Rey Mysterio: the Mexican Who Changed WWE History

The master of the 619 achieved his greatest achievement in his career as a professional fighter. This year, WWE made the determination to include Rey Mysterio in its hall of fame, an aspect that makes him the second active athlete to enter this select list of the most important company in wrestling.

34 Years of Career

His professional wrestling career began in 1989, when he was only 14 years old. As a minor in Mexico, he had to apply for a special permit to be able to compete professionally. This went hand in hand with the support of his parents and especially his uncle Rey Mysterio Sr., who was his trainer and mentor throughout his time in Mexico.

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After three years full of ups and downs, Mysterio arrived at the Mexican company AAA. There he began to dazzle everyone with his talent, his incredible potential in the ring, and his constant aerial maneuvers, which were essential to reach one of the most relevant companies in the United States at that time.

In 1995, the wrestler came to ECW, a company in which he met Eddie Guerrero, a wrestler with Mexican roots who was of vital importance to his career as a professional athlete and who would become one of his great friends in this industry. After passing through ECW, Mysterio came to WCW, a company in which he was the cruiserweight champion on several occasions.

Broke the Mold

After his success in WCW, Rey Mysterio joined WWE in 2002, a company that would be his home for many years. This hiring was one of the great surprises for this company, remembering that at that time its top references were quite tall and muscular fighters. A remarkable aspect, since by biotype they were completely different from that of this Mexican fighter.

Despite not meeting the physical stereotypes of this company, his talent and charisma propelled him to be one of the most important Latino fighters of this company in history. In his first stage in this company (2002-2013) the Mexican was Intercontinental, United States, Cruiser weight and couples champion. Also, he won the Royal Rumble, coming in second place in this 30-man match.

His greatest feats were being WWE World Champion and Heavyweight Champion. One of his most remembered matches will be that of WrestleMania 22, held in 2006. In this, he starred in one of the stellar fights against Kurt Angle and Randy Orton, crowning himself with the Heavyweight title.

In his second stage in this company (2018-currently) we have seen a more veteran and less athletic version. However, his charisma and classic maneuvers fill in the aspects that have been lost over the years.

Hall of Fame

Rey Mysterio has become the fifth wrestler with Mexican roots in the WWE Hall of Fame. This list is completed by Tito Santana, Eddie Guerrero, Mil Máscaras and El Santo. The legend created by the small Mexican giant takes on more importance in this industry, which owes a lot to this class of Latino athletes.

In his speech, Mysterio thanked all the fans who have accompanied him throughout his career and recalled how important his wife and friend Eddie Guerrero, a wrestler who passed away in 2005, were. "My wife Angie left her medical career to work, send me money and be able to pursue my dream. Thank you with all my heart, thank you for the support of the entire race over the years, I love you a lot".

WrestleMania 39

His weekend in the hall of fame ended in the best way. At WrestleMania 39, a two-night event that housed more than 160,000 people, the Mexican wrestler faced off against his son Dominik Mysterio, in one of the matches that will last in history for both wrestlers.

In this fight, the help of the singer Bad Bunny was essential for Rey Mysterio to win, which was the perfect closing to a dream weekend for the fighter who has been in this sport for more than 34 years.

Long Live the Race!

With this career full of great achievements and improvement, the master of the 619 enters the history books of this sport, an aspect that makes him one of the greatest fighters in the history of Mexico. In addition to this, it should be noted that this industry broke stereotypes with the arrival of this class of small, athletic and agile athletes, who changed and enhanced these skills with their Latino touch.