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Most people can admit that Rey Mysterio is among the all-time greats in professional wrestling, as someone his size garnered a decorated career in WWE. With that said, as Rey Mysterio's mask is an essential part of the presentation of his character, it was a big deal for him to bring back the mask for his initial WWE run in 2002 following the end of WCW. Because of this, many may wonder how Rey Mysterio got back his mask when he first signed with WWE, especially as it's a tradition in Mexican wrestling culture to remain unmasked following a stipulation.
Related: 10 Weird Rey Mysterio WWE Moments We Completely Forgot About
Rey Mysterio's Legendary Career In WWE
It doesn't take a lot to convince someone that Rey Mysterio is among the very best in the business. Since making his WWE debut in 2002, Rey Mysterio quickly established himself among the very prominent superstars of the Ruthless Aggression Era. While making an impact on the SmackDown brand, Rey Mysterio generated an overwhelmingly successful career in WWE by winning many singles and tag team championships, including being a former WWE Champion and two-time World Heavyweight Champion. Rey Mysterio has also battled and beaten the best WWE had to offer, picking up wins against Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, and many more.
Because of his name value, Rey Mysterio is still wrestling on primetime TV in WWE, as he's still moving around in the ring despite being much older. When the time does come for him to hang up his boots, based on his overall contributions to wrestling, Rey Mysterio will be inducted as a Hall of Famer.
Related: Every Major Injury Of Rey Mysterio's Wrestling Career, Explained
The Importance Of Rey Mysterio's Mask
Although Rey Mysterio is best known for his multiple runs in WWE, his wrestling career goes back to when he made his professional wrestling debut during the late 1980s. Long before Rey Mysterio had his prime run in WWE, he wrestled for many promotions throughout the 1990s, from AAA in Mexico to American promotions like ECW and WCW, as he wrestled for WCW on primetime TV during the Monday Night Wars.
Whether Rey Mysterio wrestled for WWE, WCW, or anywhere else, the one aspect of his career that mostly stayed with him was the mask. Although there was a short period where Rey Mysterio wrestled without it in WCW, the mask became a signature characteristic of Rey Mysterio. Because of the importance of Rey Mysterio's mask, there's a reason why WWE requested him to wear it when first signing with the company.
There have been many masked wrestlers in WWE, with some who've worn Lucha masks. However, there's no other masked superstar who represented the Luchador culture in WWE like Rey Mysterio. Throughout his WWE run, the mask allowed him to stand out as one of the most distinctive superstars in the company's history. It helped present Rey Mysterio's character as a larger-than-life figure despite being physically smaller than most superstars, almost like a real-life superhero come to life.
Rey Mysterio Started Wearing A Mask Again When He Debuted In WWE
After losing to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall along with Konnan in a tag match at Superbrawl IX, Rey Mysterio removed his mask per stipulation if he were to lose the bout. After that, Rey Mysterio wrestled the rest of his WCW run without his signature mask.
In the Luchador culture, if a wrestler were to lose his mask, re-masking would generate controversy for violating its tradition. When WWE wanted Rey Mysterio to wear a mask despite losing it in a stipulation, one would imagine that it would be a big deal among traditionalists of Luchador wrestling.
Related: Why Rey Mysterio Left WWE In 2015, Explained
Because it's a big deal, Rey Mysterio had asked the official Lucha Libre commission if he could once again wear his mask for his WWE run, to which the commission permitted him. As some might be surprised that the commission decided to let him wrestle in a mask again, Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer was asked in 2018 about Rey Mysterio getting permission despite the controversy of violating the Luchador tradition. He replied on Twitter that the rules have become less strict than before. From the time he made his WWE debut in 2002 to his current run in the company, Rey Mysterio's mask has always remained intact.
