Mysterio without the mask.....

[Cookie14]

In WCW, Rey Mysterio lost a match forcing him to give up his mask. Traditionally, when wrestlers of Mexican heritage, especially lucha-libres lose a mask that they wear, they are NEVER allowed to wear it again.
However, within a few weeks Mysterio was back wearing the mask.

Fast-Forward to today, Mysterio is one of the biggest faces in WWE. Only Cena sells more merchandise than Rey.

Vince loves anyone that can make money, daft as it sounds, masks make money, especially in a PG Era. Kids want to pretend to look like their heroes, but they know they don't look like Cena, Taker, Jericho etc. Put a mask on, you look like that wrestler, because we don't know what they look like.

So, I ask you, the IWC.........

Would Rey have been as popular without the mask?
Where would his career have taken him?
Would he have been in WWE as long, or as prominently?
Could he play a heel?
Would he even still be wrestling at all?

I have tried to find this thread, and failed. I'm suprised that it seems to have never been done before......

 

[CH David]

Rey is huge in the Hispanic market. So he would still be a pretty big following from that crowd. Now his masks make a shit ton of money. Without it, I don't think he would be behind Cena in merchandise, but then again, Vince would find a way to get his merchandise out no matter what. He markets to kids, and likely would still be where he is at right now. He had his feuds with Eddie and Chavo. It was also his connection with Eddie that got him his first World Heavyweight Championship reign.

Now the question, would he be a heel is interesting. I think if there was still a cruiserweight division, or at least more wrestlers that can move more his speed, then maybe he could pull it off. Give a bad attitude and beat them with a chair or turn on the fans. However, this whole underdog thing (which is annoying for me) makes it so that he can't be a heel. But then again, it's Rey, so he probably wouldn't be a heel at all.

He could also still be wrestling, even if he weren't in the WWE. Even with his injuries and age, he can still go fairly well. Obviously he wouldn't be what he was back in WCW, or even in the 2002-2005ish range.

The mask is important for merchandise in the WWE. In the grand scheme of things, Rey wouldn't get pushed as much as he has without it, at least for kids, but he would still be pretty damn popular. He can connect with kids without the mask and present an underdog story, and he connects with the Hispanic market. Those are two big markets right there.