Rey Mysterio On What He Would Have Changed At The 2014 WWE Royal Rumble With Daniel Bryan
Rey Mysterio made an exciting return to the WWE for the first time since 2015 at the Royal Rumble last month. In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, Mysterio revealed that he was approached by the WWE at the beginning of the year to be a surprise entrance. He said it was a one-off appearance, for now.
"Well, since it's already been out. There is nothing I can hide. There was interaction with WWE and myself earlier this year, beginning in January. We wanted to come up with a surprise for a special entrance at the Royal Rumble," Mysterio explained. "I took the opportunity to come back, and do one event at this time right now. What better event than the Royal Rumble? I still hold the record for the longest time being in that ring and then winning it after all."
When Mysterio's music hit at the Rumble, the Philadelphia crowd was legitimately surprised and he received a great reaction. Mysterio said he was not expecting for the crowd to pop the way it did and he was blown away by the love he was shown. He said he also got a great response backstage from some of the superstars he hasn't seen since leaving the company.
"Being able to come back, being the first event that they give to the fans in the new year, the Rumble, was going to bring back a lot of sweet memories, which it did. I had no idea what to expect. You have that mystique, or the feeling of whether or not the fans want me back. I knew it was going to be a reaction, but I didn't know whether or not it was going to be a mixed reaction, and the fans blew me away. It was very emotional," he said. "From backstage, WWE staff; old faces that I hadn't seen in a while, like: Randy [Orton], Miz, Brock [Lesnar] and Paul Heyman, to stepping out on that stage and hearing the reaction from the fans. It was just breathtaking."
Mysterio also revealed the lengths the WWE took to ensure that people would be surprised by his appearance. The superstars backstage weren't given a heads up about the surprise entrants like himself and "Hurricane" Shane Helms.
"It was a very well kept secret. They had hidden us inside of a bus. They had me and The Hurricane inside of a bus," Mysterio explained. "We didn't fly into the city. We didn't fly into Philadelphia. We flew in from Newark, New Jersey on the day of the show so a lot of the wrestlers didn't know that we were going to be there."
The reaction Mysterio received for his appearance was a stark contrast to the reaction he received when he entered the Rumble in 2014. As the No. 30 entrant, fans booed loudly because they were hoping to see Daniel Bryan. It was a time where Bryan was at the height of his popularity in the WWE and many were hoping he would get a push to the top of the card. Mysterio said he understands the hatred from the fans wasn't necessarily for him specifically and if he had the chance, he would've let Bryan take his spot in the Rumble that year.
"I go back and think about that day. At the time of things happening like that moment, you don't think right off the top of your head, but I wish I would thought what I thought after the event, after watching it over and after hearing the reaction from the fans, I would have literally came back after hearing the reaction from the fans because I know that Daniel Bryan was backstage, I would have grabbed him and told him to come out and take my number," Mysterio said. "I would have walked backstage and given him my number and would have told him to take my spot, but unfortunately it didn't happen. The fans were pissed because they wanted to see someone else. The boos weren't directed at me, but wanted to see Daniel Bryan."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Inside The Ropes with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Inside The Ropes
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.