Rey Mysterio appeared on Barstool’s “Rasslin'” to discuss his past Royal Rumble surprise appearances, how many masks he owns, being the cover star of WWE 2K22, and potential retirement.
Rey Mysterio talking about his surprise return appearance at The Royal Rumble in 2018:
“It was in Philly in 2018. I was asked if I wanted to be part of the Rumble, and I said, ‘Yes, I’ve been waiting for this moment,’” Mysterio shared.
“It has been almost four years since I was gone. I remember not flying into Philly. I flew into New York and then I had a car service in New York that drove me to Philly. That’s what makes it special because fans were expecting to see someone at the airport in Philly. Nobody expected to see someone in New York and drive to Philly. That made it more unique.”
“That’s what was cool about this, is that it didn’t leak. Nobody knew who was coming out in 2018. Nobody even mentioned Rey Mysterio. I think the big thing about this is the surprise, the surprise entry that not even some of the wrestlers or superstars at the time know who’s coming out and what number. It’s kept away from everybody pretty much. The only people who need to know, know.”
“The rest, it’s a surprise. Of course, when I came out, I was pumped. The reaction I got from the fans and all the love, I get chills just thinking about it.”
Rey said he has over 1,000 masks:
“I have a little more than 1,000 masks,” Rey revealed. “That’s not even counting all the ones I gave away over the years. At first, it was like, ‘Hey Rey, you have a mask?’ ‘Sure, here you go.’ So who knows where those are at.” I would say I have about 1,100 masks.”
Rey on being on the cover of the WWE 2K22 Video Game:
“It’s awesome. It’s a huge honor for me to be able to represent all my people, Latinos, my sport of Lucha Libre through the cover of 2K22,” he said.
“I’ve shared covers before in the past whether it was in WCW, we did the NWO, and shared the cover with other superstars. This time, it was strictly surrounded around my mask and my image, so it’s a huge honor, especially after 20 years of being with WWE and kicking off the year 2022 with all these crazy times that have been going on. It’s a blessing.”
Rey on when he thinks he will hang up the mask:
“I think I’ll step back once I feel like my son is ready to just take off on his own,” Mysterio said, talking about his son Dominik.
“I’m hoping that happens within this year for him to branch out and take care of things on his own. I’ve had the opportunity to be on the same house shows as him, me wrestling in a completely separate match and him wrestling by himself.”
“A couple times he wrestled Chad Gable. Other times he wrestled Otis one on one. I can see the difference when I’m not in there with him and when we’re in there together. He tends to do a lot better and I think it’s stressful and not that much pressure when he’s in there by himself. He enjoys it.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit “Rasslin’ with Brandon F. Walker” with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.