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Articles, columns, tape reviews, and random observations from the Viva staff
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It's monday morning, and coffee is dripping from my computer screen. Like every Monday morning, I open up a browser and browse the wrestling news sites. Sipping on some Starbucks brand liquid addiction, I see everything I missed over the weekend. Usually, the wrestling industry is pretty quiet during my two days away from the internet, but today, something jumped right out at me as soon as I sat down. No, not the story about the icon taking his gimmick too seriously. This one was about Rey Mysterio Jr. Out of left field, it's announced that he will be wrestling with his original mask. That's about the time I spit my coffee out. As a Rey Mysterio Jr fan, I want to see the mask back. I want to  remember Rey Mysterio Jr beating Kevin Nash in that crucial Mask vs. Hair match. I want to giggle at the mental image of Miss Elizabeth getting her head shaved as Rey Jr waves the Mexican flag in the middle of the WCW ring...but then reality sinks in. |
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And then there is the question of how Mexico is going to take this. While the United Wrestling just writes pro wrestling off as a phony sport, there are
commissions in Mexico that regulate lucha libre. Wearing a mask that you'd previously lost doesn't fly with them. So, Rey is alright with wearing the old mask. The Mexican wrestling commission probably won't be. But where does that leave us as fans. We've been repeatedly been told about the importance of tradition in mexican wrestling? If some guy working every week in Mexico City ever pulled something like this, we'd grill him the second we heard the news. But this isn't just 'some guy'. This is Rey fucking Mysterio Jr. We can't ignore the role he played in endearing lucha libre to many american fans (myself included). And what's more, the truth of the matter is that this isn't even about lucha tradition. Rey knew better than to even consider wearing his mask during his stint in Mexico  following WCW's demise. Instead, he worked his ass off entertaining the audiences of Tijuana, as well as garnering the attention of
CMLL. During this time, he was a prime example of what a luchador should be. But, as well documented on the internet, he communicated with the Jim Ross and the WWF in an attempt to get signed with the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. After months of hard work and determination, he finally has reached his goal. |
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So, he finally makes it to the WWF, and Vince tells him that he wants to wear his mask again. Besides making a more visual impact with the fans, I'm sure a masked wrestler is far more marketable (Mankind sold a lot more t-shirts than Cactus Jack did). I'm sure the question of tradition must've crossed his mind before answering, but now that he's in the
WWF, the rules of traditional wrestling no longer apply. In the WWF, Vince McMahon is
omnipotent, so if he wants Mysterio to wear a mask, that's all there is to it. Don't get me wrong, though. Asking Rey to wrestle masked was a great decision. The way I see it, Rey lost his mask under the worst possible conditions. Eric Bischoff and the WCW bookers hot-shotted a pathetic storyline that would result in Mysterio being unmasked in a midcard PPV match. I don't think anybody was happy with this decision. The lucha fans screamed. The american fans shrugged. But nobody 
preferred the new unmasked Rey Mysterio. Fast forward a few years, and the all powerful Vince McMahon buys an all but dead
WCW. Since then, Vince has altered WCW's history by wiping out key storylines to better fit the WWF's style. And every time he does so, the fans complain. But this time, he's wiping out one of the most despised angles in the WCW's history. In wrestling terms, he's erasing the fact that Rey pointlessly dropped his hood to Kevin Nash. And I have to give the devil his due. You can bitch all you want that Rey is turning his back on Mexico, but you're not realizing the big picture. Much like he did a few years ago, he is going to pique interest in masked Mexicans, creating a new wave of interest in lucha libre. Every time he hits a springboard hurricanrana on Smackdown, some kid in the midwest is going to check out Galavision on Saturday morning. So, bitch if you must. The WWE shows are easy enough to avoid if you can't stand to watch Rey Jr. wrestle in a mask. But as far as I'm concerned, mask or no mask, there's a new reason to watch the WWE, and his name is Rey Mysterio Jr. |
