Rey Mysterio is regarded as the best ‘little man’ in the WWE history and hence the nickname ‘The Ultimate Underdog’. He joined the business in 2002, and after staying associated with the WWE for nearly two decades, he is all set to call it a day on his illustrious career on Monday Night Raw. Some fans believe that the announcement is part of a storyline involving the greatest cruiserweight with Mark Henry. Others claim that his contract with WWE is almost over and he may be looking for new challenges. Whatever the case, Mysterio’s departure will create a void which will be hard to fill by WWE. While company CEO Vince Mcmahon and COO Triple H scratch their head on how to fill his big shoes, let us watch his top 10 wrestling moments of all time.
-Rumble Comeback
Fitting that the first entrant in the list is the most recent one. Mysterio left WWE back in 2015 under a cloud following a succession of injuries but he revitalised his career working for Lucha Underground and other independent wrestling promotions. The ‘Little Man’ then received a huge standing ovation from the crowd as he ran down the ramp to enter the ring in the 2018 Royal Rumble after a three-year absence. He entered at number 27 and immediately gave a series of 619’s to the superstars before eliminating Adam Cole. He was then sent over the top rope by Finn Balor.
-Tribute to best friend Eddie Guerrero
The unprecedented death of Eddie Guerrero had shocked the entire WWE Universe. However, a day after his close friend died, the ‘Master of 619’ chose to compete in memory of the Latino Heat. His opponent was Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels himself. Following a high-voltage encounter, Mysterio won the fight. But the match will be best remembered for him helping Michaels to his feet after the bell and the two embracing in front of the emotional RAW crowd.
Shaving CM Punk’s hair
Before he was the voice of the voiceless, CM Punk had taken over WWE with his Straight Edge Society stable. The former UFC star was desperate to recruit Mysterio to his faction and the two became involved in one of the most underrated feuds of the decade. Coming into the Over The Limit PPV, the two were tied at one win a-piece following matches at WrestleMania 26, and then Extreme Rules. Their third clash came with the stipulation that Mysterio would join the Straight Edge Society if he lost, while Punk would surrender his hair if he was defeated. Rey ultimately received an unlikely assist from Kane as he dropped the Best in the World with a seated crucifix for the win and then sheared his greasy locks.
-Cruiserweight King
The Little Man made his name at WCW in 1995 where he popularised the Lucha libre fighting style which involves a lot of high flying manoeuvres. Owing to his performances, Vince signed him to then WWF in 2002. And just after a year, Mysterio claimed his first singles championship. He defeated Matt Hardy to win the first of his three Cruiserweight titles in front of his wife Angie, son Dominick and daughter Aalyah.
-Chavo Quits
WWE controversially used the passing of Eddie Guerrero to ignite a feud between his nephew Chavo and family friend Mysterio. Despite the poor taste surrounding the storyline, both Superstars became the only two to have more than one ‘I Quit’ match against the same opponent. First, Mysterio and Chavo put on one of the greatest matches in SmackDown history with their clash in 2006, with Guerrero emerging victorious. But the little Mexican-American avenged the loss almost a year later in another ‘I Quit’ match on the blue brand.
-Dream match with Sabu
WWE Universe had reacted negatively to ECW’s One Night Stand 2006 which is best remembered for the heated WWE Title match between John Cena and Rob Van Dam.
But it still boasted an absolute gem of a match between the Arabian delight Sabu and Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship. The Master of the 619, wrestling in old school ECW tights, put on a hell of a stunt show with the self-proclaimed homicidal, suicidal, genocidal death-defying Maniac. Although the finish of the match is still hotly debated as WWE called a no-contest at the Hammerstein Ballroom after Sabu put Mysterio through a table with a triple jump DDT.
-JBL Retires
It is Mysterio who brought the illustrious career of John Bradshaw Layfield’s to an end at Wrestlemania 25. In a 21-second squash match, JBL was hit by a series of drop-kick and 619 before screaming two words “I Quit”.
-Winning Custody of Dominick
In true WWE style, Mysterio was involved in a storyline with Eddie Guerrero where Latino Heat claimed to be the biological father of Rey’s real-life son Dominick. The two settled the case in a Ladder match at SummerSlam 2005 with the briefcase containing the custody papers. The emotionally-charged affair saw Dominick enter the match to aide his father Rey, while Vickie Guerrero ultimately cost her husband the match by pushing Eddie off the ladder. Mysterio has since revealed that this match is his favourite match that he ever had in WWE.
-Rumble Winner
And this is probably the best Royal Rumble event ever to be organised by WWE. Mysterio’s win was a statement to the company’s attitude towards wrestlers with small size. Entering the ring at number two position, he was the last man standing. He dedicated his win to his late friend Eddie.
The Masked One held on for more than an hour to set the record for the longest time in a Rumble Match as he eliminated six other Superstars. The last two were Triple H and Randy Orton, who Mysterio turfed over the ropes to earn himself a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity at WrestleMania 22.