Rey Mysterio is perhaps one of the most famous luchadores in wrestling history. He was one of the guys to innovate cruiserweight wrestling in the 90s, from his time in WCW and then of course when he went to WWE in 2002. His historic bout with Eddie Guerrero at WCW Halloween Havoc in 1997 is still regarded as one of the greatest matches of all time. It’s definitely my favourite Rey Mysterio match, that’s for sure. He’s had such a fantastic career, and he’s been a huge part of the industry in the last 20 years of so, undoubtedly solidifying himself as a future inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. However, you can’t stay young forever. And after watching Rey return to WWE this week, it’s safe to say that the man is past his prime.
Welcome to ‘Under the Spotlight’, everyone. Like I said in my article on Friday, I apologise for not being able to write anything last week. I had a terrible headache all weekend, and couldn’t even think about writing an article. This weekend I’ve been struck with a cold, but I’m here nonetheless. I wouldn’t want the, eh, fans going three whole weeks without their dose of ‘Under the Spotlight’. Anyway, in today’s article I’m going to be discussing Rey Mysterio and his future with the WWE.
This week, after nearly nine months away for a knee injury, Rey Mysterio returned to help Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and more in their attempts to overcome The Shield, the Real Americans and the Wyatt Family. Tonight at the 27th Annual Survivor Series, Mysterio will team with Cody Rhodes, Goldust and The Usos, to face Antonio Cesaro, Jack Swagger, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a Traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 Elimination Tag-Team Match. Watching Raw, it didn’t take an expert to see that Rey Mysterio wasn’t at his best. He wasn’t hopping around at the rate we’d be used to, and although he didn’t look terrible, it’s clear that he wasn’t at 100%. Apparently, he was also seen limping around the backstage area after the show. The man has had problems with his knee for years, and at this stage, it looks like that knee will be the reason for his career officially coming to an end. On that note, I think it’s time for Rey Mysterio to start considering retirement. I’m not saying he should hang up his boots right now, but I honestly don’t think he has another year in him. If he’s away for almost a year, and then comes back still favouring the injury, then he’s obviously got a lasting problem. Now, I didn’t have time to see Smackdown this week (unfortunately I don’t get much of a chance anymore), but from what I understand, he didn’t appear to be shaken up at all. Maybe it can just be chalked down as ring rust on Monday, but his history with injuries in the last few years tells a story of its own. When he returned to action in 2012, he was only around for a short while before having to leave again.
It is hard to comprehend Rey Mysterio officially retiring. Whenever it does happen, it’ll be a sad day. When I was first becoming a wrestling fan, Mysterio was one of my favourites. He was actually the first wrestler that I had the opportunity to meet in person, back at a signing in 2005. And he, alongside Eddie Guerrero, Big Show, Kurt Angle and the Basham Brothers, was in one of my favourite matches that I’ve seen live. There’s no doubt that he’s entertained crowds for his entire life, and the way he interacts with the crowd (particularly the children at ringside) is inspiring. But if I was Rey Mysterio, I’d rather retire on my own terms than be forced out of action, with a possibly life-altering injury. And he has the perfect opportunity to do that in 2014.
If I was to come up with the best way to utilise Rey Mysterio in this run, it would be to finish off his career. He could spend the next few months feuding and competing with some of the younger stars, and cap it all off with a final bout on the Grandest Stage of them all at WrestleMania XXX. It could be a career-threatening match, or if Mysterio was up for it, he could also put his mask on the line, but either way it would be a huge WrestleMania moment, and would give the 30th Anniversary of the Showcase of the Immortals even more draw. I don’t know who’d be best to face him though. Maybe a member of The Shield or Wade Barrett. Someone new. There’s no point in giving a match like that to an already-established talent like Daniel Bryan or Dolph Ziggler. I originally would’ve said Sin Cara, but he’s proved to be a failure in the WWE. I know he earned success in Mexico, but the bright lights of World Wrestling Entertainment are clearly not his scene. You’d be wasting Rey Mysterio’s retirement if it was booked against Sin Cara. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if that guy was released before WrestleMania.
This is all going on the basis that Rey-Rey does actually decide to call it quits. It’s not like he’s “old”. I mean, he’s only about to turn 40 next year. But he’s not like the other veterans, like Triple H, Chris Jericho or The Undertaker. These guys didn’t make a living out of high-flying all over the arena. Mysterio’s style is a lot different, with a lot more bumps and high-risk manoeuvres, which unfortunately take a larger toll on your body. You won’t see Rey Mysterio hitting a 619 when he’s in his fifties. You know, he might not even decide to retire. He might wrestle until his body forces him to stop, but in my opinion, that would put a dampener on not only his retirement, but the rest of his life as well. Again, I don’t know if this will be his last run. I certainly don’t predict that he’ll retire at WrestleMania XXX, because I just can’t picture it happening 5 months from now, but it sounds to me like the best option. Then again, he might not even make it to ‘Mania with that knee…
I don’t know. But what I do know, is that he should focus on putting over younger stars at the moment. His main-eventing days are over, and his long-term contracts are over. His health is as unpredictable as can be. All I’m saying is that it should definitely be considered for him to take it all in during this run with the WWE, because willing or not, he is past his prime and his final matches are not too far away. He might blow my mind at Survivor Series tonight, and knowing Rey Mysterio, he’s going to do everything in his power to deliver (which I think he is going to do). Just enjoy it while it lasts. I know I will.
That’s about it from me, folks. I don’t like writing big, lengthy articles before Pay-Per-Views because things could change in the blink of an eye and render my article pointless, so I hope you’ll appreciate this short piece on a wrestling legend. Survivor Series does take place tonight, so if you want to read my predictions for the show, you can do so here. You can also make your own predictions for Survivor Series with the SLTD Wrestling Predictions League, which is free, fun and simple to use. There are also prizes to be won, and this is only the second round, so new-comers can still catch up! Click here to enter. And finally, because it’s such a big deal for the site, you can click here to read SLTD’s exclusive interview with ‘Good ol’ JR’, Jim Ross from Wednesday, courtesy of the good people at American Soda. It’s a great read, so take a look!
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Thanks for reading!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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