Rey Rey's mask

[punk is gold]

I have two questions i wanna ask the wrestlezone universe #1 Is the wwe eventually heading down the road of rey removing his mask based on the fact apart from batista his two biggest feuds have been centered on or involved his mask(last year chris jericho this year c.m. punk)#2 Could rey's career survive without it or is it too much a part of the character

 

[Layorz]

He lost his mask in WCW and he managed just fine, but I think his fan base now wouldn't react well to Rey losing the mask, because they are mostly kids and Rey is portrayed almost the same way Cena is, an underdog that somehow manages to overcome the odds like some sort of super hero. It'd be liked doing a drastic heel change for Cena, most of the fan base would react badly.

 

[Fallen Angel 21.3]

NO NO NO!!!! That is the Ultimate Sign of disrespect from where Rey is from. Rey had to fight in a battle royal earlier in his career to wear that mask down in Mexico. Rey even got premission from his family to use the name Mystero. I know i truly want to see him unmasked but i respect his culture too much to ask that of him. WCW shouldn't have down it and if WWE respect Mexician wrestlers they won't make him do it either.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I think it's fair to say that Vince will not have that happen. Eric Bischoff teased it a few times and eventually it happened in WCW and that was one of the biggest mistakes they made. The Rey character that developed...shall we say...just didn't work.

When Vince got Rey for his outfit, he was very much set on restoring the masked Rey Mysterio because that was the character he wanted and that was the character that the fans wanted. The mask is not only a cultural tradition, it is a family tradition. I think on some level Vince understands that and I have no doubt that Mysterio will keep the mask until he either retires, passes it on to the next Rey Mysterio, or chooses to give it up for reasons of his own.

 

[klunderbunker]

I doubt it. If there is one thing WWE is good at, it's making money. Rey's masks are a GOLD MINE. Seriously, those things are like 35 bucks and they sell faster than anything that doesn't have Cena's name on it. Vince sees this and isn't about to cut off an income like that for shock value like Russo would. Even I wanted one of those things and I haven't bought a wrestling shirt since the early 90s. They're a gold mine and Vince is a lot smarter than that. Also, Rey is the best possible ambassador to Mexico and Latin America as the most popular and successful luchador of all time. Vince may be crazy at times, but he's not this stupid.

 

[punk is gold]

Klunderbunder, I understand the money that it brings in but if his character doesn't change soon what's to stop some fans from turning on him ala Cena ,now most likely they will never remove the mask but there's got to be some way to revitalize this character because when the wwe runs out of great feuds for him(cm punk,chris jericho) what else can they do with this character but remove the mask.

 

[klunderbunker]

Uh...what are you talking about? Rey is as popular as anyone in the company and is second likely only to Cena as far as kids go. His character doesn't need to change at all and he'll still be popular. The mask is what makes him popular. Rey's character isn't incredibly deep because it doesn't need to be. He's a guy that is colorful and gets people excited by doing lots of jumps. As long as he's different which he has to be because of his size, he'll get cheered.

 

[punk is gold]

Yeah but John Cena because of his current character is nowhere near as popular as he could or should have been if he would have kept the 2005 version of his character he might be already on the rock's level , plus if the fans love mysterio as much as you say they do(which i believe) they'll support him mask or not,maybe the mask is what's holding him back from that elusive world title I don't believe it's his size not now when the fans know the outcomes are determined.

 

[klunderbunker]

1. Cena will not and cannot be as big as Rock. Period.

2. How is his mask holding him back? His mask is who he is as without the mask he's just this little guy that can't do anything but jump around. Did you watch him in WCW after he lost it? He became complete uninteresting on so many levels. WIth it he's Rey Mysterio, the best small guy ever. The world title isn't coming to him because he's too small and because he failed as champion before, which was partially because of booking. Taking the mask off of him is going to hurt him, not help him.

 

[punk is gold]

Maybe the last thing you said was true but the version of Cena pre 2006's was reminiscent of the attitude era,he was vulgar ,he attacked women(ala Lita,Melina)these aspects along with the mic work which John Cena had at the time is what made the Rocks so popular. Now i've read enough of your reviews to know you love c.m. punk as do I,depending on what happens at fatal four way maybe the wwe is heading towards him and mysterio feuding over the world title when rey returns which would be very believable ,it's just how rey would be booked I think it was the only downfall of his first reign.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm not responding to the Rock part because it's not what this thread is about and it made my head hurt.

Anyway, yeah that's possible but I can't imagine Punk getting the belt there or how this would have anything to do with his mask. He might feud with Punk but with how far the angle has already gone, what's the point? Rey won, so why would he continue to fight Punk? I get that it would be for the title, but it's been done to death already. Rey's mask does not need to come off if they want him to be worth much of anything.

 

[Ferbian]

I don't think WWE will remove the mask of Rey Mysterio, first of all it's a massive seller in the WWE, and the fact that Rey Mysterio felt disrespected and saddened by being scripted to remove the mask in WCW.

I simply don't see WWE taking that turn, especially due to the fact that Rey Mysterio doesn't seem to want to be taking off the mask, it would be stupid to force him to remove the mask considering the love he has for the mask, the meaning behind it, and the due to the money it makes WWE.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Let's get one thing straight, as long as that mask sells, wwe will never remove it from rey mysterio...put that aside...wwe will not remove his mask anyway..
i dont see it happening..if they wanted it to happen they would have done it last year when he was fueding with Jericho...
WCW took it off him, he still did great and his look was incredible...but i think it shouldn't have happened...i am happy we got to see the real rey rey to...

 

[Daniel]

The mask will never go. Not only does that single piece of merchandise make a ton of money, Mysterio doesn't want to lose it. This is what he had to say when he took it off in a WCW storyline:

"I was strongly against it! 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. 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."

To me that quote says it all. The mask is an integral part of him. It's not just a piece of clothing, it is him. The fans will never get tired of a face Mysterio with the mask. I don't know why, he's had the same character since he joined WWE in 2002 but has never been booed like Cena has.

 

[Mudd2010]

NO NO NO!!!! That is the Ultimate Sign of disrespect from where Rey is from. Rey had to fight in a battle royal earlier in his career to wear that mask down in Mexico. Rey even got premission from his family to use the name Mystero. I know i truly want to see him unmasked but i respect his culture too much to ask that of him. WCW shouldn't have down it and if WWE respect Mexician wrestlers they won't make him do it either.

do you realize that it is an even bigger disrespect for you to lose your mask and then down the line put it back on. In mexico if you lost your mask you are forbidden to wear it again. wwe putting the mask back on mysterio because they wanted something for little kids to buy was a bigger disrespect then him losing the mask in the first place.

 

[Jonnie Walker]

He definitely shouldn't lose it. Here's one reason: A guy who is no taller than 5'6" isn't scary, but when they look like a 12 year old with down syndrome without it, you wouldn't believe they were an adult, let alone an in-ring competitor. Seriously, Rey's son Dominic is bigger and looks like more of an adult than Rey. Also, he will never lose the mask for a few reasons. One of them being, Vince loves money. Another is Rey having some respect for his culture, so he will not lose his mask. If he were to lose his mask, he would be where every other tiny high flyer is: in the lower midcard. Look at Evan Bourne. Yeah, I know, he was in the main event of Raw last night and pinned a former WWE Champion. But guess what else? Bourne winning one match doesn't propel him to a main-event level. The only reason Rey has a purpose is his mask. If he didn't have it, it would ruin him. The mask wouldn't be needed as everyone would know exactly what he looked like.

 

[GameOver]

Don't think it has anything to do with Vince having repsect for the latino community, if he did he wouldn't have pushed to buy out there largest promotions or regions.

But as far as the latino community who watch Smackdown, it keeps them watching.
and also i bet it has alot to do with the fact that Mysterio A) is meant to be Mysterious B) Looks like a little kid under the mask and alot of people have already seen it.

I'm not going to get into the legacy park of mask wearing as i'm not versed in all the ins and outs, but seems to me that Rey could've said i'm not going to lose the mask if it was truly that big a deal. Sure he'd lose his job, but he woulda got picked up fast

Anyway he's not the only one. Juventuud wrestled without his mask, Psychosis wrestled without his mask no doubt numerous others have aswell.

 

[TheLunatic]

I was in Mexico after Mysterio left WCW, and before he entered the E, and he wrestled in a luche libre event, and he wasn't allowed to wear his mask then. That's sacred stuff.
There was an uproar after he began wearing his mask again. I think if he's going to wear a mask again, he has to change his name, and wear a completely different mask design. (Which he isn't doing.)


But to the topic. Not a chance in hell WWE is going to disrespect Rey by making him remove his mask. He removed it after the death of Eddie, but, remember, he had his face down the whole time, and the cameras weren't positioned to see his face. (All in respect)
I'm not even sure we'll see Rey's face in the 'E, even when he retires, and the time afterwards. I'm sure he'll be in the HoF, and he'll be inducted with his mask on.

 

[Drunken Aviator]

if rey were to remove his mask it'd be disrespectful to his culture .
He would lose fans and wwe would lose profit there are other great fueds he can participate in such as the Batista one.
Overall if wwe were to remove his mask it would be a mistake

 

[billm75]

Rey is fine and will keep the mask on for his career in the WWE. The way to 'revitalize him' as someone mentioned is to give him time off to heal injuries, have surgery, etc.

Let someone like McIntyre put him out, for example. He'll be injured and healing in the eyes of the fans. When he comes back, instant fued if McIntyre survives that long. Let Kane put him out, hell, let Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins team up and kill him, it doesn't matter. As long as he's hurt and gone for 2 - 4 months, when he returns, he's revitalized....no need to change the character to do this.