5 must-watch Rey Mysterio matches outside WWE

Rey Mysterio is often touted as the greatest cruiserweight in WWE history. This is likely a true statement, as Rey had more success in this land of giants than any other smaller wrestler other than Daniel Bryan and Eddie Guerrero. WWE have tried several times to come up with someone who could be the next Rey Mysterio in terms of drawing power and Lucha libre skill, but all of those experiments have failed (*cough*, Sin Cara, *cough*).

Some people still wonder what it is about Rey Mysterio that made him such a phenomenal wrestler. Well, it turns out that he’s had some truly spectacular matches all over the world. He’s had some great ones in WWE as well, but those matches have paled in comparison with the outstanding matches he’s had outside of Vince’s promotion.

Here are five Rey Mysterio matches that you should definitely watch.

---

#5 Rey Mysterio vs. Prince Puma, Lucha Underground, Season 2, Episode 26

This match happened only a few years ago, yet it was a perfect example of Rey Mysterio’s tenacity and dedication to professional wrestling. He wrestled against Prince Puma (a.k.a. Ricochet, who recently signed with the WWE) in what could only be described as a dream match.

The Young Prince Puma took on his idol Mysterio in a spectacular Lucha libre match that was filled with impressive technical reversals and high-flying action. Rey was very old by this point, and his body was long past its prime.

That said, Rey was more than capable of fending off Puma’s offence and showed a side of himself that we hadn’t seen in a WWE ring for many years. This match proved that Rey was still more than capable of putting on an impressive match if given the right opportunity.

#4 Rey Mysterio vs. Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera, Starrcade ‘98

This excellent match pitted three of the best cruiserweights WCE had to offer at the time against one another in a fantastic match. From an in-ring perspective, it was a beautiful exercise in suspense and drama, as the match has so many near-falls that it was hard to keep track.

Kidman, Mysterio and Juventud all used a wide array of clever and unique moves with one another that led to realistic and believable near-falls. All of this led to the fans sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation, as there was no way of telling when and how the match would end.

Although the match was sort of hurt by some last-minute interference by Eddy Guerrero, it didn’t hurt the story of the match in the same way as how interference is done nowadays. This was a great match and I’d recommend this to any fan of cruiserweight wrestling.

#3 Rey Mysterio vs. Eddy Guerrero, Halloween Havoc ‘97

Although this match lasted less than 15 minutes, it was still one of the greatest cruiserweight matches in WCW history. From bell to bell, one could feel the tension and bitterness between these two wrestlers, as Eddy kept trying to remove Rey’s mask and destroy him with his innovative offence.

But Mysterio wouldn’t be denied, as he used his superior quickness and his own innovation to find clever ways of getting the upper hand. This was one of the best matches of Rey’s career, as both he and Eddy were able to pack so much storytelling and offence into such a short period of time.

This was as clear a moment as any that Rey Mysterio was capable of doing incredible things inside the ring and above it.

#2 Rey Mysterio vs. Psicosis, WAR Super J Cup 1995

The Super J Cup was a concept created by Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger that pitted the best cruiserweights in the world in a single-elimination tournament to see who was the best of the best. This was Rey’s first match in Japan, but he already had great history wrestling Psicosis.

This was a straight athletic competition that featured nothing but wrestling, and it was awesome. The video doesn’t have any commentary, and the audience stays quiet in silent admiration as these two wrestlers go at it. But when the action does pick up, the audience reacts loudly and roars in approval.

Although it might not be as wild and as ‘spotty’ as most of today’s cruiserweight matches, it’s still a fun bout that did wonders for both wrestlers’ respective careers.

#1 Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera, ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996

This two-out-of-three falls match was rated 5 stars by the Wrestling Observer back in 1996. If that doesn’t tell you how good this is, I don’t know what will. What made this such a good match was that it had a combination of several key attributes that really made it fun to watch.

It had an excellent backstory leading up to it that sold the rivalry between Guerrera and Mysterio as a big deal. It featured amazing technical wrestling that was underscored by that same bitterness between these feuding wrestlers. The commentators did a phenomenal job of not only calling the action and selling the excitement but also of telling the story behind the moves and why the fans should care about this match.

When you have all of these elements in place, it shouldn’t surprise you that the crowd live in attendance was absolutely loving this match.