Since his WrestleMania debut in 2003, Rey Mysterio has enraptured wrestling fans with a plethora of unforgettable moments at the Showcase of The Immortals.
From his opening match heroics with best friend and greatest opponent – the late, great Eddie Guerrero – at WrestleMania 21 to winning the World Heavyweight Championship a year later at 22, retiring JBL at 25, putting on underrated bangers with CM Punk and Cody Rhodes at 26 and 27 respectively, facing off with Logan Paul at 38, then squaring up to his own son Dominik in a pair of wildly entertaining bouts at 39 and 40, Mysterio has seldom made a misstep on the grandest stage of all.
But what else is left to accomplish for the Hall of Famer?
The Perfect Send Off Becomes The Start Of A New Beginning
Last year, in his home state of California, the master of the 619 was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his long-time friend Konnan. Sitting inside a packed Staples Center (sorry, cannot bring myself to refer to it as the crypto.com Arena) that night, being bombarded by a cacophony of hero worship, in both English and Spanish, from thousands of impassioned Angelenos, one night removed from facing his own son in front of 80,000 fans at a sold out Sofi Stadium, I wondered if I was about to witness Rey Mysterio’s last stand.
The time and the occasion felt fitting. Mysterio, with a litany of major surgeries under his belt and approaching 50 years of age, was facing his son in the historic lucha libre hotbed of southern California. With the Latino World Order reformed on the eve of the event and Snoop Dogg lowridering him out to the entrance ramp to the familiar and much missed howl of Eddie Guerrero’s ‘Viva La Raza’ everything seemed in place for a passing of the torch.
The ‘Cherry On Top’
Mysterio as the LWO’s figurehead would work, I thought. Maybe Dom even inherits the mask? I wondered. Instead, the newly minted Hall of Famer enjoyed an uproarious victory and has, with the exception of a recent knee surgery, continued to pin Father Time’s shoulders to the mat time and again over the last 12 months, once again defeating ‘Dirty’ Dom at WrestleMania 40 just two weeks ago.
So, as I asked earlier: What else is left to accomplish?
Fortunately, I was able to sit down with Rey over WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia, where the former WWE Champion revealed what his last remaining dream would be to see out his unparalleled career.
“I would love for WrestleMania to eventually go to Mexico City,” Mysterio immediately answered.
“I would love to give our people something very unique and special. I think they deserve it and this is something that Eddie and I spoke about before he left us. So that would be the last cherry on top to seal the deal on my career.”
But who would the 49-year-old want to work with should WrestleMania head south of the border one day?
“I’m open to anyone. But that would be awesome, just to be there and to give the fans in Mexico a WrestleMania moment.”
Rivals With The Same Goal
Mysterio’s call for the WWE’s showpiece event to be held in Mexico echoes the calls of his now on-screen rival and former LWO stablemate Santos Escobar who, last summer, prior to his storyline betrayal of Mysterio, also revealed to SPORF his desire for a Premium Live Event to be taken to his home country.
“I hope so! Triple H, come on man! My people want to see me! I would expect so, I would hope so. Mexico is a very special audience. It’s a very special fandom. We have Mexican live events in Mexico City and Monterey. But hopefully, with this momentum that we have with the LWO, we will get a Premium Live Event in Mexico soon.”
A couple of warm spring afternoons in the Stadio Azteca, surrounded by sellout crowds of over 80,000 in the Mexican capital certainly doesn’t sound like a bad way to present the biggest show of the year. So, Triple H, if you’re reading this, something to think about before Rey calls it a day. No pressure…
WrestleMania 40 is available to stream now only on Peacock and WWE Network
Featured Image Credit: WWE
