Rey Mysterio Says WCW Never Respected Lucha Tradition Over His Mask

Rey Mysterio isn’t afraid to speak the truth about his time in WCW — and it turns out, the company had no clue how sacred his iconic mask really was.

While speaking with No Contest Wrestling Podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer opened up about losing his mask in WCW and how the company completely overlooked the deep cultural significance behind it.

Mysterio explained how the conversation started after Scott Hall made a flippant comment to WCW boss Eric Bischoff.

“In WCW at the time, a lot of the luchadores were losing their masks… there were a couple guys that they wanted to take the masks off, but they didn’t agree to it. And then my name started to float around… Scott Hall, I guess he told Eric… he said, ‘Rey, why you wearing a mask, man? You’re a pretty mother…’ So I guess that eventually got to Eric. Eric Bischoff didn’t really understand the significance of the mask.”

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It didn’t stop there. Mysterio revealed that WCW nearly stripped him of the mask even earlier — during his legendary match with Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc 1997. According to Rey, it was a chaotic situation that played out right before the show.

“Halloween Havoc 1997… the match that put me on the map against Eddie Guerrero… that was the night I was going to lose my mask the first time… I got a call from Eric, ‘You better show up, cause if you don’t, you’re in breach of contract.’ I showed up, tried to talk to him the night before—it wasn’t going my way… literally a match before, the finish is changed. I realized that night working under pressure is really good for me… but yeah, later I did lose the mask.”

Mysterio eventually unmasked in 1999 during a tag team match against Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, but the bitterness over how it went down still lingers for some fans. Many see it as a clear example of WCW misusing its international talent and failing to respect Lucha Libre culture.