When wrestling fans around the world first saw Rey Mysterio in the mid 90s he was like a breath of fresh air. Still the era of the big man in many respects, smaller wrestlers hardly stood a chance if they hoped to make a name for themselves on the big stage. There were a few exceptions, like The 1-2-3 Kid, but they were few and far between. Bigger was usually better, as far as promoters were concerned. There was a notable shift in attitude during the 90s as Eric Bischoff's WCW launched its cruiserweight division, plucking the best light heavyweight wrestlers from around the world. Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko were all mainstays in the division but Rey Mysterio is arguably the greatest cruiserweight wrestler in wrestling history. Rey was first exposed to American audiences via the When Worlds Collide pay-per-view in 1994, a co-promotion between Mexico's AAA and WCW. Msterio's performances caught the eye of Paul Heyman who brought in Rey as well as fellow luchadores and favourite opponents Psychosis and Juventud Guerrera to fill the void left by the departure of Guerrero, Malenko and Benoit. Rey followed the Radicalz to WCW in 1996 and wowed crowds with his devil may care style and revolutionary moves. Rey, who was carrying around a lot less muscle mass back then, move around the ring with the grace of a gazelle and could mix it up with heavyweights when called for. A master of the hurricanrana, Rey was undoubtedly innovative. In many ways, he still is: his 619 finisher is one of the most unique finishers wrestling has seen for quite some time.
