Rey Mysterio On His Relationship With Vince McMahon, Dream Match With AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar
It was way back in 2002 that Rey Mysterio made his long-anticipated WWE debut and he's still going strong in 2019. The wrestling scene was much different back then compared to today and so was Mysterio's relationship with Vince McMahon.
Mysterio talked about how his relationship with McMahon has grown over the years when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"It's evolved at a great pace. Fourteen years prior to me leaving, and coming back, it's been close to 16 years of being part of WWE. When I came back it really felt like home. My relationship with Vince has always been great and it's built to where it's at right now. I was intimidated by Vince at first because I knew it was going to be hard to get the opportunity to perform at that level. When the belief was there, I put in all my effort to give the best," said Mysterio.
AJ Styles recently said that facing off against Mysterio would be a dream match for both he and the fans. Mysterio responded to Styles' high praise.
"That's a very big statement coming from AJ. Although we've been wrestling for the same amount of time, AJ was never part of the WWE until recently?.So, I would really love to throw down with AJ and not just in a regular stage, but a big state like WrestleMania. I think that's one of the matches that could go down in the history books," stated Mysterio.
Another "dream match" that fans would love to see would be Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar. The two squared off many years ago in Lesnar's first WWE run, but Mysterio weighed in on the possibility of squaring off against The Beast again.
"Why not? I hit it off with Brock early in his career. Every now and then people will post on social media some of the matches we had, and we were doing some crazy things for that time," said Mysterio. "This was 2003, maybe? What you were seeing was unbelievable so I wouldn't mind going back into the ring with Brock."
Because of his lengthy and historic career, Mysterio could retire tomorrow and walk into the WWE Hall of Fame. He talked about carrying the weight of being a living legend in the eyes of fans.
"I don't walk around knowing that I carry that weight. I try to stay humble and that has helped me out through my 30-year career," stated Mysterio. "I'm open minded when it comes to fans; I don't push them away. I take pictures and sign and I knew that was something that came along with being famous."
Mysterio then talked about being a 7-8 year old kid and going to shows with his uncle and how he was treated like a rockstar. Seeing what his uncle experienced made Rey aspire to do that as well.
In addition to his abilities in the ring, Mysterio is also working as an ambassador for Fight4Autism. He talked about some of the misconceptions people have about autism.
"In an autistic child, every case can be different. Some may not like to be around wrestling because of the noise and atmosphere. Others can tolerate it and feel like they're in their own world. I'm also learning new obstacles and procedures to help out autistic children. This is something I'm new at, but willing to learn more as we move on," Mysterio said before his business partner David Mimila also spoke about autism misconceptions.
Mimila said that there is a wide spectrum and how some with autism are more functional than others so it's important to not paint autism with a single, broad stroke.
Rey Mysterio is the global ambassador being Fight4Autism. He has created this global fundraiser in his determination to help autistic children all over the world, no matter where they live. His mission is to have his fans join him in the fight. To do so, fans only need to donate US$4 via the website https://www.winwithrey.com/. Your donation also enters you into a raffle to win Fight4Autisim merchandise as well as a chance to win an all-expenses paid experience for two, including business class airfares, hotel accommodation and premium seat tickets to a live WWE event as Rey Mysterio's personal guests.
Wrestling Inc's full interview with Rey was included in a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded player at the bottom of this post. In it Rey discusses why he's launched Rey Mysterio's Fight4Autism, his connection to children with autism and their families, when he could return to in-ring action, his feud with Samoa Joe, the launch of AEW, comparisons between Andrade and Eddie Guerrero, his relationship with Vince McMahon, a "dream match" with AJ Styles, his son Dominick's pro wrestling future, using the Canadian Destroyer on WWE TV and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.