WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio has revealed that Vince McMahon requested he bring back his iconic mask ahead of debuting in WWE.
Rey Mysterio wore a mask from when he debuted in Mexico until February 1999. At the time, Mysterio was in WCW and teamed with Konnan to take on Scott Hall and Kevin Nash at Superbrawl IX in a Hair vs. Mask match. The Mexican legends were defeated, meaning that Mysterio had to unmask for the first time.
Following WWE’s purchase of WCW, Mysterio spent some time in Mexican promotion CMLL and made appearances for US independent companies. However, he eventually signed with WWE in 2002 and debuted that July after a series of vignettes. When he began wrestling for the promotion, he was once again wearing a mask.
Speaking to Bleacher Report, the former World Heavyweight Champion revealed that it was Vince McMahon who requested he once again don the mask.
“It was actually WWE who brought that up, or in this case, Vince McMahon. I was doing my training a week prior to my debut and I was in OVW. I forgot who approached me at the time, but they said, ‘The company wants to know what type of ring attire you’re going to use for next week.’ I said, ‘What I’ve been using.’ I was using the Scott Steiner, “Big Poppa Pump” chain around the head, like a gladiator chain, and a vest that went along with it. Baggy pants. They were like, ‘Where’s the mask?’ I said, ‘I haven’t been wrestling with the mask.’ ‘No, no, no. Vince wants to see you with the mask'”
The Lucha legend went on to say that the request meant he had to have a whole new outfit made.
“I was like, ‘Oh, OK. Thank god you told me now. Now I have to have an outfit made with the mask.’ That’s when I changed my whole gear. Back in WCW, I was using the old-school tights where they stuck to my leg. When I started with WWE, I started wearing the baggy pants, which were very similar to what I was using prior to WWE when I was unmasked, and I added the mask to it. It became historical at that point because that’s where Rey Mysterio really kicked off and was put on the map in WWE.”
On the most recent episode of Raw, Rey Mysterio was part of a Fatal Four-way Ladder match to determine the next challenger for the WWE Championship currently held by Big E. the bout was ultimately won by Seth Rollins, with Mysterio being taken out by Kevin Owens, who powerbombed him through a table.