Rey Mysterio Talks Eric Bischoff Threatening To Sue Him In WCW, Working With Eddie Guerrero
Konnan and Court Bauer talked with Rey Mysterio, Jr. on MLW Radio recently. Among other things, Mysterio talked about Eric Bischoff threatening him with a breach of contract lawsuit over not wanting to lose his mask in WCW and Mysterio talked about working with the late great Eddie Guerrero.
According to Mysterio, he was originally planned to lose his mask in his classic WCW Cruiserweight Championship match against Guerrero at WCW Halloween Havoc 1997. When Mysterio told Bischoff that he did not want to lose his mask, Bischoff threatened Mysterio with a breach of contract lawsuit.
"I remember getting in there a day or two early before the pay-per-view and we saw Eric [Bischoff] at the Betty Boop Bar, at the MGM Grand [Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada], which is right there at the entrance and I remember I wanted to talk to him. And it was very brief, but I told him that I wasn't comfortable doing that match, especially, well, I wasn't comfortable losing my mask. And he was like, 'Rey, you have to do what you're told [because] you're under contract or else you'll be in breach of contract', so he was really getting at me that day. That whole week was a nightmare, man."
When Bischoff got wind that Mysterio was thinking about no-showing the event, Bischoff called Mysterio at his home.
"He called my house and I picked up. And I guess he had heard that I wasn't going to show up and he said, 'Rey, you'd better show up' and again he mentioned the same thing, 'or else you'll be in breach of contract and it's going to get really ugly', so I did show up on the night at the bar and the next day, of course, showtime, we set up the match and we were good to go." Mysterio continued, "Eddie [Guerrero] did tell me, 'if you don't want to do this, we don't have to,' so he was backing me up 100%. I said, 'naw, lets just go with it. Lets just do it.' I want to say a match before ours, the decision was changed, and, again, they were just messing with me."
Konnan added that Chris Jericho, who had worked in Mexico and understood the importance of masks to luchadors, backed up Juventud Guerrera in a similar way.
The mask vs. championship match between Mysterio and Guerrero went on to be one of the greatest professional wrestling matches ever and Mysterio credited Guerrero for the way it turned out. Although the two had planned the match in advance, Guerrero ended up calling the match in the ring.
As for the 2005 WWE feud between Mysterio and Guerrero over the custody of Mysterio's son, Dominick, Mysterio said that Guerrero went all out and came up with a lot of the ideas for the angle himself. Bauer, who wrote for WWE during the time of the feud, said that Guerrero filmed Dominick at a playground with a camcorder on his own accord and even pitched an idea where Guerrero would have glowing red eyes to demonstrate his evil intentions.
In addition to these topics, Mysterio discussed transitioning from the American style of wrestling back to the Mexican style, up and coming Mexican talents, and much more. Click here to check out the entire show.
Source: MLW Radio