Rey Mysterio Is Gone From WWE

The masked veteran has parted ways with WWE.

In a move that has been expected for months, Rey Mysterio is no longer a World Wrestling Entertainment employee. When Mysterio's WWE.com profile was moved to the Alumni section on Thursday it became a talking point among fans on social media. Soon after, the move was confirmed by PWInsider, who offered up this statement that they received from WWE: "Rey Mysterio is no longer under contract with WWE." It was noted by F4WOnline that an agreement with Mysterio was likely agreed in late November to release him in February. Mysterio has been unhappy with WWE for several years while management has likely had a tough time dealing with him because of all the injuries he's suffered. His last televised match was on April 7, 2014, which was the Raw that took place the night after WrestleMania. He lost to Wade Barrett. The night before, Mysterio was in the Andre the Giant battle royal. Prior to that he was used sparingly by WWE. The reason he got hurt so much was because of his style. Mysterio was a tremendous talent that became a big name in the American Wrestling scene first in ECW when he was just 20 years old, then he jumped to WCW in 1996 and treated like a big deal at 21. He was one of the best in-ring performers alive even though he was so young. His highspots and aerial moves were unlike anybody we had ever seen before. That high risk style led to several knee injuries that slowed him down significantly. Mysterio made the jump to WWE in 2002. He didn't go to WWE right after they bought WCW in 2001 likely because he had time remaining on his WCW deal, so if WWE brought him in right away it would have cost them a lot of money. He went on to win both the WWE Title and the WWE World Title and he was also the 2006 Royal Rumble when he set the record for longest time in a Rumble match at 62:12. He's also won a number of other titles while competing regularly mostly on the Smackdown brand during the brand extension, but he was a part of Raw in his career too. There were stories in recent months that Mysterio wasn't even cashing checks that WWE was sending him as a way of telling them that he wanted out. We don't know for sure if that's true because why would somebody turn down money, but to him apparently things got so bad that all he wanted was to get out of there. With Mysterio battling so many injuries in recent years mostly due to his bad knees, it makes sense that WWE would move on from him. He wanted out and they want to focus on younger guys, so it seems like the right move for both sides. The expectation is that Mysterio will go work for Lucha Underground. Their next tapings are in a few weeks although no deal has reportedly been made yet. He will also likely work for AAA in Mexico where he's considered a legend and would probably draw a big gate in his first match back there. He could also pop up on the indy wrestling scene as well. While Mysterio is out of WWE as an active wrestler as of today, he'll likely be back one day down the road to enter the WWE Hall of Fame. Whether it's five years or ten years down the road, he'll be back one day. They always come back. At least most of them do! Good luck to Rey in his future wherever he goes to wrestle next. He built a great legacy in WWE and will definitely be remembered in a positive way by most WWE fans.

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John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.