Rey Mysterio has taken more punishment than most wrestlers could ever imagine, and even a Hall of Fame career came with a breaking point. The WWE legend recently admitted there was a time when he seriously thought about stepping away from the ring.
During his appearance on The Later Run, Mysterio opened up about the physical and mental toll of his career. The conversation turned to injuries, longevity, and whether he ever felt like giving up after everything his body had gone through. Mysterio said that moment came around five or six years ago, when he no longer felt the same energy walking into the ring.
“I actually do remember a point that happened in my life. And not too long ago, maybe about five, six years, I just wasn’t getting that same emotion when I would step into the ring.”
He explained that the burnout was not just physical. It was mental and emotional too, and it got serious enough that he talked to his wife about possibly being finished.
“I think my body was burnt out mentally, physically, and I just didn’t — I told my wife, I remember sitting down with her and telling her, ‘You know what? I don’t feel what I would always feel every time I would step into the ring. I think I’m going to tap out. I just don’t feel anymore.’”
Then Dominik Mysterio changed the direction of everything. Rey said his son telling him that he wanted to enter the wrestling business helped bring back the fire he thought was gone.
“Shortly after, my son told me that he wanted to try and break into the business, and seeing him or helping him get on board kind of just inspired or ignited that fire once again, and it’s been going since.”
Mysterio said there really was one point where he did not want to continue, but Dominik’s arrival into wrestling helped him find that passion again.
“So yeah, it was one incident of me not wanting, and then him coming into the picture and me reigniting myself.”
That decision ended up creating one of the most personal chapters of Rey Mysterio’s WWE career. He stayed in the business, helped Dominik get started, shared the ring with him, and eventually became part of WWE history as one half of the first father-son tag team champions.
What do you think about Dominik Mysterio helping Rey Mysterio find his love for wrestling again? Would Rey’s later WWE run have felt the same without that father-son chapter? Please share your thoughts and leave your feedback in the comments.
