2. Mask vs Mask With El Generico
Yes, I know Generico has been wrestling unmasked on NXT under his real name, but I believe that is a dumb move by WWE. One of the greatest decisions WWE has ever made was putting the mask back on Mysterio when he made his WWE debut. History lesson for everybody. Luchador masks are a big freaking deal. In fact, unless his sheer star power has overcome it, Mysterio was probably shunned in Mexico for putting his mask back on after losing it. Then again, maybe not. Here's why: WCW did dumb things. At Halloween Havoc 1997, they did something phenomenal by having Eddie Guererro and Rey Mysterio have a mask vs title match which tore the house down and got five stars from Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer. Fast forward a year and a half later, and Rey is booked to lose his mask. Why? Eric Bischoff believed the luchadors weren't marketable under masks. I'll pause for your laughter for a second. Back? Ok good. Anyways, according to Konnan's ROH shoot interview, he tried to convince Bischoff to do a hair vs mask match with somebody if they were going to do that. So at
Superbrawl 9 there was a hair vs mask match. However, the match was Konnan and Mysterio vs The Outsiders for Miss Elizabeth's hair. One of the hottest feud blow off matches which Mexico has used for years, turned into another NWO Joke. Ok, back to Mysterio's career ending. WWE is making a colossal mistake removing a mask from Generico. They are losing Rey Mysterio, which means they will eventually be losing a large amount of merchandise revenue from mask replicas, which they sell a ton of right now. Sure they have Sin Cara, but he's kind of been a flop so far because of language barriers and adapting to WWE style. So they should keep the mask on Generico, and they should have him feud with Mysterio, all culminating in a mask vs mask match. This one is a pipe dream for multiple reasons, mainly because of the nostalgia factor we talked about earlier. I don't think WWE will ever let Mysterio leave putting over a new star, even though in the old days when it was time for a guy to leave who would put over a fresh talent to keep the business going. WWE is reluctant to do this, which is why the Undertaker's streak will probably never end. However, Generico is a fantastic character and can work lucha style, and it would be an awesome way to elevate a fresh new masked character to sell tons of merchandise, and give a fantastic wrestler a great send off. This is definitely an indy pipe dream, but I believe it would be a fantastic way to say goodbye to Mysterio.