When Mysterio received the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 20, he actually did obtain the unthinkable. For those who recall (and who doesn’t) the WWE was as soon as a spot the place giants reigned supreme. Particularly within the Nineteen Eighties, when the promotion first discovered world success, man mountains like Hulk Hogan, King Kong Bundy, the Final Warrior and naturally, Andre “The Large” himself had been the kind of grapplers that discovered a seemingly unshakeable footing on the very high of the cardboard.

In time, with these pillars of the principle occasion both passing their prime within the ring or falling foul of firm administration for a wide range of completely different causes, the early nineties served to usher in a brand new technology of smaller in stature, however equally enormous in coronary heart performers.

Bret “Hitman” Hart’s work ethic and simple storytelling, whereas weighing comparatively lower than his larger-than-life predecessors at 235 kilos, proved that the evolving “sports activities leisure” viewers needed athleticism and technical talent to go along with their muscle repair. And, because of Hart’s shattering of the glass ceiling, by the mid-’90s, Shawn Michaels was capable of observe swimsuit, toppling “The Hitman” whereas weighing in at 235 kilos.

Progress was undoubtedly being made for the smaller man, besides, the concept a high-flying luchador might observe swimsuit appeared prefer it is perhaps a step too far for the bodybuilding fanatic, and supreme choice maker: Vince McMahon. It might take some enormous shifts within the professional Wrestling universe for perceptions to alter. However change they did.

Rey Mysterio’s Performances Influenced ECW, WCW, and WWE

With WWE’s “New Era Period” starting to lose viewers within the latter half of the nineties to the then edgier rival; World Championship Wrestling, there was a 3rd, smaller, wrestling promotion primarily based out of Philadelphia that was extra leading edge than each of these larger promotions mixed. Paul Heyman’s Excessive Championship Wrestling didn’t constrain itself with conventional “wrasslin” traditions just like the apply of utilizing lighter guys as fodder to be squashed by the larger marquee expertise. As a substitute, ECW centered on a full throttle, balls to the wall fashion, that went on to affect WWE’s a lot heralded comeback with its “Angle Period.”

Few true wrestling aficionados can low cost Rey Mysterio’s impression throughout this era. First there have been these traditional confrontations with Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis in ECW, then got here his superlative cruiserweight performances on WCW’s “Monday Nitro” present after signing with WWE’s greatest menace — serving to Nitro to trounce WWE’s “Monday Evening Uncooked” within the rankings for 83 weeks straight. Then, when WWE lastly rebounded and put their competitors out of enterprise, Mysterio was signed to Vince McMahon’s group and made a splash there.

The “Angle Period” viewers was chomping on the bit to see any individual recent like Mysterio shake up the established order and win wrestling greatest prize, and people prayers had been answered when he received the 2006 Royal Rumble and earned himself a profitable shot on the gold in a triple menace match in Madison Sq. Backyard. On that fateful night time, Mysterio had already cemented his legacy as a future WWE Corridor of Famer. And but right here we’re, almost twenty years on from that groundbreaking win, and this superhero in human type remains to be enthralling followers with a few of his most emotional moments but.

Mysterio grew to become an simple champion as a result of he’s relatable as an underdog, however he’s additionally been one of many persistently hardest staff within the mat recreation. “Ray Ray’s” enduring recognition has re-written the formulation of wrestling bosses reserving their winners and losers primarily based on measurement. And, after speaking to his friends right here in Hollywood, there’s no scarcity of affection for him within the WWE locker room.

The WWE Locker Room is Excited for Ray Mysterio to Go into the WWE Corridor of Fame

“I believe he ought to have been within the Corridor of Fame a very long time in the past,” says NXT Celebrity Alba Fyre, who explains that for her, Mysterio introduced escapism and pleasure to her tv display screen as a child, making her need to observe in his footsteps. Fyre’s tag staff accomplice Isla Daybreak couldn’t agree extra. “For me, he was simply one of many folks that I needed to be,” she says. “Me and my sisters would go into the again backyard and play wrestle and argue about who would play the a part of Ray!” Little question, this staff will channel Mysterio’s vitality and pleasure once they head to NXT Stand & Ship of their quest to turn out to be tag staff champions.

It’s not simply up and coming WWE Superstars that respect the person. Even athletes that got here from completely different circles to him can nonetheless admire his artwork.  “I believe the factor that individuals overlook concerning the lucha fashion is that they’ve actually technical stuff,” says Shayna Baszler, who got here to professional wrestling from the world of MMA and has a deep respect for Myseterio. “Within the again, speaking to Rey about a few of that’s one thing individuals in all probability wouldn’t count on.”

After all, at WrestleMania, Rey is ready to wrestle his son Dominik. Whereas the 2 will go to warfare on display screen, it’s honest to say that he has turn out to be an incredible mentor to his personal subsequent technology behind the scenes. Mysterio’s unselfishness in honoring his legacy whereas sharing his success with others isn’t misplaced on Santos Escobar and the Legado Del Fantasma steady. “We respect Rey. We admire Rey. And now we shield Rey” says Escobar. “For those who speak about large or small, he’s the smallest of all of them, however he’s an enormous. His coronary heart, enormous. His expertise even larger than that. You possibly can’t ignore that.” Mysterio has unquestionably opened the door for others to observe. “So, after I received right here (WWE) the very first thing was, I don’t wanna be just like the American superstars. I don’t wanna be like, with all due respect, the Hulk Hogan’s. I don’t wanna be like The Rock. I don’t wanna be just like the John Cena’s.”

Wouldn’t all of us need to step inside Rey Mysterio’s excessive flying footwear for the day? Watch Rey Mysterio’s WWE Corridor of Fame induction March 31 on Peacock in the US and WWE Network all over the place else.