Rey Mysterio reveals Vince McMahon wanted him to wear his mask when he signed with WWE

The Hall of Famer debuted with the WWE in 2002.

WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio‘s mask has now become synonymous with his iconic persona among fans, and it is impossible to picture him without it. However, there was a time he almost debuted without the mask in WWE.

After losing a match to the nWo in WCW in 1999, Rey Mysterio was forced to drop his mask. However, before his WWE debut, Vince McMahon intervened and insisted that he wear it. In a recent appearance, Mysterio has detailed the story of his debut.

Rey Mysterio was gearing up to debut without the mask

During a recent appearance on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast, the legend revealed the story of Vince’s intervention and the plans he had for his debut. Mysterio stated how he was picked up by WWE after WCW’s closure and was figuring out what gear to wear when he was told that Vince McMahon wanted him to come back with the mask.

“When the company closed down and WWE picked me up, I’m thinking in my head – ’cause I was already wrestling for two years without the mask – I’m thinking, ‘Okay, I got to figure out what gear I’m going to bring to WWE,’

Maybe a couple of days before my debut, they were like, ‘What mask are you wearing?’ The office did. I’m like, ‘What do you mean, what mask? I’ve been wrestling without a mask.’ [WWE said] ‘Oh, no, no, Vince wants you to come back with the mask. I was like, ‘Nobody told me anything.'”

Mysterio also stated that it was unheard of for a wrestler in Lucha Libre who is unmasked to wear a mask again, but he is glad and proud of the opportunity to wear the mask again.

“That was kind of at the time a trendsetter because anyone that lost their mask in Lucha Libre, that’s it. They know who you are, you can come back maybe a year later with a different name, [and] mask. Nobody will know who you are. But for me to have lost it, come back with the same name and wear the mask, it became something cool, something new. And I’m kind of proud of that moment.”

Rey Mysterio has been absent from WWE programming since April

Rey Mysterio was set to battle El Grande Americano at WrestleMania 41 and teach him a lesson for disrespecting the sacred tradition of lucha libre. However, the Hall of Famer suffered a groin injury and a busted eardrum.

Mysterio suffered the injury during the April 18 episode of SmackDown in a six-man tag team match alongside Rey Fenix and Dragon Lee against American Made. The show was the go-home show for WrestleMania 41.

The legend has since been absent from WWE programming and has only made a single appearance on June 7, 2025, where he opened AAA X WWE Worlds Collide 2025, which emanated from the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

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