | 9/11/92 | - |
| Mask | Rey Mysterio | Misterioso | Tijuana, Baja California | 12/19/97 | - |
| Mask | Kevin Nash & Lex Luger | Rey Mysterio | Oakland, California | 2/21/99 | 2 |
- Three way match involving Angel Mortal
- The match was Konnan and Rey vs. Kevin Nash and Lex Luger. The wager was Rey's mask vs. Elizabeth's (who was managing the Outsiders at that point) hair.
References
- Note: His family name is spelled "Guttierrez" on his main IMDb page. His IMDb bio renders it "Gutiérrez".