8 Things You Didn't Know About Rey Mysterio
7. He Nearly Lost His Mask Twice
Received wisdom - and revised history - suggests WCW's decision to de-mask Rey Mysterio in 1999 was amongst the more bonkers ideas in their considerable index of idiocy.
But was it really? The shrouded star had wowed crowds in WCW for the best part of four years, and with his popularity peaking, perhaps revealing Rey's handsome face could have boosted his widespread appeal amongst a larger demographics.
The obvious rebuttal is the success of Rey's WWE run under the mask, but in the half decade he'd been in Georgia, the company had failed to elevate the high-flyer beyond the mid-card, let alone taken advantage of his clear merchandising potential. Maybe a change was the right idea?
Whether it was good business sense or not is debatable, but there's no argument that it was a bit of a PR disaster. Though most casual wrestling fans in North America gave few tosses about the Mexican tradition, unshrouding Rey in such an unceremonious fashion was an affront to his cultural heritage, not to mention personally insulting. Fans in Mexico were furious that the mask had been relinquished in the States - and they were positively livid when WCW tried to stage the match again.
Throughout the contest, fans vociferously booed the facially re-clad Rey, eventually forcing the beleaguered luchador to remove his mask and hoy it across the ring. As a sign of respect, opponent Psicosis removed his own visage-veil and handed it to his colleague. One riot avoided.