Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Rey Mysterio On Dirty Dom, Eddie Guerrero, Retirement, Never Turning Heel (Interview From June 2024)

Episode Date: January 2, 2025

Rey Mysterio (@reymysterio) is a legendary professional wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer. This interview originally aired in June 2024. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Las Vegas to talk about his incredible career and the fact that he is still wrestling in WWE, being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame as an active wrestler, his son Dominik developing his heel persona, never wrestling Triple H in WWE, his thoughts on retirement, how he developed the 619 as a wrestling move, being swung on a stretcher by Big Show, his favorite mask, getting thrown like a lawn dart by Kevin Nash, the rumor that he was a stunt double in the horror movie Freddy vs. Jason, his iconic match against Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc in 1997, winning the Royal Rumble from the #2 spot, never turning heel in WWE and much more! Sponsors: PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank which was designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at https://bluechew.com RHONE: Rhone’s premium performance clothing is made to move you. Use code CVV to save 20% at https://www.rhone.com/CVV MANSCAPED: Get 20% off plus free shipping when you use the code CHRISVAN at https://manscaped.com PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.  Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleege. Ray, thank you for making this happen. Thank you for the invitation, man. What a special day it is. I can't believe we haven't done this before. That's crazy. I had Dom on a few years ago. Really?

How long you've been doing this? So, I mean, that's a long story, but 20 years of like TV, radio. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had the podcast for five, and the YouTube channel I started in 2011. Wow. So I don't know how our paths haven't crossed till right now. He never asked. I would have been there.

I asked and we made it happen. Yeah, that's awesome. And it wouldn't have made sense to have it on any other time. That's beautiful. I love it. So thank you for being here. My pleasure. It's amazing how many wrestling fans know you for 619. They don't even know what 619 means.

They don't even know it's the area code in San Diego. The best thing about that is when I travel overseas, whether it's Japan or Europe, especially at the beginning of my career with WWE, when the 619 started to flourish, he would see the signs. And like you said, they had no idea what it was. They just knew it was a move. Of course, little by little, I started giving them the brief explanation of the representation of the move being the area code of my city, San Diego, the city that saw me grow up,

that raised me. So, yeah, it was cool. Yeah, there's a lot of people that don't know any area codes in the U.S., but they know 619. And they made it famous. And back then, who had a song? Was it JZ? Area code?

No. Ludicrous. Ludicrous, yeah, yeah, ludicrous, you're right. Yeah, area codes. Different area codes. And I was mad because he didn't bust the 619 there. I feel like it's you and Pitbull. Like, he's Mr. 305 and you're 619.

Oh, wow. And those are like the only area codes people know. Yeah, I love it. If you don't live in the U.S. Miami, right? Yes. Miami, my cell phone is actually a 305. Nice.

Yes, that makes me Mr. 305. Mr. 619 and Mr. 305. Wearing your mask your whole career. Well, not your whole career, because there was a, quite a long period in WCW when you didn't. Do you get recognized when you're not wearing it? Now more than than ever. Back in a day, before I lost a mask in WCW,

I had a big amount of time that was my private time. Nobody knew who I was. Obviously, my size would give it away most of the times, especially traveling with the rest of the boys. You know, they'd kind of figure it out, oh, that's got to be Ray Mysterio. But when I did lose a mask against Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, rest and peace, that time period with the filthy animals and that whole Ray Mysterio unmask kind of opened the eyes of the lot of fans that didn't know who I was now. My face was out there, so I was recognizable.

If we go to your house, is there just a room? full of masks? What would you say, I do have my collection. It's pretty big. How many? Man, I've lost track over the time, but I can probably say

between the ones that I have in my closet, in my office, and in other rooms of the house, a little bit over 500. Okay, 500. Yeah, yeah. How do you decide on what day what you're going to wear?

I usually try to flip my outfits. I try to get at least two outfits a month and I just kind of rotate them. Rotate them. I'll use one, let's say, next Monday and then I won't use it again for like two or three months. So it feels kind of new again. But do the masks that you wear like today, does that count against that? No, these. Only the TV masks.

Yes, the TV masks are full outfit, complete, same color combination. The ones that I'm wearing right now, the material is a little bit stiffer. and it has a zipper on the back part and these are just presentation masks or we'd call them when I do autograph appearances any interviews on TV

stuff like that this is the type of mask that you would normally see. So when you're doing an appearance like this and it isn't a wrestling match, are you matching it like I'm going to wear pink shirt so then I got to wear a pink mask? My wife gives me shit all the time and I think I pick that up from my mom. Yeah, I might rock some blue

jeans, some yellow kicks, maybe a light blue t-shirt and a yellow mask. So I have to match it with something that I'm wearing that day. Yeah, yeah. What about the hard mask that you wear, like the flash mask that you wore? What are those made out of? The one that I wore last year at WrestleMania, that's latex. Yes, right? Silicon.

So I had one that was made out of latex that I didn't like because with the sweat and wrestling underneath that mask. It kept shifting. So what we did is we created a silicone one, and that silicone was perfect. And what we did to mold that, we used one of my original masks that I wrestle in. We took off all the designs. We just slept the material. And we built that mask over that one.

So it fits perfect. When you look at all your masks, each one of them tells a story, right? Oh, I was in a match with this person wearing this match or a match with this person wearing this one. Do you retire matches? or matches, mass? Yes, I do. Most definitely. The crazy thing is I have so many outfits that I've used throughout my career that I won't remember

sometimes when I use a particular outfit. But if I have, there's a good friend of mine, Panchito, that he comes over to the house every now and then. And he likes to see my collection. And I'll show him something. He goes, oh, that's the one you use against the big show. Like, how do you remember that? I didn't remember that.

So particular ones really stand out, like my first match with WWE on SmackDown, which was against Chobo, that red outfit. Yeah. That one was special. So that those kind of outfits do stand out. What did the conversation sound like when they said to you, Ray, we think you should go without a mask for a little while in WCW? Oh, my God. That was one of the conversations that we battled for it not to happen.

And not just me, Conan was probably the first one that said, no, you don't understand. There's a history here. Not just the history, but the fact that Ray is marketable with the mask, like the kids, you know. And I just started watching the Who Killed WCW. I actually was falling up with episode two last night. And I had it turned off because I was tired. but it took me back to that era. And I wish that WCW would have known how to market the character of Ray Mysterio.

And it's something that maybe at the time, because there was so much going on and so many big names, I was nobody back then. You know, I was just given an opportunity. But I truly believe that at the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. And it didn't happen in WCW because it wasn't meant to be. As soon as I came to WWE, everything just started happening, you know, and fast.

Funny thing that when I got signed by WWE, I remember going to OVW training a week prior to my debut. And somebody came up and asked me, Ray, they're asking, what outfit are you planning to use on your debut? I said, well, I was thinking of using this right here. And they were like, what about the mask? I said, I'm not wearing a mask. I don't wear a mask anymore. He goes, no, no, no. Vince wants you to come back with the mask.

So my idea was already thinking, okay, I'm going to come back with the baggy pants. Yeah. The horns that I was wearing at the time. Yeah. And they're like, no, no, no, we want the old Ray Mysterio. So right then and there, I thought, okay, this is now the time to just kick it back in gear and start moving forward. So when they signed you, that wasn't even part of the conversation.

No. I want you to wear a mask. No, believe it or not, it wasn't. I guess they probably subconsciously thought, well, he's going to come back with the mask. But at the time, I was wrestling without it. So I kind of started getting used to not using the mask for a while. Is it easier to wrestle without a mask? I'm sure you've gotten used to wearing a mask, but it must be different.

It was difficult wrestling without the mask the following night after the pay-per-view where I lost it. Yeah. And I say this all the time. I felt like I was naked. Like there's some sort of protection that I get every time I put the mask on, whether it's covering up my mistakes when I make them or just not having the fans see who is behind the mask. And it just felt kind of awkward. But after doing it for quite some time, I started feeling comfortable.

And I was getting the hang of it, you know, my whole life wrestling with the mask since the age of 14. so it just felt kind of weird. But when it came back, I adapted right away and I would much prefer wrestling with the mask on, definitely. So what happens when a fan meets you at, say, the airport and you're not wearing a mask? And they want to take a photo with you. Back then, it would have been a bit difficult.

Like, I would have kind of brushed them off and went another direction. Now I don't mind. I really don't mind. They know who I am. In a way, I feel like I started a new trend because obviously when you're a luchador and you've been wearing a mask,

you protect your identity. You don't want people to know who you are. You know, that's the whole mystique of Lucha Libre. And when I lost it, came back and wrestled with it, and now that fans run into me and they see me, they don't make a big deal about it. Like they point me out, and they give me the respect, the props for what I've accomplished.

And then they might ask, can I get a picture with you, Ray? I know you don't have the mask. Like even going out of their way to know that, even though I wrestle without it, and I don't have it right now, can they take a picture with me? And I'm like, yeah,

sometimes they won't ask, and I feel like they want to ask. So I'll tell them, come on, man, break your phone out. Let's get a picture. And we'll take a picture together. Do you cover your face at all? I've seen in some photos.

You put your hand in front of your face? Every now and then, I might throw falcons like this. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or it all depends. I do try to protect my face still to this day when I see little kids around

because that kind of breaks the illusion of, is that, bring a mystery? I don't know, you know. In the ring, I see him with the mask. Or on TV, I see him with the mask. He's not wearing his mask. Younger, younger kids. But overall, I try to comfort them with whatever it is

that they need so they can leave happy. Is there a certain sense of like Clark Kent and Superman? In a way. I would think, yes, in a way, you know, it's kind of cool when they have no idea and they kind of try to figure it out. And that's when I leave them with the question mark. I don't even bother on saying, yes, it's me. Or sometimes I'll ask.

And Daniel's been through one of these. No, you're, I don't think, no, that's not you, right? Who am I? Well, you know, I'm a big fan of wrestling, but I just, are you Ramest there? and then I'll break it out. Yes, I am. Those are cool moments. There was nobody like you before you started doing this.

What made you think you could do it? My passion, without a doubt, my commitment to becoming who I am now. Obviously, no idea when I was younger that this name and this character would grow as big as it has over the years. But growing up and seeing my uncle wrestle and wanting to. to emulate him and remember pulling up to the arenas in mid-80s, me helping him with this bag and the kids running up to him, Ramey Stedio, Ramey Stedry. He would put his mask on like maybe a block away before we pulled to the arena

and just seeing the attention that he would get for autographs or the pictures. I was like, man, this is cool. I want to do this. Like, I want to be like that. So just never thought it would be. be to a completely different level. You came up in a time when everybody was big. Everybody was huge.

Yeah. And what made you stand apart and stand out from them was the fact that you weren't. Yeah. Well, what made them see something in you? I truly believe, and I'm a faithful believer that my work obviously got, it got me where I'm at now. But my work wouldn't have been accomplished without. the opponents that I've had over the years.

You know, it takes two to tango and starting off with psychosis. And just the chemistry we had, you know, they would see Raymister. It was like, wow, this is unbelievable. Like, we've never seen anything like this. And that has a lot to do with the person that would be across from me in the ring, making me look good, extra good. And me, as far as my work goes, it was, making me

making the fans believe that this heel that's in front of me is a badass heel and can eventually take me down at any point. And over the years, that's pretty much what happened. Dean Malenko, my first match in WCW, ECW with psychosis, and we had already had a history from just training together in the ring back in early 90s.

So, yeah, I lost track of the question. But yeah, that connection that I've had over the years with rivals have definitely secured my position where I'm at today. No man wants to lose his hair, but for men, it's actually pretty common. And now with Hymns, the solution is simple. Try Hymns' hair loss solutions, and you'll be joining hundreds of thousands of subscribers who got their flowback. Hymns provides access to a range of hair loss treatments that work, all from the comfort of your couch. Hems makes treating hair loss simple, but doctor-trusted treatment officer. options and clinically proven ingredients like finasteride and monocidil that can regrow hair in as little

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Do you remember putting that match together with Eddie? Yes, I do. I was nervous as hell too. So the side story about that was the struggle was no, I don't want to lose a mask. Me not wanting to go to the pay-per-view, me getting a phone call. Eric might not remember this, but me getting a phone call by Eric Bishop

at my house saying, you better show up because if you don't show up, you're in breach of contract. And the idea was for me to lose the mask that night. And I really didn't want to. So I said, what the hell? All right, show up, go Sunday, the pay-per-view. We start prepping the matchup.

And probably a match before, We went up. The decision was already made. Ray, you're losing the mask. Eddie retains the title and keeps your mask. A match before ours, they come up and they say, no. We switched it. Ray, you're winning.

Eddie, you're dropping the title. Wow. I don't know if Eddie knew anything about it. But I'm pretty sure if he would have, he would have let me know. But throughout this whole time, you can only imagine trying to prep my match up knowing that this is my last night wrestling with the mask. Well, to the flip side of that, that match was literally the one that put me on the map with Eddie, which is crazy.

And I was so nervous. And I remember Eddie just telling me before the match, just listen to me out there, which he would do most of the times, listen to me. He wouldn't like to set up a lot of the spots backstage. He would like to just go out there and feel it. But he knew what I was capable of. and he knew I had a good ear for listening. So, yeah, man, it was crazy to even go back and put myself in that spot,

even just the lockup of the hands into the pull up, into the top rope and the backboard, backflip DDT. Like, I remember that, like, if it was yesterday. That's how crazy it is. Wow. Yeah, we never practiced that. We never rehearsed it. Nowadays, I like to sometimes go in and kind of, if I'm doing something new, try to visualize it, maybe go in there and try it one time, see if it works.

And then I'll say, okay, yeah, it'll happen. But that one, no, it just happened in the ring. Yeah, that match is damn near perfect. That, thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Where does that rank in all the matches you've had? For me, particularly it ranks at number one as far as Ray Mysterio being recognizable.

you know, worldwide. Definitely. The chemistry Eddie and I had was just on a different level. The good thing about my performance, I feel, and I might be getting ahead of myself, but I've managed to have great connection with most of my opponents, you know, whether it was a Dean Melenko, whether it was a psychosis, whether it was a Kurt Angle, you know, I've always had great chemistry with them. And that kind of secures the spot in a way.

You know, it just, it gives your opponent that confidence to be able to call things on the fly and do things in the moment. When WCW went under, got bought out by WWE, you had made a name for yourself there. How were you not immediately brought over? I think at the time I was probably making a little too much in WCW money-wise. And the contract was still running when the company was bought out. The conversation at the time was, Ray, sit back, you know, enjoy your pay for the rest of the year. That's in your contract. And once it's expired, we'll sit down and we'll negotiate.

And at the time, I thought it was a way for them to say, we're not really interested. You know, I truly, that's what I thought, because I had always heard that too small, definitely too small for WWE and that it wasn't going to happen. So I remember when Eddie and Saturn and well, Jericho was the first one to leave, but when Dean and them. The radicals. Yeah, the radicals. When they left, I kind of had a bit of hope like, okay, if they're there, probably one day I'll be able to make it. Yeah. But sure enough, when they bought out the company and they told me to wait, I thought it was them saying, in a good way, you know, we're interested, but not right now.

Just being polite. Yeah. But no, I mean, JR kept his word. Once my contract was expired, we sat down, we negotiated, and I kicked off the first year. Yeah, and you were booked like a star. It was crazy. Yeah. It was crazy.

They really put me to work. And that's what I wanted, you know. I wanted to be able to prove that despite my size that I would be able to go in there and get some attention, you know, get some eyeballs looking at Ray Mysterium what he can do. When did you start to realize that because of what? what you were doing at your size, you were really helping to influence younger wrestlers who might have been able to go, hey, man, I'm not that big,

but if Ramasiru can do it, then I can do it. You know, that's crazy, because I never really took the time to sit back and reflect on moments like that, not until I ran into people like ricochade, who, when I first worked against them in Lucha Underground, We had a chance to talk and just him telling me, bro, I grew up watching.

Like, I wanted to be and do stuff like you. You know, I had, I believe he said three guys. I know Rock was one of them and myself was the other. I can't remember the third person. But to hear someone of that level say, bro, because of you, I'm doing this. And I've always wanted to do this. You know, when I saw you the first time,

your size, everything you were doing, was like something so freaking cool. Yeah. You know, and stuff like that kind of makes you sit back and view the big picture. Like, wow, that much of an impact and an influence I had, you know, not just on him, but on many that are still doing it right now. Yeah. That are getting their names to the top, you know, working hard to eventually, you know,

have a status that I probably started getting when I was growing up in WWE. You've done so many things in the ring that people. hadn't seen before. How'd you learn you could do the 619? So that move, the first time I ever saw it, was from a wrestler that I grew up watching in Tijuana. He used to be one of my uncle's partners. His name is Super Astro.

And he was probably about 5-1, 5-2, very stock. He had like a mighty mouse built to him. And he would haul ass and just swing through the ropes. Nobody being there, he would just swing and kind of fake. dive to the floor and the appointment kind of like just move out of the way but when I saw it the first time I'm like oh this is so cool and then surely enough later when I started to get into Japanese wrestling I saw a tiger mask I believe he was probably the first one to start doing it if I'm not mistaken and then one of my good friends Damien 66 said to me one day why don't you

do that move but put your opponent against the ropes and swing your legs around and hit him connect. Like, oh, that sounds cool. Sure enough, I started doing it. Started to get a reaction. And the name at the time, behind that move, I kind of picked up off of Stone Cold 316. I said, let's put a 619 here.

Yeah. So that's how it all came about. There's so many of those moves that you've done like that where you just, you do them and people hadn't seen them before. What's the thought process that usually goes into figuring something out for the first time? I really get inspired watching old school matches, whether it's Japan or Mexico, and I kind of add my little twist to it.

If I'll see a move that I like, and I think I can replicate it in a way, but add my twist to it, I'll visualize it. I'll say, yes, I think I can do it. And pull it off. And back then, it was, I would sit the bleachers and kind of take a look at the ring and if I jump from here to here

and then do the backflip, yeah, it's possible. And sometimes, you know, a lot of those moves that I would practice or that I would do, I wouldn't practice. I would just kind of tell my opponent, you know, you think we can do this?

Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll be there for you. Again, going back to taking two to tango, my opponent would have to, I would have to give my trust completely to him to be able to catch me and then, you know, make it work so it looks cool. Yeah.

But a lot of those moves happen like that, visualization, and then execute. By the way, is that your Hall of Fame ring or your version of the Hall of Fame ring? This is what Iceman Nick, right? Yeah, my brother, Spiff made that for me through Iceman Nick. Yeah. So you're wearing this as your Hall of Fame ring? That's my Hall of Fame ring. Yeah.

Looks like you won the Super Bowl. Yeah, it does. That's badass. Thank you, man. Thank you. Yeah, big props to my boy Spiff, man. I caught my eye. I'm like, I got to ask about that.

You're inducted into the Hall of Fame while you're still active. That's crazy. I mean, come on. That's crazy. Like, when that first was brought up. Look at how much water you've got here. My goodness, you can tell he's a bodybuilder. I'm a drown.

What is it, a gallon? It's three quarters of a gallon. Just three quarters of a gallon. You know, no big deal. But inducted into the Hall of Fame while you're still active, there's a very short list of people who've done that. So when that was brought up to me, I'm like, hey, Ray, we want to induct you to the Hall of Fame. And it was Hunter that mentioned it to me.

You know, we're thinking of doing it in L.A., you know, since so close to your hometowns, your backyard. And my first response was, but I'm not ready to retire. Like, no, no, no, you don't have to retire. We just think that it's a perfect spot, you know, to induct you to the Hall of Fame. I was like, wow, I really, I felt, it was just such a cool moment. Like, that was one of my goals, and it was on my bucket list. But for it to happen then, it was a special moment for me overall, being able to do a storyline with my son, being able to work against him for the first time.

You know, it was just so many moving parts that at the end of the day lined up perfectly. and I feel truly, truly blessed, man, for the opportunity and very thankful with WWE for the run they've given me for over 20 years. What do you think of the work Dom's doing now? Incredible, man. I remember speaking to Dom prior to him breaking in to WWE when he was training. And, you know, we would bullshit. Hey, imagine if you were to make it before I retire.

And, you know, we can do a run together as tag team champions. We were not thinking heel terms. It was completely baby-faced, like being together. At one point, I remember designing one of his outfits. And, you know, Ray, meaning king, mystery, Ray Mysterio. Maybe you can be the prince, Mysterio. So there was talk of Don wearing a mask. Talk between us.

Yeah, between us. never brought it up to WWE at the time. But it was more of just him and I conversating and kind of just throwing ideas like inspiring the mind and the soul and the heart to push hard and get to where you got to be before I retired. So hurry up, son, you know. But everything happens so fast, man.

Everything just flourished so fast. And I remember telling him that I would see him being bigger than what I created in a completely different way. I just visioned him being much bigger of what his dad has done in this career. And it's happened so fast. Like his growth has been incredibly fast. And I don't know. It's very hard to explain as a father watching him in the ring every week.

Obviously, even much more different being across from him in the ring, but I am so freaking proud of him. He feels like he's really coming to his own. Yes. Oh, 1,000 percent. Dirty Dom is like, it's perfect for him. Yeah, it was much harder for him at the beginning because they would attach both of us. And the shoes to fill are very hard. You could never top.

the moment that he separated from me and began his own journey and started with the judgment day and turned on edge and myself. After that happened and slowly, but surely I started seeing his growth and his comfortness of going out there and just being him. Like, oh, wow, this is really cool. Like now they don't attach Ray Mysterio with Dom Mysterio. Dom is his own person now. Was it the moment he got arrested, that things started to change? That's probably got to be one of the moments.

Because then he went to prison and he becomes prison dom now. Yes, yes. Definitely. That was a big moment in his turn of becoming who he is. You know, but if you put all the pieces together, like that moment happening, him visiting my house and Thanksgiving in Vegas, you know, with mommy, you know, doing his dirty things that he does, that. kind of started giving him an edge for the character that he wanted to become.

Now, keeping in mind, my wife has always said, I don't see Dom as a good guy. Like, I've always seen him as a villain. So I think she was on to something. Well, she spent more time with him than I did. So, yeah, she definitely saw him as a villain. Growing out the hair is perfect. Crazy, yeah. Like the callback to your match with Eddie and, you know, the custody match of Dom.

Can we talk about that match? Let's do it. Dominic's been around the industry, you know, his whole life, right? Seven years old, man. Crazy. Yeah. And it's funny seeing like the old photos of him and then seeing him now, like, it doesn't even look like the same person. Oh, my God.

Where did the idea come from for the custody of Dominic ladder match? I want to say that that came from Bruce and Eddie. And I don't know if somebody else had some input in it. But when that idea was brought up to me and I said, sure, that sounds cool. you know, let me speak to Dom about it. And Dom, from his understanding, always been a little bit shy, timid, you know, especially back then younger.

But when he knew that money was involved, he said, yeah, I'm down. I'll do it. I'll do it. But Eddie, Eddie spoke to him. I know Bruce spoke to him as well, which is crazy just to even, like, see so many years past. and now Bruce being there and talking to Dom and Bruce kind of tell him,

okay, this is what we're going to have going on for the next storyline. You know, I can't imagine what Bruce feels when he speaks to Dom, when he spoke to him, when he was only seven years old, that's got to be such a cool feeling. Yeah. How do you talk him through that moment? Like, all right, you're going to be a pivotal part of this. I don't, being a kid, sometimes you don't take in consideration how important

or how this is really going to work out. It kind of, it was just minor details. And I know Eddie had a lot of saying to making him feel comfortable. I know he would feed him Twizzlers every now and then when we did some of the shoots like on the swings. Yeah, Uncle Eddie. But overall, the surrounding that he was in, he felt like he was at home.

And I think that had a big part to do with him saying his lines, doing what he had to do at the right time. And you ask yourself now, why is he becoming so good so fast? Well, he's been around for so long, man. It's just insane. I feel like we might be setting up another custody of Dominic ladder match. Liv Morgan and Mommy. I feel like this thing writes itself. I always ask myself this question

and I like to every now and then kind of just let my brain just wander off if Eddie would still be here in this scenario with Dom being who he is now like I can't even imagine the kind of of pleasure we would bring to the ring to the audience of being able to see like Dom, Eddie and myself

you know, it would be such a cool moment, man. And I do think about that a lot. Do you see some of Eddie's influence in the way that Dom wrestles? Most definitely. It's scary sometimes. Even when I look at a picture and I'll show it to my wife, oh my God. She goes, I did cheat on you and I never told you your best friend.

Like, wow, dirty. That's where dirty Dom gets dirtiness. You know what fans say, right? You know, they're like, why is Dom so tall? Yeah. Why does his hair look so nice? That's crazy. Yeah.

But yeah, there's a lot of resemblance of Eddie when I see him. Whether it's a face gesture that he does or just the way they snap the certain picture, his hair, obviously. Yeah, he reminds me every now and then of moments that I had with Eddie. How is Dom so tall? So I think he gets that from my wife's side. because my wife is 5-7, but her uncles, even her brother, who passed away when he was 19 years old,

he was 6'1. So that's where Dom gets to height. As a matter of fact, Dom had this crazy experience when he was maybe three, four years old. We caught him playing underneath a table at our kitchen in our house. And my wife,

I had just gone back from tour. My wife was cooking and Dom was playing with some action figures like, no, Patty's mine. No, Patty's mine. And we're like, Dom, what are you doing? I'm playing. Who are you playing with my uncle, Tetto? So he had a connection with his uncle that he never met because he passed away way before Dom was born.

And there's a, as he was growing up, there was a. huge resemblance of my wife's brother with Dominic, the way he acted, his mannerisms, his gestures, words he would say. So, you know, you could only imagine how crazy that was for my mother-in-law watching him grow and pretty much seeing her son just white because my brother-in-law was dark skin, you know,

so it was crazy. But yeah, I think the size comes from definitely from my wife's, because all my family's side, we're short. Do you see Dom as a world champion one day? Oh, definitely. Yeah. Yeah, most definitely. He feels like he has all of the tools.

Yeah, most definitely. Dom, he's getting really good at what he's doing, and he's understanding the craft. And the fact that he's where he's at with such little time, like, I wish I could be there or I could have been there. with four years of being in the business. I didn't know shit that four years. Well, look who he gets to learn from.

Well, not only me. I mean, yes, I am his father. But the fact that he's been able to be in there with the best, Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes, Roman Raines, John Cena, you know, all these moments are moments that give you the ability to learn. You know, so I think he's taken. very well advantage of those moments and has added him to his career. You got a big birthday coming up this year.

Yes. Do you think about turning 50? No, I don't. Yeah, it's funny, man. Every now and then, oh, wow, 49, okay, wow, next year the Big 50, I really don't feel the age. I feel like to me it's a number. Yeah, it's up there. but I think it has a lot to do with how you feel inside.

And I feel great. You know, I feel really good. My body is healthy. Despite the surgeries that I've had on both knees, obviously my left being the worst one. Stemtells have really helped me improve and move forward. Cold plunge, sauna, red light, you know, all these factors that.

that are very important in my career, especially at this age. You know, so to be able to still do what I'm doing after starting at the age of 14 and turning 50 this year, it's like, wow, sometimes I'll sit back and go, wow, I can't believe I've been doing it this long. And but I feel good. How am I going to feel two or five years from now? Is it going to be the same when I'm no longer doing it? You know, those are the questions. Do you think about how much longer you want to do it? I don't until it's being brought up.

And when my wife brings that up, that's when I pause and I don't know. I don't know if I want to do it another two years, three years. I kind of listen to my body and my mindset, you know, especially my mindset because my body's been feeling great. And with all the benefits that I get from doing like the cold plunge in the sauna, overall my mind has to be in the right place. You know, so that's probably the hardest thing for me because sometimes the age factor comes into mind. And not in the moment, but thinking ahead.

Like, I want to be able to still move around and walk at 55 or at 56. Is my body going to feel the same? I don't know. I feel like a lot of people thought your match at WrestleMania 39 against Dom was going to be it. like Dom wins or M, whatever, like that's, you know? Yeah, yeah. And then we're grateful.

We're so grateful that you're still doing this thing. Thank you. With WWE doing so many international PLEs, it feels like things are going to line up where maybe you do something in Mexico. Like that would be huge for Ray Mysterio to wrestle on a PLE in Mexico. Oh, that would be awesome. We haven't done one in Mexico. We've done events.

We've done a TV, but we haven't done a PLE. So I think that would be most definitely a very exciting time for not only the fans, but for me to be able to go back to where I once started and give them something special, even if it's the last one. I would love to close off, you know, in Mexico, if that were to happen. Is it against Dom? I mean, why not, right? It seems like it makes sense.

It would be perfect. I mean, hell, if you want to get even dirtier. You know, you can throw Dom in there. Maybe, you know, a Santos Escobar and myself and the loser either takes his mask off and retires or shaves their head off and retires. You know, maybe a three-way dance. I don't know. I mean, there's so many ways we can go. Yeah.

But just keeping in mind that let's give the fans in Mexico Lucha Libre style mask, a match, I'm sorry, where there's something on the line that. that they've seen for years and years. Yeah. Yeah. I can't believe you've never worked as a heel in WWA. Yeah, that's crazy. Were you ever close? I think the closest I've gotten was the filthy animals.

And that was not even a heel, it was just us being ourselves. We really had no direction at the time on what we were doing. So, and the guys that would always hang out were us, Eddie, Disco, Conan, Hoovey, myself. You know, so why not create a group? Billy Kidman as well. Yeah. And that was like our thing. Disco would always say after we'd party,

probably come in like at five, six in the morning. And like, what time did you get in yet last night? I got in at 2 a.m. What time did you get in? No, we got in at 8 a.m. Oh, you filthy animal. So that's where the filthy animals came from. Did you ever come close in WWE?

Was you ever talk about you turning heel? I remember bringing it up. One time when Dom and I were working together. I brought it up to Vince and it was brief. Like, maybe I turn on Dom, you know, and we continue with something along the way. But getting feedback from some of my colleagues, like, oh, you're like the baby face that could never be healed.

Like, you're Ricky Steamboat, you know. Nobody could ever see you as heal. I don't think they would buy into it. And I'm kind of glad that I listen. and that they didn't listen to me because the best thing that could have happened is for Dom to become the heel and be the evil one.

It feels crazy that you never had a match with Triple H. The only one of the times, and I don't know if it was the first one, but Royal Rumble when we were in there together, Randy himself and me. Yeah, that was probably one of the few times. We might have had like... You never had a one-on-one match.

Never, never. Never. That's crazy. We got to bring Hunter back. Maybe do a singles, right? But I mean, do you think about the opportunities there? You've worked with pretty much everyone else. For you to not work with Triple H's. Pretty much.

Triple H being one of them. Another person that I really wanted to get a chance to work with was Brett, Brett Hart, and I didn't get the opportunity. Isn't that crazy that didn't happen in WCW? Yeah, I know. I know. Macho man, another one that I really wanted to get a chance to, at the step in the room with Machu.

And it didn't happen either. Let's talk about you winning the Royal Rumble. I always argue that winning from number two is equally as difficult as winning from number one. Why don't people see it that way? It should, right? Come on. It's the first two to start off. Yeah, like person number one is just standing there.

Exactly. Person number two has to come out for the match to begin. I never looked at it that way. You're absolutely right. Come on. Yeah, you're right. It's just as hard to win from number two. That's a good point.

You've got to run the gauntlet through 29 of the people. Yes. That was a crazy moment. And I still to this day think that if Eddie, if Eddie wouldn't have passed, that moment wouldn't have came. Why not? Because it wasn't,

Eddie passing changed the whole dynamic, you know, of the storylines of where possibly I was heading, you know, and I think Eddie, was feuding next with Batista after that and he didn't get a chance. So my last match with Eddie was

at SummerSlam versus for the custody of Dominic. That was literally my last match with him. Excuse me. But Eddie passing and the fans making the connection that I had with Eddie kind of put me in that spot.

You know, I don't think it was my time. I don't think I was ready. But overall, when it comes, you've got to make the best out of it. I've never been a promo guy. I've never been the one to step in the ring and say that I could carry the company as world champion. No. No.

My vision and my accomplishments were probably way different back then. Like I didn't feel that I would be able to do something like that. carry the company. But overall, it was handed. And again, I think that that moment really happened because Eddie was no longer there. And the fans saw, in a way, Eddie through me. Did they tell you you're going to win the Rumble, which is going to lead to WrestleMania? They just said you're going over on the Rumble.

You're going over. And obviously, when you hear that, you know that you're going to get a spot at WrestleMania. But we didn't go any further than that, which is crazy. I just kind of imagined it in a way. But I was like, nah. I mean, yeah, I win the rumble and something will happen. Something's got to happen.

And sure enough, the match against Randy, where they took me out. Yeah, and apparently I wasn't going to be part of it, and they turned it into a three-way. But overall, one of the, the person that spoke always the most and defended me and would tell Vince, it's the time he gave it to him, was Paterson.

And forever, I will be thankful with him for having the trust and for just seeing something within me that took me to the next level. You know, whether I cut promos in the ring or I represented the company to the fullest, that there being world champion took me to the next level. down. One, two, three, you win. When does it become real? When does it start to set in? I don't think it really did set in. Everything just happens so fast. Now as I get older or as I'm older,

I tell myself or remind myself, pause, enjoy the moment. Like this whole storyline with Dom and him breaking into the business, I got to enjoy those moments. And there's a lot of of memories that happen so fast becoming world champion that it's it's kind of like a blur. I remember happening, but I don't remember like being in the moment, enjoying that moment. And again, moments happen so fast that it's only an image that you have in your head that you can serve and then and you go back to it every now and then and moments like this when we're talking about it. And I visualize it.

I remember being there, but I don't remember. remember, I don't remember enjoying the moment like I should have enjoyed it. Are you able to do that now? Oh, yes. Because you see John Cena come out now and he like takes the moment in. Yeah. Kind of looks around like, okay, probably not going to be doing this much longer. Right.

Do you take the moment in now? Like, are you cognizant of that? Are you aware of it? I have been more recently, especially since Dom started wrestling. Yeah. And these are the moments that I'm now, that I'm now, that I'm, I'm telling myself and reminding myself constantly, enjoy what's going on in the moment. Don't let it speed up and then let it be a blur.

So I am more, more, my vision is set and I enjoy now moments more than I used to from back in the day, most definitely. I want to talk about some of your most memorable moments in your career. One of the ones that pops up all the time is you doing chin ups in the back. And the locker breaks. Yeah. Yeah. Wow.

I remember they kept, I remember that happening. And I remember they kept that moment for a blooper section. And they did show it out of blooper section. And John Cena says something like, golly, gee. Or like something so silly like that. Did you ever see the like the real cut of that? Yeah. Not the one where I felt, but what needed to happen.

But I'd say, yeah. So definitely caught edge and seen off. off track, me pulling up, doing some pullups there. I don't know what happened. I don't know if it was too weak or... You're too strong. Nah, man, I was a little bit heavier back then. But yeah, good moments, man.

These are moments that... These are moments that I go back and watch. And I remember. I remember being there. I remember enjoying the moment. I remember being there with John and with Edge. And again, when you get to step in the ring with superstars like Sina and Edge, you know, these are moments that I do.

At the time, I did, I did feel very special to be able to be in that spot. First time I wrestled The Undertaker. I remember coming out first, being in the corner, just kind of crotching down and enjoying Undertaker's entrance. Lights dimming down, the smoke, him walking slowly, like, this is really happening. Like, yeah, this is so freaking cool. I remember cringing. when Big Show had you on the stretcher.

Oh, yeah. And just like a baseball bat hit you up against the ring post. We were just talking about that on Monday. I think Dominic was making fun of it. But anyways, I remember going over that. And Big Show and production team were like, is that possible? Yeah, definitely is possible. We just never thought of what would happen after he swung.

There was no way that he would be able to swing. wing and hold on like if it was a bat. No, the weight as soon as that hit, it went down and it went down with my arms, strapped to my side, head first. You land on your face. Crazy moment. Really crazy. What people don't talk about is that choke slam he gave you before was like, like he did that like you owed him money or something. That I don't remember. Really? Wow. Was it high? It was high and he follows through like he's trying to put you through the ring. Big show was always, he's like a big teddy bear to me, man. He always took great care of me.

Always. I mean, we've known each other since WCW. So we just had a connection and a bond that's been incredible. It might be one of the stiffest choke slams ever. Really? Yes. I got to go back and watch it. I'll show you right now.

Okay, let's watch. And I'll tell you if it was stiff. Okay. You tell me. Let's see. So it's, let's see. We'll type in Ray Mysterio and Big Show. I love that you're going to watch this here.

I can't believe you don't remember it. That was the thing that put you on the stretcher. Well, the thing, because the stretcher just took over that night, that I forgot completely about the choke slam. Oh, the choke slam is violent. So here it is. The title of the video is Big Show decimates Raymisterio. So hold on.

Let me get to that part of the match here. Have he had Big Show on here? It's been a while. Yeah, okay, but you have. It's been a while, but yeah. Yes. That guy's fantastic. Oh, man, I love Big Short of Death. Okay, so here you grab that.

Yeah. Yeah, it was kind of snug. He did follow through, like you said. I mean, in a big way. Wow. And that was high. I think I hit in an area of the mat that didn't have any give, so it just looks flatter. I think you're 90 in the air.

Good times again. Then let's get your reaction to the stretcher spot here then. It looks like you're making sure, like, please make sure I'm like in there. And here he comes. So I thought my elbows were strapped and I'm kind of, oh, no, wow. Oh, oh, wow. Oh, wow. Wow.

That looked crazy. Yeah, it looks really bad. That looks really bad. I remember Big Show going to the hospital because they took me straight to the hospital. For real? Yes. Oh, yeah. I went to the hospital.

And I remember Big Show was outside of the room that I was in and he wanted to come in a check and see how I was doing. And he walks in and I was like, uh, and he was tearing up like, hey, I'm sorry. Are you okay? Uh, man, Ray, I'm sorry. The nurse left. And obviously back then, I did have a bit of an issue with painkillers. So when the nurse left and it was just us, I said, I'm okay, big show. He's trying to get something from my pain.

The other big one is when Kevin Nash throws you like a lawn dart. Yeah. That like he threw you. I just recently saw that last week. He throws you like you weigh 30 pounds. That's crazy. I was probably like a buck 30. Back then, this was WCW, right?

WCW, yeah. Yeah, that was the night I became a cruiserweight champion against team. What a night. Wow. I still remember the moonsault. I didn't. Dean was, I believe, on one side and I jumped to the other and I landed nobody there. Yeah, again, these are all moments, man, that are very special.

Highlights of my career that I go back and reminisce and think, wow, like all these moments that happened that build up person that I am now. Dude, you got thrown off a building. Yeah, man, I'm still here. I'm alive. How? I'm alive. We've done some crazy stuff. That was wild to see.

And I get it was during the pandemic and things were a little bit different. Yeah. I remember me like, did we just, did we just, did Ray this two just have? I would have a building? Crazy moments. That was during the pandemic, and I believe we shot that at the headquarters in Connecticut. Yeah.

That whole match was crazy. Going up and down the elevator. You guys did the best with what you could during that time in the world. Yeah. It's crazy to go back and think about that, right? Those moments. Oh, man. Being locked up in the Performance Center doing shows in front of TV screens, monitors.

Yeah. Wow. Wow. Wild. Yeah, very wild. That's Dominic's first match. Yeah. No crowd.

His very first match is in WWE. That's crazy. Like, there's very, like, the only other one I can think of off the top of my head is Logan Paul, like on TV in front of a crowd. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know about that story, right? He, uh, so they spoke to him on the side and they told him what they wanted to do. Then he came up and spoke to me.

He goes, Dad, and what do you think? about what? He goes, well, they want me to do match with Seth, you know, at, I forgot what the paper was. Summer Slam, I think it was Summer Slam, you're right. And he goes, what do you think? I said, okay, I'm going to give you just my opinion. If you ask me, I don't think you're ready, ready.

But at the end of the day, it's your choice. If you feel like you can pull it off, you know, go ahead. I wouldn't do it. I would get a little bit more time because he only got one shot to make an impression. So he looked at me for a second. He goes, eh, I think I'm going to do it.

He just asked me, you want my opinion. But, you know, that just goes to show the type of character he is, you know, how he carries himself. He's always been committed to trust in his work and what he believes in. And for that, like respect, man. He fucking went out there and pulled it off. I was right there in his corner.

For me, being there was as cool as for him being in the ring against Seth Rollins. And I told Seth this, if Eddie would still be around, I would have loved to have that match that happened with Eddie. But I couldn't have picked a better opponent for him or the company couldn't have picked a better opponent to him for him than Seth Rollins. He's such a general in that ring, man. He's awesome. I enjoyed working with him so much.

And he took care of him. And for that, again, I'll be always thankful with him. Did Logan Paul actually save you in that spot? Or was Logan? He wasn't in position, right? They're hyping it up. And I know Logan took the credit for it. No, so that's funny because I always do that moon.

Salt and I tried to advise him that I don't jump out, I jump up. So you might have to take a step in to be at the right spot and catch. So sure enough, I jumped up and not out like I had said. And I mean, he caught me. Don't get me wrong. He caught me. But if he wouldn't have been there, I would have moonsault and just landed on my tummy. But he did make a good save.

He did make a good catch. And the fact not only that he caught me, but that he powered me up, you know, he caught me in a squat position and he took me right back up and we continue. Yeah, he's saying respect, man. I saved him. He wouldn't land it on his head.

I give him respect for his ability and for how good he's become, but not for saving me. Not for saving me. No respect for saving. No respect. No respect, Logan. Yeah. Can we settle this once and for all?

Were you a stunt double for Freddie versus Jason? Why does everyone keep asking me that? That's crazy. That's funny. My sister-in-law just asked me last week, hey, did you do this? And it keeps surfacing up every now. And Dom a few weeks ago tweeted false.

So is it false? Of course it is. So this didn't happen? 1,000% unless it was my uncle. So you were not a stunt double for Freddie versus Jason. No. The movie was filmed like early 2000s. Yeah, no, no, no.

Not at all. That's crazy. I always get asked. I'm glad we've settled that once and for all. Please. This got shot. I saw this on Facebook last week from a horror website. They were sharing this and they were said, you know, fun fact.

And I said, well, his son said it didn't happen. Yeah, well, that beatie just asked me last week. And I think that's why, because it surfaced up again. Yeah. Unless, and this could obviously have happened, my uncle, Ray Mysterio, did something as a stunt double. For that movie? For that movie. Okay.

Yeah. That's the only way I can put it. But are you confident? Like, did he do that? I've never asked him, believe it or not. Yeah. I'm sure he might have. He might have done it.

But there's a big difference between Ramis Serio Sr. And me. Like, he's twice my size. Well, then that would make sense because Freddie and Jason, they're big. Yeah. So there probably was my uncle, yes. But it was not you. Let's confirm it was my uncle.

Okay. There we go. Even though we don't know. It made me stay in a senior. Okay, but it wasn't you. It wasn't me. It was not me. I'm so glad we can finally set.

the record straight. It was not me. People like to think this is some sort of fun Ray Mysterio Jr. fact that is not true at all. It's probably going to surface up again at Halloween. And then everybody's going to link back to this exact interview. And say, oh, it wasn't him. It wasn't him. It was not him. It was maybe possibly, probably his uncle, but we're not sure. Maybe he texts me later. Not me. I'm free. It wasn't me. Are there any other rumors you'd like to squash? We'll squash that one now. I think we're good now.

Once that one's out, we're good. When you look back at your whole career, how have you been able to have the longevity that you've had? I truly believe that my passion for this sport has given me the ability to continue and keep pursuing my goals. and on top of that, despite of all the injuries that I've had in surgeries, modern medicine has definitely helped me out along the way

to be able to learn a little bit more about stem cells and like all the positive results that are out there with Norma Tech's, the compression boots for your legs, for your arms, for your hips, you know, massage therapy, like all these avenues that you can take to stay consistent, you know, and I think that truly has helped me out over the years. I've been doing stem cells since 2012. Like, you know, when it first started to rise here in the States and obviously done a couple

treatments over the years, but I truly believe that over time, that has given me the ability to be able to perform like I've been performing for the last couple years. It's amazing everything you've accomplished. It's been a hell of a career. Thank you. And the crazy thing is, it's not over. That's crazy. Yeah.

And as a Hall of Famer, I don't think there's, I don't think there's been a Hall of Famer that has been inducted. is still performing or has been performing. Or is there, I could be wrong. Edge. Edge is the only one. But he obviously was inducted because his career was over. Yeah.

So, yeah, I mean, I don't mind sharing the spot with Edge. I love Edge. So, yeah, that's awesome. But no one that's inducted while they're still active in their career. I'm the first. I mean, I'm not a historian here, but I believe so. I think it might have been just Flair before his last match, where he got inducted and then he retired the next night.

Yeah. Yeah. But overall, man, I'm truly thankful and blessed to be able to be in that position and to still keep doing it. Like when you talk about first time things that have happened, being like the littlest guy in WW at the time or WCW, being able to do the things that I've been doing over the years, being inducted into the Hall of Fame and still doing it,

you know, all these moments are are valuable. You know, they're, when they ask you, you know, how do they want, how do you want the fans to remember you by? All these things that I was able to be the first one to do it and that I enjoyed doing it very much. You know, the word buyaka is attached to your name forever. Yeah, yeah, bollaca. Wow. And I never asked Matt One, the creator of the song. Well, actually, I did ask him, but then I heard that, that.

phrase in a Dr. Dr. Dr. Drey's song. Buyaka. And the way it was explained to me, Buyaka is a way of saying like, bam, like in your face. Boom.

Yeah. So I don't know if you had any idea what Buyaka meant. No, I did. There we go. You've had so many great entrance themes. Yeah. Thank you. Who's that jumping out the sky?

R.E. Y. Mysterio. Here we go. Yeah. Thank you. This has been amazing. and such an honor to be able to sit across from you. Thank you, ma'am.

You got to promise me this won't be the first nor the last. You know, if when the day comes and it's time to retire, I would love to come back here and speak about the longevity and how from this moment on until the day that I retire, how those days felt. And speak a little bit about what's after the life in the ring. I would love to. I would love to.

I end every interview talking about gratitude because it's such a big part of my life. Ray, what are three things in your life you're grateful for right now? Oh, my God. I'm thankful with God for the wife that he put in front of me because without her, I would not be where I'm at today as the athlete that I am, as the father that I am, as the man that I am. You know, she has molded me into this person that I am today. I am thankful with life because of all the surroundings that I'm able to take care of my loved ones and protect them as much as I can with my ability. And overall, I'm thankful with the love and the gratitude that I've received over the years from the fans all around the world from day one until today.

You know, people that saw me for the first time that are still watching me now today and they've followed my career. And it's unfortunate that I will possibly never get a chance to meet them in person, but I do want them to know that I'm very thankful for believing and for loving what I do because what I do at the end of the day is for all of them. So good. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Appreciate you. Yeah. I love it. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands. trying to make it in the world of rock. But there was one band that had it all.

Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of then? To Rock Bottom.

Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.