5 wrestlers who never should have been unmasked

#2 Rey Mysterio

Just look at the disappointment

Rey Mysterio is arguably one of the most famous luchadors of all time. Traditionally, luchadors are allowed to wear their mask to conceal their identity at all times and even their name. The mask of a luchador is extremely important in their wrestling traditions.

Once a mask has been removed in a ‘Mask vs, Mask’ match, it may never be donned again as per the rules set by the official Lucha Libre commission.

Rey Mysterio lost his mask in 1999 at Superbrawl IX in WCW. It was a tag team match and he was pinned following an Outsider’s Edge from Scott Hall. Mysterio was forced to unmask and reveal his face to the world. This was a move that shocked the crowd and the wrestling community alike due to the unbelievable talent he had as a luchador and the support he had as the most popular Mexican wrestler in America.

Rey Mysterio lost a lot of respect, a lot of merchandise sales and a lot of support following the selfish move from WCW.

When Mysterio made the move to WWE in 2002, Vince was insistent that Rey wear his mask despite the Lucha tradition. Luckily for Rey Mysterio and the fans of the WWE, he actually got permission from the Lucha Libre commission to don the mask once more on the grounds that the match was not a traditional ‘Mask vs Hair’ match.

They really got away with one here. Rey himself was extremely upset with the decision from WCW and at the time, kayfabe was a lot more alive in the business and it’s not like Rey could come out with a statement or talk with the dirt sheets or go on a podcast. He was in a situation where it was lose his mask or lose his job.

At the time, WWE was not in the Cruiserweight game as such and it’s not as if Rey could have made the transition at the time so he did not have much choice. It’s a dark patch on an otherwise glittering career, and in fairness to WWE, they made every effort when he first joined to remove any mention of him ever revealing his face.

Luckily, with the WWE Network, you can now go back and take a look at this poor decision, safe in the knowledge that it all works out for the Mexican luchador.