When a 5'4" and 145-pound wrestler does no-hands dives to the floor and springboard hurancanranas, he's one to watch. When he masters the art of selling like nobody in WCW since Rock and Roll Express member Ricky Morton (while having most of his face obscured, too), he's a babyface on the rise. When he wears masks and gear that small children think are cool (and ideally want their parents to purchase as merchandise), he's a legend in the making. Even when beating Kevin Nash, there isn't a terrible Rey Mysterio, Jr. match in Ray's entire WCW run. Unlike other legendary grapplers who were beset by some fairly ragged outings while employed by Ted Turner, it's hard to find holes in Rey's in-ring performances in World Championship Wrestling. A five-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion (with wins over Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman and Psychosis), Mysterio's ability to have tremendous-to-watch matches with a plethora of opponents allows him to unquestionable top this list. While yes, as the smallest WWE competitor to ever hold a World Championship, Rey Mysterio is a legendary wrestler, that legacy of excellence unquestionable started in World Championship Wrestling.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
