Six Feet Under - Rey Mysterio talks relationship w/ Dom Mysterio, stem cell treatments & AAA return

27:07Rey Mysterio:So the fact that it came randomly from him and I never insisted, I think that has to speak for the individual that he is now. Like how he just soaked in, embraced it, and said, I'm going to run with this. This is what I feel. And every now and then when he needs advice, he'll ask me. He doesn't listen probably. Huh? He doesn't listen probably. He listens when he wants to listen. I can tell already. But overall, like he, I would have never have thought he would gain the success he's gained in such a short amount of time. Four years, five years. Five years. We're going into five years. So did it just make his head explode as soon as he got like...

27:58Rey Mysterio:Probably. I think so. Because you raised him, right? Maybe it was a mustache. And the long hair. The long hair. The Rick Brood mustache.

28:14He was so sweet. He was so sweet. There's a picture I don't know if you've ever seen on the internet, right? Yes. I think he's, what, five or six maybe? He had to be six years old. Yeah, sitting on my lap. He was like, wow. We're talking about feeling old. Right? Right? Oh, man. Obviously, he's the mega champion now, right? The AAA mega champion, and I have to deal with him. I'm like, where is that little kid, that sweet little kid? What happened to him? What happened, right? He never spoke. Now he don't shut up. Oh, my God. He talks too much now.

28:48Rey Mysterio:way too much. Oh, man. But as a parent, I got to say, it just makes me feel so proud to see his growth and to see him take on his own path. Yeah. And it's cool because I think it would be hard for anyone to say like, well, I got here strictly on my dad's name. Right? I think obviously that opened some doors that may have not opened as quickly but I think from what he's done in such a short amount of time and not obviously you guys aren't obviously on the same page and you're not out there patting him on the back I'm sure you would probably like to if he would listen to you but I mean as a father and understanding this business and making a name for yourself how important that is.

29:48I mean, it is. You have to be, as much as you want to slap him in the head, you have to be extremely proud of him. Yes, yes, 100%.

29:55Rey Mysterio:And kind of just let him go, let him do his own thing. I did feel that there was a bit of awkwardness or maybe even a struggle right before he became the person he became. like he didn't feel like he was fitting in, being by my side. And I completely understand that. So the best thing for him to have done is to detach from his own father. And then on top of that, embrace that character that he, I guess he envisioned in his mind and seeing who he is now. Yeah. As we know, you have to identify with, you can be whatever character you want to be, but if it doesn't resonate within you, you're just, it's going to be meh.

31:00You can tell that he is extremely comfortable in who he is and how he does things. Yeah. And obviously, it's different from how dad did it. Oh, yeah, 100%. But he is his own man. And I mean, again, in this industry and how this business works, you have to be proud. I mean, that's just to have the presence of mind to want to, okay, this is the safe route. This will work. Right. but this can be even exponentially bigger because I am so different from my father.

31:45Rey Mysterio:Yeah. Right. And I am making, and I am blazing my own path and, and, you know, I like telling the story because I, uh, uh, when it happened, that's how, that's actually when I found out that, okay, this kid, he has his own confidence and eventually he's going to come and ask me for advice down the road, but it's just going to be to hear what I have to say. Then at the end, like anybody else, he'll make his own decision. During the pandemic is when he came up to me, he goes, hey, Pops, he goes, they want me to have a match against Seth. I was like, ooh, I don't think you're ready. What do you think?

32:33Rey Mysterio:He goes, I don't know. I said, man, remember, I'm just going to tell you this. You only have one shot to make it. Obviously, we didn't have fans in the crowd. You have the monitors, and it was more reserved than private. I said, but still, keep in mind that it's one shot. Make it. Break it. And he's like, yeah, I'm going to do it. All right? Respect. Yeah. And he did. And so that kind of led me on to the character that he is now. You know, he's very confident. But who would have thought sweet, sweet Dom would be such a good sleazebag? Right? Like, just a sleazebag. I love him so much. I remember thinking, I actually can't stand watching him in the best possible way on TV.

33:22Because he and Liv, golly, what a pair. Oh, my God. Oh, what a pair. It makes you hate him. It makes me just disgust it sometimes. I'm like, oh, so good. They're the modern day Mickey and Mallory. You ever watch Natural Born Killers? Yes. Yeah. Woody Harrelson. Yeah. What's her name? I can't think of her name. Woody Harrelson, yeah. Yeah. When I see them together, that's what I think of is Mickey and Mallory. But so, okay, that's enough about him. There might be. I just wanted to add as a GM, I might be able to, because Natural Born Killers, he was bald.

33:59Rey Mysterio:So maybe we can. Oh. Shit. Right? Make it more believable. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. See how tough you feel. Okay. I knew Marcella knew what she was doing. She made you GM. Forward thinking. I like that. Right away. But Dom may not be the only Mysterio that's going to grace the ring, right? Yes. from just recent news. We've been going back and forth trying to see if Aaliyah was motivated enough to go up to the PC and dedicate some time to training, like full time. She tried it out one time with me last year, October. She loved it. She just jumped in the ring once. I said, okay, let's try and set you up to go up there for about two weeks, see if you can wake up every day and do this Monday through Friday, weekends off, and then back again Monday through Friday.

35:01Rey Mysterio:She did two weeks, and she really loved it. I said, okay. I wasn't expecting that. And this was all prior to her. This was WrestleMania, the first one we had in Vegas. Dad, when are you taking me to the ring? When are you taking me to the ring? I said, when you graduate, I'll take you to the ring. So she graduated in July of last year. That's from college. That's from UCSD. Yeah. Human biology. Showed me the diploma. It was okay, I'm ready. Took her up in October of last year. She loved it. Sent her again this year, February, for two weeks. She loved it. And now we are in May and the May and she's getting ready to go up there and establish herself at the PC.

35:58She'll kill it.

35:59Rey Mysterio:So I'm excited. Like this is, I couldn't, if you would have told me your kids are going to grow up and become wrestlers, both of them. I think you're wrong. The cool thing is I've never pushed the sport down their throat. it all came out of them like they wanted to be a part of this that's the best way I mean I think if you push it on them they wouldn't want any part of it yeah I remember her being in the ring though with you in the storyline and Angie was out there and Dom was out there and it was punk right saying happy birthday or something and she was like and it was so natural and so believable and we all want to kill him because sweet little Aaliyah you know is already just golly yeah crying in your arms and man she's yeah it's it's uh it's gonna be very interesting to see her development you know for the next year um but we were talking about this i like if that really happens i would i would love to create some history like this is a historical moment for to be able to have shared the ring with my son, become the first father and son tag team champions in WWE, and then later on feud against each other, and we had our differences.

37:21But now with my daughter, it's like, what can we do there?

37:26Rey Mysterio:This is a historical moment because I really don't have that many accolades. I mean, just Hall of Fame, GM. Yeah, I mean, really. I need something to bring to the table. Why are you going to hold her back? You're in the twilight of a mediocre career, brother. Come on. Isn't that crazy? Oh, my God. I think Handicap Match, you and her versus Dom. Ooh, you and Aaliyah against Dom and Liv. You and Aaliyah versus Dom. Ooh, Dom and Liv. Ooh. Oh, Dom and Liv. There you go. I mean, why live out? I might want to save that for AAA. I'm just going to save that. As GM, that's exactly where it's going. Brother, bring it home.

38:08Wow. I can't even imagine how cool that would be. Yeah. I mean, really. I don't know that. Like, I'm racking my brain. I may be missing it. But to be able to be in the ring, not only with your son, but then your daughter, I don't know. That's crazy. Yeah. That is nuts, man. And that's very cool that that's a possibility. Man. opportunity. You know what you could also do, you could do the handicap match, keep Liv out of it. So it's just a family affair. Right. Live on the outside and Angie on the outside. Oh, somebody might get hurt. I don't think it would be, uh, Angie.

38:52Rey Mysterio:Rhea got slapped by Angie. Yes, she sure did. Trying to ruin our Thanksgiving dinner. Uh huh. But overall, like, yeah, just to think about a moment like that. um you know and again a lot of things happen throughout time and and you kind of oh remember that time or remember this historical moment but like this will like really make a stamp on just in general and in wrestling itself you know we've had so many uh dynasties of families in wrestling, the Von Eriks, the Guerreros in Mexico. I mean, the Wagners, the Llanos, the Brazos. But I don't know if there's ever been a father wrestler that has been able to share the ring with their son and their daughter at the same time in the same match.

39:53Rey Mysterio:That's really crazy. That's crazy. Yeah. yeah let's shift gears here man when you come over from wcw and what year did you come over to wwe when they bought the company uh they bought it in 2000 in 2000 2000 yeah somewhere in there yeah uh 2001 i think yeah and uh when that happened obviously the rumor was going around uh after the last show they're like yeah well they're some of the contracts they're buying out other contracts they're just letting them run out people they don't want to hire blah blah blah like oh okay and then when it came to my contract they uh jr told me like ray we would really want to do business with you but but uh let your contract run out and then come april of 2002 you know we'll sit down and negotiate a good deal for you okay and sure enough that's exactly what happened so from 2001 to april 202 uh i did something that i that i really wanted to do is wrestle in arena mexico with cml at the time so i did a couple shows there who's that oh yeah i don't know if i've ever heard of it what is it lmca what is it llcm llcm okay i'll look it up that was just you guys heard of that anybody no no one yeah i don't think it's around anymore or it might be i don't know um so yeah i was there for for maybe two months and uh okay did that bucket list check it off and then i went to puerto rico and i worked in puerto rico until i got the call from jr and i actually i actually thought that they didn't want to hire me because i had heard so many stories that Vince didn't like, smaller talent and blah, blah, blah.

41:46Rey Mysterio:I was like, man, I was undecisive. Like, I didn't know what to believe. Is it true? Is it not true? Oh, it was true. Yeah. I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah, right? No, yeah. No, I'll get there, but go ahead. Let me cut you off. So Angie and I were already making plans. You know, we had just had Aaliyah in 2001. So it's like, okay, let's just see what happens. Let's write it out. In the meantime, I have work. I'm grinding. So we're good. And yeah, 2002, I get a call, sit down with JR, sign the deal, and the rest is history. Well, yeah, the rest is history. But I know when you first come in, there was that stigma of like, oh, he's way too small, right?

42:42I mean, obviously, you did some incredible – the stuff that you did in the ring was incredible. But I think in the old man's eyes, it was just like, I don't think so. and I mean and correct me if I'm wrong like I think you almost had to you almost had to change your style a little bit like even in the way that you sold and learn I think because you know you were so used to doing all the you know the the incredible right you know the incredible moves Like, I think it was when you really realized that, dude, I have to sell my ass off to, to, to really have, get these people on my side. And then the key to doing that obviously is being able, okay, yeah, I can, I'm going to sell, but I'm never going to die.

43:33Right. And then I think that's to me and correct me if I'm wrong. I mean, that is when, when the fan base, like, dude, this is, this is somebody that we can really get behind. because look, I mean, he's twice, three times as small as this dude, but man, he just won't give up. And then when he does, you know, when you hit all these crazy moves too, man, it took you, to my opinion, it took you to a completely different level.

43:59Rey Mysterio:No, I think you're absolutely right. So right before WCW was bought out, that's roughly around maybe a year before is when I lost the mask. to Nash and Hall. And then I was already working with a little bit more with the bigger guys. I had an opportunity to work with Bam Bam Bigelow, who was awesome. I loved working him. And just, I got a feel of what it felt like to be in there with the bigger dudes and how to sell and move around and be creative with my offense. but it wasn't until WWE when I came in that I really started getting feedback from the agents, from the people I was working, you including Angle.

44:54Rey Mysterio:Eddie would always pull me aside. And it was a learning process because everything was so fast in WCW. Right. So fast, so fast-paced because we really didn't have a direction. They wouldn't tell us. Yeah. uh and here we did have to learn a certain direction yeah you had to storytell back yes yeah and it was such a learning experience for me that it made my work like much more easier and believable and i'm like oh this is i can adapt to this it was just i've always been uh willing to learn a different style or a technique or a form of, of adding to, to my work that is going to make it improve. And nothing could have happened better than to, to listen to all the people that I work with and that I learned from here in WWE coming in, in 2002.

45:56Yeah. No, you know, I know from, from my perspective, like I, I feel like I have some of my best matches. We're against smaller guys because there's such a good story that you can tell. I know the few times that we worked, it was me trying to use my strength and my size to bum rush you and you just being too slick and staying away from me, cat and mouse. And once you invest in that story, it's like, oh, okay, okay, okay. Boom. If Taker ever does get a hold of him, he's going to kill him. But he just can't get to him.

46:35Rey Mysterio:Right. Right. And if you apply and put, you know, if you figure out the story and a lot of guys, you know, Kurt and a few times I get to work with Eddie, too. So it's like, you know, what makes sense? Well, go after a leg. You know, you don't want me on my feet. You want me down. Right. And, yeah, I knew once you – because, again, you had some incredible matches in WCW, the match with Eddie. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. That's one of the most fun matches I've ever watched. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, it was incredible. And you guys told an incredible story. But, yeah, I think once that light went off with you, then the sky was the limit.

47:23Obviously. I mean, three world title reigns. Yeah.

47:26Rey Mysterio:Yeah. I mean, everything just kind of, again, started unfolding and presenting itself, you know, with the time. But, yeah, again, we don't do this work on our own. You know, we always need that guidance that the right person, opponent to work with, that'll build you up to the next level. Right. And the first one to kind of like pull me aside was Kurt Angle. at that time i remember he told me uh they gave him three opponents to work with for summer slam which was my first pay-per-view with wwe in long island and uh he said i chose you i've always wanted to work with you since i've seen you in wcw i'm like oh truly honored and he was like the first guy that kind of pulled me under his wing and and was learning all these new methods of how how to make my craft much better.

48:24Rey Mysterio:And you just adapt it. You do it. And back then we were doing it so regularly that it just becomes a habit, a good habit that you invest the time and the effort to making it work. And then it just sticks. Okay. And then what's next? What do I have to learn now? Right. The one thing I never was able to do is, because I've always been

48:55Rey Mysterio:I've always had fear of speaking in front of public. Like I'm raise your hand to speak up in front of the class. Oh no. No eye contact. So for some reason the mask gave me a little bit of coverage but I just I could never get comfortable on the mic as much as I wanted to. It was just almost impossible. and the times that I did, it was like it came out of a lot of will to do it. But, yeah, I don't know how you were. No, not that I was a great promo guy, but I could be in front of 100 ,000 people and cut a promo and not flinch. You put me in a bag, Mark Calloway, in front of 15 people? I didn't want any part of it.

49:45Like if I had to be myself, yeah, I was like, no, I don't want any part of this at all. Yeah, I was completely the opposite. There's so many times that I passed up on speaking gigs and stuff like that. It was like, it's not my – and then I go out and, you know, do an hour at my Hall of Fame. And then it was like, this guy never talks, and now he don't shut up. What the hell? It gets you in trouble sometimes too. But you, I think, redefined what a top, top guy looks like, honestly. Because especially with WWE, everybody was so big. Obviously, Kurt. But I mean, Vince is, you know, his favorites were the big dudes.

50:32Yeah. And I think you were able to redefine for a whole generation coming behind you that, hey, you don't have to be 6 '6 and 300 pounds to be a top, top guy. Right. So you opened a lot of doors, I think, for a lot of talent coming up behind you.

50:52Rey Mysterio:Right. I think the fact that I was Hispanic, that I was the size, you know, not the stereotypical size of a wrestler. But on top of that, the stuff that I was doing at the time that was hardly ever, like a lot of people had never seen a lot of the stuff that I was doing. like all that put together just opened up this new vision for for fans to go oh this is pretty cool even like going back to wcw like the fact that we were given an opportunity there and there was so many of us la parka juventud guerrera super calo like why is it out of all of them I was the only one that stuck there with like, no, they're all gone.

51:48Rey Mysterio:Like psychosis, there would be no Ray Mysterio without psychosis. You know, he was just so, he made my work look so crisp and clean, like, uh, just amazing, amazing to work with. Um, but I, obviously we all take different paths. We don't dedicate, uh, fully or commit, uh, to our craft sometimes. and that kind of derails you. In my case, I think that just the passion overall and wanting to be part of this and taking it to whatever level was the next level at the time, kind of the fans fed off that energy and really invested in me. At the end of the day, obviously we are no one without God first and foremost, but, but overall the, the fans are the ones that give you the respect and the props that you eventually want to earn.

52:54Rey Mysterio:Right. Yeah, no, absolutely the fans, but it, but it, but it has to, you know, it has to come from, from the talent as well. Like, I mean, you can, you know, if you don't put that work in, because I see a lot of people get comfortable. They get to a certain level and they think, okay, I've made it. Were you like that at some point? No. That's the one, maybe to a fault. I was never satisfied. Same way. Right? Same way. from even you know back in you you remember back in the day after we would do a premium live event yeah the next day at raw and catering they'd have the monitor playing and everybody was I could never I could never sit there and watch my stuff like I just couldn't because I didn't want to hear I didn't want to hear like oh dude that was great or that was all I wanted to sit by myself and watch it and pick it apart Like, man, I wish I had done this right here because then I would have got this here.

54:01That's how you learn and you expand and you become better. Only you can understand what you did. You can only understand that. Yeah, but you can't. I always tell people, never be content because there's always another place to go. I go back to the Attitude Era, right? Steve was the guy. Yep. but there was a bunch of guys that were right there under him. That was always, you know, it was a,

54:28Rey Mysterio:such a healthy competition because everybody wanted his spot. Yeah. You know, maybe it was going to happen. Maybe it wasn't going to happen, but man, it was, that was the spot that you wanted to have. Right. And, you know, and you just like, I was never like, and I was, again, I was a more of an attraction for most all are not most of, but a lot of my career, I was the attraction, but even even that which is a great spot to be in like no i want to be i want to be even more yeah and i think that's how i think that's how you last as long as that one as we both did yeah is by always thinking there's more yeah there's more there's more there's more yeah and uh just uh you know that's just a an approach that i don't know that i know there's there's a lot of people that have it but there's a lot of people that don't have it and they get comfortable and then they wonder why they stagnate or they, you know, you have to continue to evolve, whether it be your repertoire, your gear, your personality, and you have to continue to evolve to keep your, keep everything fresh and moving forward, man.

55:35Rey Mysterio:I think you did say it best. Like you'd never be content with what you're presenting. You always, I was always the hardest critic, you know, going back and watching my matches. Because I knew exactly what I should have done at a certain point of the match that could have made it just much better. But yeah, were you like that? Yes. Same way. Yeah. It's like that's the only way you can improve and get better, right? Yeah. That's the only way. I think there's a difference between loving it and just kind of being obsessed with it. Right. Yes. Big news. WWE and sports fans. The world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, is making its return to New York City.

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56:48Rey Mysterio:Knees are good. You've done a lot of stem cell, right? Stem cells, yeah. At least I'm actually due for a treatment, which I should be doing it sometime this year. But overall, I was talking to Taker about our cold plunge experience when I bought my first one. I was sitting outside my bedroom like, okay, it's already here. It's filled up with water. It's at 45 degrees. Okay, I think the lowest is 38. Just got to get in. I'll just get used to it first. Jumping first thing in the morning. A whole month and a half went by and I was like, ah, tomorrow. Tomorrow. Yeah, I know. I know. We're the same way.

57:30Didn't want to do it. We are the same way.

57:32Rey Mysterio:And now that I'm so hooked on it, like I can't. So you go every morning? Every morning. That's the first thing I do. How long? Three minutes. It's at 39. Oh, no. So, yeah. And it's like, it's a must for me now. Like, if I don't do that, I don't like, I'll just feel like, like I'm dragging throughout the day. But as soon as I wake up, I'll jump in there and I'm good to go. It's a mind game. Like he did it for a while. Then he got out of the habit. And then like, I could get better. You can't stop. Yeah. It's like hitting the ropes. no, no. And I hate the cold. Like I'll get in, like I'll do a limb.

58:13I'll stick my foot in there. I'll stick my elbow in there. I'll lean all over or I'll squat down. I cannot sit. I can't.

58:19Rey Mysterio:It's bad. Oh. And I always tell myself, same thing. Like it'll be the hardest thing I do all day. Let me just do it first. That's the hardest thing I'll do all day. I prompt. I got in the habit of doing it twice. ice and then our pump broke and hadn't worked. Dang it. Maybe that's a sign. He went on a physically broken. I broke it on purpose. I just let it get dirty. You got to think about it. What's three minutes out of my day? I know. That's it. I know. And it goes by so fast. But there are certain areas of me that just burn. They hurt. They're so cold. My feet is the first thing. I go to the back of my neck so I don't stick my head in until the last 15 20 seconds but uh as soon as i go in i'll either keep my hands like this on my arms do you do the breathing yeah i'm so controlled so controlled with the breathing yeah or i've realized that now recently that because i have carpal tunnel yeah if i control my breathing while I'm in there and I'm telling myself it's your fingers are going to get better.

59:31Rey Mysterio:You're going to start getting motion in your fingers. And as soon as I start doing that, it's like I start getting sensibility and I can move my fingers in the water like that. Which is wild, huh? Because our brains really do. Our body probably is our brain. Yeah. I know. It's crazy. I know. So anytime I have my hand, if I sleep and I sleep like this, my hand will eventually get numb and I have to shake it off and extend it put it over my head just to get it going again Angie loves competing against me oh my god I love that I'll do three minutes I did five you don't need five you need three I still beat you but I did five that's funny there's not many things that I will let her beat me at but that might be one.

1:00:21Yeah, right? Wait, wait, wait. He said let you? Yeah, capital L. You don't let me beat you. What? I just beat you. That's not a... Oh, come on, man. Oh, geez. Here we go. Here we go. All right. When y 'all had that match, I don't remember where we were at. Cleveland, Ohio. Oh, you don't remember much. Look at that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. But no, the only reason I tell is because obviously you're the best in the world. You're the safest. Things happen. He's already taken accountability a million times. This was all his fault. No. Yes, because you'd come off surgery. You were feeling a little froggy.

1:00:55I mean, I've been off for months and then my first match back. But, hey, don't let that bother you, Ray. Wow. Wow. Wow. It derailed a whole other championship run that I was scheduled for. I know. Wow. Wow. No.

1:01:11Rey Mysterio:I totally messaged. Goodness gracious. my my thoughts always is like especially working The top talent of the company concerns like I've never been stiff or I've always very careful. But for some reason that one night when I wrestled him. Look, it was him because you were in the air. He was the one that was. You probably can say that you pull me down and I did this, right? You know what? I think what it was is because I thought we were in the middle of a really, really good match. Yes. And I wanted to take a really good bump. Which you did. So I think what happened is when you came off and I threw my legs up.

1:02:05And instead of where normally your ass would have hit me in the chest, because of the angle that I was in, you just landed a little higher. And I think it was me trying to feel in the moment more so than anything. And I remember watching backstage, and all of a sudden you're sitting there, and he just goes, and you see his nose on the wrong side of his face, like way over here on one cheek. Yeah, and then all of a sudden he goes, and it's back somewhat straight again. We're like, wow. The problem was is when I stood up and there were three of you. Yeah, no. That was the problem. Which do I pick?

1:02:43That's what you said. I was like, I'm just going to go for the one in the middle. And hopefully I can catch you. Yeah, he said, I don't know which ray to catch.

1:02:49Rey Mysterio:So I remember doing the senton, and then I was going to get back up and hit the ropes and hit you, I believe, with another one or a drop kick or something. Yeah. Yeah. But then that eventually was leading into the finish. So we were good. I felt horrible. I really. I felt bad because I knew how bad you were going to feel. I was like, oh, man, I don't even want to say anything. But, yeah. I remember you saying at one point, like, Ray, you know how much I love you, and if you apologize one more time, then we're going to have a problem. It's part of the game. It's part of the game. I'll tell you the thing.

1:03:27Rey Mysterio:For me, so surreal because I've worked with a lot of people, but just being out there for the first time with you and just tucking down in that corner and watching your entrance, Like that was such a surreal moment for me. Like I really was able to enjoy and soak that in. The older I've gotten, the more nerves creep up on me, which it's crazy. Like I want to go back to that feeling when I was excited and I had no nerves. If I messed up, I messed up. I'd figure it out. Now it's like my head is going crazy trying to figure out. and that's not that's i was the same way okay yeah no at the end especially because i i worked so few times a year um you know when you're in the grind all the time you just boom you just go you don't think ever you screw something up you just know how to fix it and you go on autopilot yeah but when later on like so you go i would go into matches like did i did i train hard enough Did I get my conditioning good enough?

1:04:38Do I feel, you know, because, again, I was working with a lot of energies, too, at the end. It was just like, do I have enough in the tank, right? Like all these self-doubt. Weird thoughts, yeah. Yeah, the self-doubt would come in. And then after the big concussion that I got with Brock at Mania, man, it was so difficult. Because then, like, now I, like, because I couldn't explain how I got concussed. but he wasn't i don't i don't think there was anything that he did i think it was just my body wasn't used to the trauma right like because and again at that point there was you know there wasn't a lot of guys that could physically throw me around and it makes sense going back watching

1:05:19Rey Mysterio:that do you was there a certain moment like no there's nothing i can't i can't point it out i can tell um i can tell by how i start moving yeah because i come i became a little lethargic and less energy because I was in good shape that year. But I could tell by my body language and how I was moving and interacting and that I'd become lethargic, but I can't sit and watch it and go, that's it. I think it was just the accumulation of bumps that I wasn't prepared because I hadn't worked in a year. And then eventually it catches up to you. That is so crazy. Yeah, it just – and then once the self-doubt gets in there, then it becomes – Oh, man.

1:06:04Man, because I remember I was wound tight the next year when I worked with Bray. Like, dude, it was – it was like I was a rookie. I had never – What a bad feeling. Oh, it was awful.

1:06:17Rey Mysterio:I've been doing this shit for 40 years. Like, please, come on. I mean, I've done this – Don't give me this. All these different levels and all these people. And I think it was a lot of people that picked up on it were like, dude. Or you thought they had picked up, but maybe they didn't. No, no, no, no, no. But I've had a couple of conversations with people. Okay. Triple H is one of them. Okay, okay. He was like, dude, you're the effing Undertaker. Yeah. I couldn't hear it. Because all I had in there was last year. Yeah. And it took me a while. And I don't know that it ever, it never really went away for the rest of my career.

1:06:55Right. I mean, I was able to, you know, dial in a couple of times, but overall, it was always that, it was always in the back of my brain and it blows people away. They're like, dude, you had this incredible career. Yeah. But it's still, what did I do last? Yeah. That was always the thought, you know, and then it's just, yeah, it's crazy. But it happened at the end. Yeah. And I think that's crazy because we have such, I think we have such high expectations and high standards for ourselves as performers, you know, that you don't, you don't give yourself, I think, grace. Yeah. Right. You don't give yourself grace.

1:07:34I should be, I should be that same guy that I was when I was, when I was 28, 30, 30, you know, I, I, but you just have to accept. You have to accept. You have to accept it. And I couldn't do it. Yeah. I can do it now.

1:07:46Rey Mysterio:Yeah. But I couldn't then. Yeah. Right. So, I mean, it's easy now. Like, oh, okay, yeah. Up until what age did you stop wrestling? I think I wrestled until I was 54. 54? I think I'm 54. Yeah. I wrestled, oh, wait, 20? Yeah. Okay. I think I wrestled until 54. I still got about 10 years then. I said 54. Oh, yeah. Yeah. About right. Yeah, of course you are. That's why you wear that mask, brother. Right. I'm covered it all up. Yeah. The mirror doesn't lie. But yeah, it's just a matter of processing and accepting and moving on. And again, you have to, and I wish, again, I would have had the presence of mind back then.

1:08:37But you have to realize that your reflexes aren't as fast. Right. But there are still things that you can feel, okay, well, I can't do this that way, but if I can do it this way. So you have to kind of smoke and mirror it sometimes. And I just don't really, I being as hardheaded, I can do that. I can get that lightning back in the bottle one more time. That was one of the big problems that I had because I wanted that signature statement. Right. I mean, I got it with AJ in the boneyard, but I wanted that match in the ring where it was 2005 again. Right. I don't think, you know, in those areas, I don't feel like anybody could touch me.

1:09:26Right. And that's what I wanted. Right. Yeah. That's what I wanted. Yeah. And it just wasn't going to happen. And I was just not smart enough to figure that out. Wow. But you're incredible. I mean, for 89 to 2026, brother, you get around really well.

1:09:46Rey Mysterio:You also got to keep in mind, take like my body weight compared to yours is, which is a lot, I think it's a lot less of a beating, even though I've had my. That's what I was going to say. Yeah. For the bigger guys, I think it's got to be much harder, you know, for all the years they put in the business and all the surgeries they've gone through. Just the left one has gone through about 14 of them. Holy moly. And the right one, just one, just one surgery. And sometimes this one feels better than this one, which is crazy. That is crazy. Yeah. Yeah. This is only a meniscus tear. It fixed it. But this has also taken all the grind for both of them while this one has been out.

1:10:33Rey Mysterio:This has done all the work. Yeah. Because of that, are your hips good? My hips are good. I'm just tight, really, really tight. That's another thing that I do in the mornings. So I usually like to jump in the cold plunge, get out, stretch, and then go hit my cardio. But I get pretty bad at stretching sometimes, not going to lie, and I should do it more. If I were to stretch every day at least five days a week, I would be like I would be moving very loosely yeah that's the only thing that I lack on I'm the same way yeah and I have a guy here that's just at my at my disposal and I don't take advantage to me sorry bro boy it happens calling the boy but he's yeah he's amazing and I don't I don't even take advantage the way I should and my body is so and it is like twisted steel like it's so tight I realize that when my knees hurt and they ache, okay, damn, I didn't stretch today.

1:11:40Rey Mysterio:And I'll take 10, 15 minutes out of that time in the moment and I'll stretch. I'll get up, start moving around and my pain is gone. It's like, so I know what I need to do. I just don't apply it and I should. Which makes it more frustrating. Yeah. Yeah. And then we wonder like, why do I feel like I'm mad at myself? Complain. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That it's, I will say that. And she'll go, have you stretched? Like, no, I don't know. Do I need to? Do I? Are you ready to hold WWE history in the palm of your hand? Tops is bringing you closer to the action than ever before with WWE Tops. Now highlighting the biggest matches and milestones from WWE shows and PLEs throughout the year.

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1:13:17Be sure to subscribe to WWE Topps Now mailing list on Topps.com and follow Topps on all social media platforms so you never miss a single moment. I don't know his new knees and new hip. You got your hip replaced? So I had both hips done while I was still working. Okay. And you worked after? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I don't have full hip replacements. I have what they're called Birmingham resurfaces. So they took the head of my femur, and they opened me up, and then they go in there and they clean it all off, get all the potholes and the spurs and all of that, and they clean that all off, and then they drill a hole into the bone, and then they put a titanium cap over the bone, the same kind of material that they use as the replacement is.

1:14:19And then they go into the acetabulum and into the hip. They do the same thing. They cleaned it all out and they hammer in a, a, a titanium cup. And, and it's, it's incredible how, how well, like I could take the cap and put it in the cup. Like the company sent me one so that I could have, and you could take it. It's like a top. You can spin it and it will spin and you can move it around. It's so it's incredibly machined and polished. Wow. So yeah, I did those. that's why I was able to continue to keep working. Um, Dr. Edwin Sue at the hospital for special surgeries in New York. He, uh, he did him.

1:15:02He's incredible. He said, you know, when I did the first one, he goes, he said, this will be the biggest test that anybody has put. Cause they'd only been doing it for about 10 years when I did the first one. Right. And he was like, this will be the biggest test that anybody has, has put on these to see if they work. because you were going to go back to work, right? Yeah. That's what I told him. Oh, wow. Didn't he come watch? Yeah, he came to Mania after just to see. And like I've had zero. And that was. 2010 was one of them. Yeah. So I'm. Wow. Yeah. So I had one done. Yeah. In 2010. And then a few years later, I had the other one done.

1:15:45And they both feel the same. And they both feel. I mean, they feel great. No issues whatsoever. And he woke up in the hospital, vividly remember, not having any pain. He's like, oh, my gosh, why didn't I do this sooner? Like he had zero pain in his hips. Wow. For being in chronic pain for over a decade to waking up and it's like, it's all gone. How bad were your hips? Oh, they were awful. What about your knees? My knees were... Same? Yeah, both of them were really, really, really bad. And I think my knees were direct from my hips. Okay. Because the way I would walk and it kind of threw everything off.

1:16:27Yeah. And, you know, both of them were way, way overdue. Like, you know, I was, I went years being in pain and I, you know, I couldn't. With the knees, though, like I had to wait until I was done because I don't think I could have worked with my knees. Yeah.

1:16:43Rey Mysterio:I've always heard that. It's hard to get a knee replacement and then. Yeah. Still work, yeah. I mean, for me, it's like, thank God for stem cells because, like, yeah, my knee aches and hurts every now and then, but not to the extent that, like, wow, I'm really thinking about replacing it. And I've gone through a lot of them. So I guess stem cells have really been a game changer for me. Are you still going, where did you go, Columbia? So that was the very first place I went to, BioAccelerator. Right. And there was a bunch of us that went there at the time. This was early 2020s, maybe 2019. And that was like the first time my body had received like a full dosage, talking in the millions.

1:17:42Rey Mysterio:So my body reacted very well to it. within about, I want to say almost two and a half to three months, like from being in chronic pain, it was to no pain whatsoever, like completely gone. And roughly that lasted for about three years, like pain-free, 100%. My carpal tunnel, I remember telling him, have you guys done anything for carpal tunnel? He goes, no, but let's try it out. Let's see. It was still like under development or you could say, let's figure out, you know, how much it would work in certain areas. So it completely took away my carpal tunnel for almost three years. And I was sleeping, waking up in the middle of the night two, three times because my hand would just go to sleep completely.

1:18:43Rey Mysterio:to the point where it would wake me up. But that was, again, everything has been on stem cells. And then now, obviously, back then, peptides weren't around. Now with the peptides and with the cold plunge and with the sauna and the red light, it's like just so many. So much biohacking. Yes, that you're helping your progress, your longevity in general, not just in the ring, but overall, you know, your health, eating correctly, all that stuff, like that's all huge, a huge important factor. Yeah, I feel like a guinea pig around here. She is the queen of biohacks, right? Like anything that comes along, we have a red light, anything, the cold plunge, obviously, all these things come down, the peptides, everything that comes in, you need to take this.

1:19:39you need to do this. Does she take it though? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You know what's bad is like, I'll just, our kids see, I mean, I'm just like, you know, getting out the peptides. I know I need to clear it up.

1:19:53Rey Mysterio:Angie's the same way. Yeah. Like she's, she's my chef. She's my. I'm not a chef. She's my chef. She's my doctor. She's always, you got to take these supplements. Everything's all, uh stacks yes um so she's on top of my health like but i thought you were going to be like her like when it's time for her to take care of her health well she's too busy taking care of everyone that she forgets about herself like no that does gotta do these things with me so yeah i'm still struggling with her but she's she's doing a better job it happens i certainly don't take them every day like i should but i'll take them you take them at least yeah yeah yeah Yeah.

1:20:41Everything, you know, we're talking about health and, you know, the things that we have to do to keep us, you know, keep our motors running. Right. You've got, what, a 30, what, four-year career. You've done everything there is to do.

1:21:01What's left for Ray Mysterio?

1:21:05Rey Mysterio:Man, recently I've been asking myself that question. Angie and I will sit down and kind of go, like, what is there left to do? There's really nothing left to do. There was really never a list of things that we needed to do or accomplish. Obviously, when your career starts expanding and panning out the way it has, it's like, wow, we've been more than blessed with everything that we have and have done. Obviously, right now, to be able to see my daughter now, be able to grow and kind of be there for her since I was gone for so long, just like I was with Dom, you know, being on the road. They know they can both count on me whenever they want.

1:22:00So being there for Aaliyah, if she ever needs any guidance or advice

1:22:05Rey Mysterio:or anything that can help her push forward to following this dream that she has right now. And again, she might be there for a year and she might say, Dad, I thought this was for me and maybe it's not. So I said, don't feel pressured that you have to be here. This is, it's got to come from in here. You got to feel it. And the other thing is being able to pass down some of the knowledge that I've gotten over the years, especially being down in AAA, the company where everything pretty much began for me. my first opportunity to be on national television, if there's anything I can do, pass on, help, create, that's a win for me, paying back a little bit of the much that they gave me.

1:23:04Right.

1:23:05Rey Mysterio:Yeah. So being the greatest masked wrestler of all time, in your opinion, I don't want to put you on the spot, But who's the next great luchador? Wow, I see so many up-and-coming stars. And, like, at the time, Dragon was right by my side. And I see a lot of similarities in Dragon Lee that I had growing up and being part of this business. like he's always willing to learn, asking for advice, a lot of Ray Mysterio-ish in him. I love him, by the way. Oh, he's such a good kid. Yeah, he's such a good dude and always wanting to do the best he can. Yeah, that he can, right? Yeah. I was telling Andy, I said, he reminds me so much.

1:24:06Rey Mysterio:And I've been able to hang out with him and his family outside of the wrestling world. And to see the time and dedication that he gives his wife and his two little girls is like, man, I envy that. Because I wasn't like that when I was 29 years old. You know, so that's like props to him. I really admire him for having his head straight on his shoulders and walking the right path and doing the right things, not just for him, but to provide for his family. That speaks highly of who he is. But Dragon Lee, then Penta comes along, and I see Penta, and I'm like, whoa, Penta's brother, Ray Fenix, is incredible as well.

1:24:56Rey Mysterio:Like, it's just, there's so many names you can pick that you can say, oh, these guys are the next guys. Who's going to be the one? That's going to be up to them. And I think Panther's going to, Panther's already figuring it out. Yeah. You know, and I mean, who can help you out? and being the next guy, you just have to put in the work and learn. And he knows that I'll be here if he ever gets stuck with anything to help him out. I can only guide him so much, and he has to do the rest. Yeah. I think he has a really cool approach because he's separating himself. Yes. I think he stands out from the other guys.

1:25:51Yep. Just because of his personality. and things like that. Yeah. So, yeah, you can definitely tell that he's thinking differently.

1:25:59Rey Mysterio:Yes, and I think he's had that from day one, even before he came to WWE, like from AAA to wherever he's been. Like he's had this concept of what it is to stand out in his mind that it has definitely stamped everybody with his name. So, yeah, and he's such an incredible wrestler, too. Yes. Incredible. Very original, very creative, and, you know, he's always on top of things. Right. Yeah. It's going to be fun to watch to see who the next Rey Mysterio. I think we're seeing him now. Yeah, no, there's some really talented dudes out there that are exciting and fun to watch and bringing that Lucha style, which is crazy.

1:27:01You can be a fan of it, but it's just like, yeah, it's not my bag, right? Right, right. I have to admit that it's really growing on me, man, and watch those guys do their thing. and it's just like, I don't know how they did that and got up.

1:27:18Rey Mysterio:Do you feel like the sport has completely done a 360 and like the style has completely shifted to a different style? Or is it just like when you see the Lucha Libre stuff is when you get to see the high flying? Well, I think what they're doing, it's not just high flying now. Like what I can see happening and what we're trying to do is have that Lucha style and then also wrap a story around it. And when you can combine, instead of it just being a spectacle and having two dudes do these incredible moves, if we can wrap a story inside of it and make all that make sense, I think that's going to be a win-win and a huge growth opportunity for people.

1:28:14For the business in general, the business has definitely changed. And I think in a lot of ways it's changed for the good, but I still think there's a lot of elements that have gotten lost within the storytelling part of it. But again, if we can figure out a way to combine it all and make things make a little more sense, I think, man, the wrestling business is going to continue to grow. And the talent is there. It's just, I think, a little bit of reigning in a little bit and wrap some more story. I think, man, it's exciting. Yeah, it's got to be.

1:29:04Rey Mysterio:It's got to be for you, especially, you know, being able to deal with a completely different roster than you're accustomed to. And the fact that, again, you walk in there and you don't think nothing of it, but they look at you like, he's our boss. Like, he's our boss. That and what the hell does this guy know about Lucha Libre? they would never have i heard that never never they respect your work take uh but but it is it is cool to see uh the evolution and i know exactly what you're saying about like a lot of elements have been lost and as you were saying that i was thinking of a couple that uh i've spoken to some of the talent that comes from here over to the triple a shows uh joaquin wild being one of them and i told him if you can just add this to this you're gonna bring that back that's never been seen or done before here so what's old can be new again of course it always is yeah yeah it always is so that's very very exciting time to be uh um head of triple a and gm it's crazy it's crazy the amount of phone calls and texts that I get I can imagine people wanting to come down I've been blown away it's like it is never ending and I'll look at them and I'll think oh man they're ribbing me just randomly text them talk to the GM I'm going to put you on a covert recruiting mission.

1:30:53There you go. Hey, go buy so-and-so's trailer and see what they're doing. But no, man. Yeah. How's the – I know you were doing an animated series. Are we making progress? So we released our, it's Rey Mysterio versus the Darkness.

1:31:17Rey Mysterio:We released it in 2023, December of 2023. We released, it's a 10 episode, one season, 10 episode show of an animated cartoon that we created. And December of 23, we released five episodes. And then in February of 24, we released the other five. And it's out in Latin America. At the time, they were going through some sales and purchases with Cartoon Network and Latin America. And we kind of got lost in the transition. So what we're doing now is we bought the project ourselves. we are trying to bring it over to the U.S. and see if we can find the right partnership to be able to display it. A lot of the fans that have seen it really loved it.

1:32:14Rey Mysterio:So feedback is always very helpful. That way we know if we're going in the right direction or not. But it's Rey Mysterio versus the darkness. We're looking for a distributor here in the States. It's, you know, animation, brother. That's the ticket, bro. It's better than real movies. It's so long to take, too. It's so time-consuming. I did all the voiceovers for all the 10 episodes in English and in Spanish. They said, ah, let's do them in English, too. So when we do come over to the States, so everything's all done. All we need to do is just shop it around. But, yeah, it was interesting to be able to do, like, the voiceovers in both languages.

1:32:54Rey Mysterio:It was a learning process for me. Right. which I really loved. So opens another door for a whole nother career. Right. Right, man. I love it. Hey, man, can't thank you enough. I know you're a busy man. You're running AAA and you got your WWE commitments. Nobody else is there to take care of business. You got a TCB, man. But we always, we appreciate you making time for us. And I just like catching up. You're one of my favorite people in the world. Thank you. You're a genuinely really, really good dude that always, always enjoy seeing, man. Thank you. That goes both ways. Spend some time with us, man.

1:33:31Thank you, guys.

1:33:32Rey Mysterio:Thank you very much. Thank you so much. I really love being here. Thank you for the invite. And I hope we can chop it up some more down the road, maybe like in about a year, year and a half. Maybe get another stereo. Maybe have somebody next to you. Yeah. Why not? Yep. I like it. You never know. Maybe Dom might be a good guy. There you go. He's got some more head. He's got a way to go. He's got a ways to go, man. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Ray.