10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Rey Mysterio
7. His Dismal Final Days
A certified wrestling legend he may be, but Mysterio's WWE run was defined by peaks and valleys. Every tremendous high was tempered by a crushing low, sometimes within the same storyline, and while he was a money-making main event commodity for several years, his run ended on a whimper.
Rey's final days were rough. His popularity had bottomed out, and with his title-winning days long behind him, he was shunted into a lifeless tag team with Sin Cara. The duo struggled to make a mark in the division, and Mysterio soon became a non-factor. Now years beyond his athletic peak, he was left treading water on the midcard, and his anguish peaked with the shambles that was the 2014 Royal Rumble.
So miserable was Mysterio that he eventually asked the company to void his contract while on one of his many hiatuses. Vince McMahon refused, however, and hung onto him through a clause that allowed WWE to extend his tenure while he was injured. Rey was in purgatory, but took control of the situation, appearing for AAA while technically still a WWE employee, then going rogue to negotiate with WWE.
McMahon eventually reneged on his stance, and Mysterio was released in February 2015.