Rey Mysterio Jr.

[Mando]

A lock for my top ten. Agreed with everything Dylan said above about his consistency and ability to perform well in a variety of different settings.

[ohtani's jacket]

Seen:

 

Rey/JBL 5/13/04

Rey/Noble 11/2/07

Rey/Knox 2/18/10

Rey/Gallows 3/9/10

Rey/Taker 5/28/10

Rey/McIntyre 8/6/10

 

those? And really any match he had w/ Tajiri, but 9/25/03, No Mercy 03, and 1/1/04 are the ! ones.

 

I've been watching a few of these when the mood takes me.

 

I don't usually like big man/small man bouts, but Rey's selling was excellent in the Knox bout. The only thing I didn't like about it was that he won with his signature stuff. I realise that it had to do it from a marketing point of view to keep pushing the merchandise, but after taking such a beating it wasn't really credible for me that he could beat a less fatigued big man with a run of signature stuff.

 

Rey vs. Noble was fun. It's always neat to see a rematch of a match-up you liked. Unfortunately, it was one of those bouts where an outside issue -- in this case Finlay at ringside -- takes precedence over what's happening in the ring even when the guy at ringside doesn't interfere.

[DMJ]

I just watched his match against Ultimo Dragon at Hog Wild 96' and really, really liked it. Not as good as the Psychosis match from the previous month's Bash At The Beach, but in terms of show openers, I thought it was great. The unique setting (the ring is elevated off the ground and the padding around the makeshift stage/ring looks especially thin and unforgiving) adds to it and shows how fearless Mysterio was at the time. Again, not an all-time classic (there are some noticeable hiccups), but when things click, its a fun one.

[alexoblivion]

OJ, do you have any thoughts on Rey's early single matches from the 92-94 range? Some of them, particularly his 93 feud with Los Destructores, sound pretty intriguing on paper.

[ohtani's jacket]

Not really. I've never been that enamoured with Rey's lucha work. Bihari's four star lucha list would be the best place to start.

[alexoblivion]

That's understandable. I've looked at that list, and the only single matches of Rey that he listed from 92-94 are some of the Juventud matches. This only makes me more curious about the quality of a Rey/Karloff or Rey/Mr Condor match.

[shoe]

This generations great baby face worker . Will be in my top 10. A guys peak you can argue. The guy responsible for me buying GAB 96 after having a ppv lull from Hogan's debut at BATB 94.

[ohtani's jacket]

Rey/Gallows 3/9/10

Rey/Taker 5/28/10

Rey/McIntyre 8/6/10

 

These matches were proof that Mysterio could have a good match with just about anyone, but they were also cookie cutter big man vs. small man bouts, which is probably my least favourite type of Mysterio bout.

[Childs]

Rey looked great--like hasn't-lost-a-step great--against Ki last night. He could've easily worked a by-the-numbers 15 minutes and left everyone happy. But he took a lunatic bump to the floor off a missed 619, delivered some really intricate offense and added all kinds of neat little touches (there was one moment when Ki was about to climb up for the double stomp and Rey just grabbed his leg and held on desperately--not a huge thing but the perfect gesture to get over the struggle). Very cool to see an all-timer still working at such a high level in an unassuming rec center in Jersey.

[Dylan Waco]

Almost on accident I ended up watching several Rey matches this week, and it's sort of rekindled my interest in him as a number one contender. I'm not at all saying he will be my top pick, but I can't dismiss it. I've beaten this point into the ground, but you really can throw a rock in any direction and hit a good televised/taped Rey match and that does mean something to me.

 

Among the things I watched this week were the Jericho ppv series form 09, the Elimination Chamber match from 09 and the JD 05 and SS 05 matches v. Eddie. What struck me about these matches is that they were all worked fairly different.

 

I guess you could argue that some of the elements were the same in the Jericho series, but I thought each match stood on it's own and was presented as different than the one before it. The first was a Rey match that was actually about the 619 which is hilarious given the content of this thread, the second a WWEish brawl, and the final a blowoff. It's a weird series in that I think it is classic as a whole, but not necessarily as individual bouts.

 

The 09 Elimination Chamber match is something I had remembered as a tremendous Rey one man show, and it holds up as exactly that. His spots, the way he was able to play moments and sequences off of every guy, his selling and big bumps down the stretch, and the drama of his big near falls down the stretch completely make the match. Jericho is pretty decent in it, and no one is really bad, but it's as impressive a one man performance as I've ever seen in wrestling.

 

The Eddie matches are interesting to watch. The JD match is way better than I remembered but hard to call great because of the inconclusive, albeit logical for where the feud was going, finish. Still Rey's selling in the match was fucking outstanding and the timing of his hope spots excellent. I wouldn't argue with anyone who said Eddie was as good or better in the match, but make no mistake - the match was about Rey getting his ass kicked and selling his ass off. Yes he was poised to win in theory when the DQ happened, but this was Rey at his FIP best.

 

The Summerslam match is of course a ladder match and all about the melodrama of the Dominc storyline. At the time I appreciated the angle for what it was, but hated that it was attached to a match I really wanted to see without the soap opera stuff. Now I kind of look at the match as being pretty great for what it was aiming for. Still not my favorite thing, but it did come across as too guys doing everything to win, and also milking those melodramatic moments for everything they were worth. Eddie rightly gets a ton of credit for his facial expressions during this feud, but Rey is actually excellent in his own right there. It's definitely an interesting match to watch if you haven't done so recently.

 

On rewatch my biggest knock against Rey would be the constant adjusting of his gloves and mask. It rarely hurts a match in a meaningful way, but it's a tick that can be annoying at times. Still, that's hardly a major demerit. I'll be watching some more of his 00's WWE run in the next few weeks.

[Jimmy Redman]

On the subject of the 09 Chamber, I remember the 2011 SD Chamber being much the same - both in terms of structure in that they both have a long Edge/Rey finishing stretch, but also because Rey is far and away the best part of the match with his motherfucking insane bumping and selling. The man hurls himself and is hurled into every single part of the Chamber, just killing himself for this match.

 

Like I said in the other thread, there's a really good TV match with JBL in April 2005, to go along with their 2006 feud.

 

Also there's a kind of forgotten Rey/Eddie match that's on SD the first week of January 2005, which I think may have even been a week or so before they even started tagging together for the angle. It's a fun TV match and has one of my favourite 619 set ups ever. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

 

I also happened to watch the Jericho feud recently, and it's super awesome and so holds up. Don't forget their match on SD on the 10th July, from memory I had it only behind the Bash match for quality. I also loved the Edge match from the same period, 5th June SD. Well basically any New SD Six match is going to do it for me, let's be honest. Rey was great in that period, and also great in the summer of 2011 as well, he was having a great TV match every week before having a great TV match every week was cool. Or even physically possible.

[Matt D]

Rey is someone I don't personally feel strongly about but that I also can't deny. He'll be in my top 20, no doubt.

[Loss]

On rewatch my biggest knock against Rey would be the constant adjusting of his gloves and mask. It rarely hurts a match in a meaningful way, but it's a tick that can be annoying at times. Still, that's hardly a major demerit. I'll be watching some more of his 00's WWE run in the next few weeks.

 

One of things some elite great workers have I suppose. This reminds me of all the Misawa matches where he's lying there selling while pulling up his pants.

[GOTNW]

Watching the Aztec Warfare match made me remember how great his comebacks are. He is almost Misawa-esque in his ability to sell the beatdown, be able to make a believable comeback without undermining the damage done to him prior at any given time and build plenty of struggle and drama around the success of said comeback.

[Reel]

Has Rey done enough since 2016 to move up on the overall list? I can't say my opinion on him has changed, he's still one of the most consistent wrestlers ever. But he has another 5 years of being one of the best TV workers in the world, including maybe the best TV match in WWE history, and so good stuff on big shows, like the 6 man on All In, the Brock match, and some multi-man US Title matches in 2019. 

[Matt D]

10 minutes ago, Reel said:

Has Rey done enough since 2016 to move up on the overall list? I can't say my opinion on him has changed, he's still one of the most consistent wrestlers ever. But he has another 5 years of being one of the best TV workers in the world, including maybe the best TV match in WWE history, and so good stuff on big shows, like the 6 man on All In, the Brock match, and some multi-man US Title matches in 2019. 

We kind of sort of got to see what he'd look like as an ace/Mil Mascaras style attraction in Lucha Underground.

There are new mid 90s AAA matches popping up this year.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Can somebody recommend the best Rey matches since 2016? Thanks. 

[Reel]

8 minutes ago, Matt D said:

There are new mid 90s AAA matches popping up this year.

The Hijo del Santo match, I think it was a fan cam, was not what I wanted it to be and was a bit disappointed. Everything else I've seen, a handful of 6 mans, has been good. 

[Reel]

3 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Can somebody recommend the best Rey matches since 2016? Thanks. 

I haven't seen his run on Luch Underground,  and the little bit of his Indie run before coming back to WWE wasn't anything spectacular, but outside of that, here's some stuff I've liked:

with Bandido and Fenix vs Young Bucks and Ibushi - All In

vs Andrade - Smackdown 1/15/19

vs Andrade - Smackdown 1/22/19

vs Andrade, Samoa Joe, and R-Truth - Fastlane 2019

vs Andrade - Raw 8/5/19

vs Cesaro - Raw 9/16/19

vs Brock Lesnar - Survivor Series 2019

vs Andrade - Raw 1/20/20

vs Murphy - Raw 4/20/20

[Marksman]

I need to check out his Lucha Underground stuff, but assuming it's as good as most people seem to say, he'll be in my top 10, probably top 5. Just spectacularly consistent over a long period of time with a wide range of opponents. 

[Ed.]

I don’t think he’s done anything to push him up a list since 2016 unless you have some strict longevity criteria and you needed to see him reach 25 years of great performances to move him up. Rey is Rey and didn’t really reinvent the wheel when he came back, but he didn’t have to as he’s great.  Consolidating a top ten claim against the tide of the new guys might be more accurate for me.  

The Andrade matches are great and the pick for best TV matches of 2019.  It’s a shame his son came along and then WWE have pigeon holed Rey into always being booked in tag team programs or melodrama with Rollins (although the eye for an eye match was good before the finish).

[Boss Rock]

Very strong top 10 candidate right now.

[Tim Cooke]

If you have the Network, watch the January 2004 Smackdown match against Noble.  Not willing to say it's better than their 4/27/04 Velocity match, but it's very much worth seeing and better than their 2007 matches.

[elliott]

I ranked Rey Jr 19th in 2016 and I think I nailed that one. He's not there for me but I wouldn't blink or question it if someone put him #1. I watched a fair amount of his 90s stuff in the past 5 years and it holds up better than I expected. His 2000s work is of course fantastic. I thought Rey finishing as high as he did was one of the best results from 2016. 

[Childs]

Rey cranked out a vintage performance in that Backlash tag for anyone wondering if he could still go at the highest level. He obviously doesn't do it every week now, but his crispness and timing at age 46 are quite something. I had him in the teens in 2016, and he certainly isn't going any lower than that in 2026.