Rey Mysterio Strongly Opposed His Unmasking In WCW But Had Bigger Concerns

Given how associated WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio is with his trademark mask, it's impossible to imagine him without it. And yet, it not only happened, but happened for multiple years. Though he would put the mask back on upon joining WWE in 2002, Mysterio spent over three years wrestling unmasked in WCW, Mexico, and the independent scene, after he and Konnan lost a mask vs. hair match to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall at WCW SuperBrawl IX.

To this day, the move remains a moment many wrestling fans would like to forget, and a moment scorned for those who unfortunately remember. That includes Mysterio himself. While it's been awhile since he's discussed it, Mysterio has made it clear he would've never unmasked if he had been given the choice. That was most apparent during a Q&A Mysterio held on his old website back in the mid-2000's.

"I was strongly against it!" Mysterio said. "I don't think WCW understood what the mask meant to me, to my fans and to my family. It was a very bad move on their behalf. The fans wanted Rey Mysterio with the mask and losing it hurt me a lot. It was also frustrating that it didn't come as the climax to a feud with another masked wrestler, but in a throwaway match. The same thing happened to Juventud and Psicosis and psychologically wise, it was a bad move by Eric Bischoff."

Something Mysterio didn't discuss answering this question was that SuperBrawl IX had only been the latest example of WCW trying to take his mask off. A plan had been in place a year and a half earlier for Mysterio to lose his mask at Halloween Havoc 1997, where he challenged Eddie Guerrero for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship in a Mask vs. Title match. According to Mysterio, he debated not even showing up for the match due to being afraid of losing his mask, and was only spared losing it when a last minute decision was made for Mysterio to defeat Guerrero and win the title.

Mysterio's story is very similar to that of the aforementioned Juventud Guerrera, who lost his mask a year prior to Mysterio at SuperBrawl VIII in a Mask vs. Title match against Chris Jericho, despite both he and Jericho being against the idea. To Mysterio's point, WCW unmasking them seemed to come from a place of ignorance towards the mask's importance, something seemingly confirmed by then WCW executive Eric Bischoff, who suggested he unmasked Mysterio because he felt it would help Mysterio connect with audiences better.

Whatever the reason, WCW's decision making put Mysterio and Guerrera in an impossible situation. And as Mysterio put it, that is ultimately why he and other luchadors had no choice but to go along with WCW's wishes.

"I think the fans understand that I was in a position where I had no option...I either had to lose my mask or lose my job," Mysterio said.