When last we saw Rey Mysterio Jr., his once-amazing luchadore style had been toned down quite a bit due to a nagging knee injury.
Has anyone here who saw him in WCW about '96 also seen him recently at a house show? If so, could I trouble you for an honest assessment of how Rey's been doing? Has the old Rey Jr.'s high-flying style returned along with his old outfit?
“And each and every one of you, when you see me, you will not put your eyes directly on me-- you will look to the ground and you will refer to me as 'Lord Master.'”
Kevin Nash, January 17, 2000
Two-Time, Two-Time Randomly Selected Weiner of the Day, 5/27/02 and 7/3/02
I've been waiting for someone to bring up Rey, so now I'm compelled to actually join in on the talk as opposed to being a passive reader.
The house show reports I've read tell of a return to the high-flying exciting style, but I'm waiting very cautiously for the 25th to see for myself.
I think they're doing the right thing putting the mask back on as most of the WWE's current viewers were not watching Nitro in 96 or even in 99, I believe. And without the mask, Rey's baby face is not so intimidating. BUT, I'm concerned as the big glacier push they're giving him will fall flat very quickly if he wrestling like Rey the mediocre filthy animal as opposed to Rey the breathtaking high flyer that they're showing in the ads.
I second ekedolphin's request for any information from those who have seen him at recent shows.
One thing's for sure: he could have the fans hating him within seconds of busting out the roughrider/broncobuster. Anything that makes you look like X-Pac = fan hatred.
WyldeWolf1 The Man of 1,007 holds, making him 3 holds better than Chris Jericho!
1wrestling had pictures of him at at a house show (vs. Funaki) that a fan had taken. He had baggy pants on, but with the mask, of course. I think regular tights would have been the way to go, imo. If they are going to go back to his traditional mask, why not the tights too? The pants/tights combo just seemed weird to me. Who knows if they will keep that for his TV debut, though.
(edited by Eradicator on 15.7.02 1150) Yes, indeed I can dig it, Sucker.
Whether due to the knee injury, I always thought that once Rey lost his mask, he became a much less interesting wrestler. It almost seemed like Masked Rey and Unmasked Rey were two different people. But then, if he never took off his mask, I wouldn't have recognized him at that bar in San Diego and said hello.
I am really hoping that the old Rey is back-the high flying underdog who does the crazy shi-at.
To me, Mysterio's unmasked career started out very well, as he played the Giant Killer over Kevin Nash (in a stunning upset), Scott Norton, and other big mo-fos. But after Mysterio and the Filthy Animals turned into gangsta heels, I couldn't stand any of them.
If the old Rey is back, you know I'm there. He, Ultimo Dragon, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero got me into wrestling in the first place.
“And each and every one of you, when you see me, you will not put your eyes directly on me-- you will look to the ground and you will refer to me as 'Lord Master.'”
Kevin Nash, January 17, 2000
Two-Time, Two-Time Randomly Selected Weiner of the Day, 5/27/02 and 7/3/02
Rey's gonna be fine, wrestling wise, if what we saw on CMLL the times he's dropped by is still true.
He's not gonna just be doing high spot after high spot, because the WWE hates that style [spotastic and lucha], but that's good because he'd have a hard time staying healthy doing that four times a week (and all the muscle mass supposedly will make it evne tougher.) Still, he should be able to do enough to distingush himself as Rey Mysterio by work alone.
I hope he and Kidman have a vignette where they discuss their next title defense.
Meltzer this week said, in a photo he looked like The Patroit (Del Wilkes, not Tom Brandi).
Dave (and others) seem to be possibly worried about rey putting on too much muscle mass and might not be up to past ability/skill level.
“The function of a good teacher is to discourage film as a course of study for the non-avid. There are film societies and cinemas galore for the serious non-film student.” – Robert Steele, “Film Scholars at the New York Film Festival,” FILM COMMENT 2, Fall 1964, p. 41, as quoted in It’s Only a Movie, by Raymond J. Haberski Jr.
Originally posted by WyldeWolf1One thing's for sure: he could have the fans hating him within seconds of busting out the roughrider/broncobuster. Anything that makes you look like X-Pac = fan hatred.
Well, remember the unspoken WWF rule: "He who steals my trademark move, homoerotic or not, shall be molested by a grizzly bear until you learn"
Exceptions: The Book End, The Vinny Mac Stunner, The Corporate/Vinny Mac Elbow, The Hurrichokeslam
Bart: Hey, immigrants! Beat it! Country's full! Sailor: OK people, you heard the lady. Back into the hold. We'll try Canada. [the immigrants moan] -- "The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson"
"That's what the Internet is for, slandering others anonymously" Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back
An open letter to Andrew Gilkison from me: Sir, I am no longer pleased with your product and thus will not read it. I am the consumer and your product is not living up to my expectations. I could open up an Andrew Gilkison message board and cry about it, but that's a waste of my time. In the meantime, I would suggest you work on improving your product. Thank you.
Watching RAW and Smackdown doesn't cost anymore than your posts do. And so, like a good consumer, I'm tuning you out.
I saw him here in Fresno on the 16th of June against Chavo, and he was definately more mid nineties Rey than Filthy Animals Rey. I think they have him in the baggier pants to hide the knee braces. Also, the mask is a VERY good idea.
When my time on earth is done, and my activities have passed. I want they bury me upside down, so my critics can kiss my ass. Bobby Knight
Plus, he's got a fucking ENORMOUS tattoo on his back. Seriously, it makes it look like Brock pussied out when he got to the tattoo parlour.
Not that this means anything, of course...
"This is politics in America. 'I believe the puppet on the left shares my beliefs. I believe the puppet on the right is more to my liking.' 'Hey, wait a minute! There's one guy holding up both puppe-''Shut up!'" - Bill Hicks (1961-1994)
I agree the mask is the way to go...those of us that are still watching after the death of the WCW mostly liked the mask better. Today's WWF fan probably doesn't know much about who he is, so the mask still works.
My only fear is who they're going to pair him with first. The promos they've been running don't really give a good perspective for Rey's size. If he's in with someone too big, he's going to look like a midget.
Before he kept killing himself, he was one of my favorites from WCW. He managed to actually use the highspots with ring psychology, not just as a "spotfest". So I'm really pulling for him to work out.
I wouldn't worry too much about him being outsized. Smackdown isn't exactly bristling with giants, and there's no doubt in my mind they'll throw him in with the Tajiri, Kidman, Hurricane group, at least in the beginning. Hopefully that'll give them a reason to let someone other the Noble do the talking. *shudder*
I'm sure someone with one of those new-fangled fancy dan VCRs could dissect every scene of those Rey promos and conclude that he's only shown in his mask.
Actually, he seemed to be going back to the mask in WCW's final weeks. I know the last Nitro featured him coming out to the ring wearing a half-mask/cyborg-looking dealie. He took it off when the bell rang, but it was still nifty.
That reminds me... does he still have his half of the Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship?
>I'm sure someone with one of those new-fangled fancy dan >VCRs could dissect every scene of those Rey promos and >conclude that he's only shown in his mask.
In the first one, they had a split second frame from behind of him doing the top rope low blow legdrop with his mask off.
Spent a lazy Sunday yesterday uploading these photos from a bunch of House Shows and PPVs I attended during my youth. Enjoy! http://imgur.com/a/PaPkq#0