On the March 10th edition of SmackDown, WWE announced that Rey Mysterio would be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.
Mysterio’s wrestling career began in 1989 when he was only fourteen years old. By 1996 he was already making a big splash in parts of the United States, Mexico, and beyond as one of the most innovative and exciting high-flyers the wrestling world had ever seen.
He continued to improve into 1997, which also featured him take part in what is widely considered the best match of his career: his luchas de apuestas match with Eddy Guerrero at WCW Halloween Havoc ’97,
Mysterio eventually made it to WWE in 2002, and has been there more or less full time since. He has won numerous singles and tag titles in WWE as well as a plethora of other accolades as well.
And he has also had many memorable feuds and matches over the decades in WWE, including with Edge, Eddie and Chavo Guerrero, Batista, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and many more.
With so many big name opponents and famous matches under his belt, some have wondered which of these famous rivals of Mysterio’s would induct him into the Hall of Fame.
As it turns out, it won’t be any of them. Instead, Rey Mysterio will be inducted by a man who only had one televised match in WWE: Konnan.
Konnan and Rey Mysterio wrestled many times in WCW
Konnan is considered one of the biggest and most enduring wrestling stars in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and various other independent promotions. He and Mysterio either teamed together or face each other many times in WCW between 1999 and 2001.
And while Mysterio had longer and bigger feuds with other wrestlers, Dave Meltzer noted on Twitter that Rey himself asked for Konnan and didn’t consider anyone else for the role.
Additionally, Meltzer himself thinks that Konnan was “the only choice”.
It is important to note that Mysterio is still an active performer and, despite this Hall of Fame announcement, he hasn’t signaled that he is slowing down or approaching retirement anytime soon.