7. Rey Mysterio (Rey Misterio Jr)
Rey Mysterios pre-WWE career is well documented, from his humble beginnings performing in the bullrings of Mexico to his celebrated run in WCWs cruiserweight division. What many fans dont know is that the then Rey Misterio Jr. had a very productive run in Japan during the mid-90s. After a show-stealing performance in the 1995 Super-J Cup against Psychosis, Rey found himself booked for Genichiro Tenryus WAR promotion from 95-97. The Japanese fans were initially sceptical of Mysterio due to his small stature and foreign lucha libre style but he became a firm favourite after countless gutsy performances against regular opponents Psychosis, Juventud Guerrera and Ultimo Dragon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L313kvg6Ibk Mysterios time in Japan was a commercial as well as a critical success as a result of selling his replica masks to the generous Japanese fans at several hundred dollars a mask. Although the last few years of Reys career have seen him slow down considerably thanks to the wear and tear caused by his high flying style, revisiting some of his matches in Japan from earlier in his career show just how ahead of his time Mysterio was and how much he helped changed the business for smaller wrestlers.