Rey Mysterio was interviewed by Andrew Dansby of
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
and discussed Wrestlemania XXV, his masks, his children, and the injuries he has
suffered over the years.
Q: Do you think you’re
going home with the Intercontinental belt?
A:I hope so. If it does happen
that will be a great birthday present for my son. He will be here along with my
daughter.
Q: Do they have masks?
A: Yes they do. Both of them do.
My daughter has a pink outfit. My son has a mask, too. I had them custom made by
the same guy that does my outfits.
Q: So you don’t just go
to the mask store and buy off the rack?
A:No. (Laughs.) No.
Q:You got started in wrestling as a
teen, right?
A: It goes
back almost 30 years. I have to say, the first time I stepped into the ring it
was probably at the age of 4. That’s when I was hanging out with my uncle, my
mom’s brother, Rey Mysterio Sr. It runs in the family, it’s stayed in the
family.
Q: Were you a
high-flying kid?
A:Yeah, yeah. For some reason I
could never stop. We never had a trampoline, but I wished I did. We’d sneak into
a friend’s pool and use their trampoline to practice
backflips.
Q:Is all the jumping around harder at
35 than 25?
A: It is without a doubt. I
don’t know if it’s age or the years I’ve been doing it, but it has definitely
taken a toll on my body. ... But I don’t want to quit. I still feel like I got a
couple more years in me. I try to conserve myself as much as I can without doing
as many crazy moves as I used to do when I was a lot younger. Some of those
moves I can’t do anymore. Some I try to modify so I don’t have the risk of
blowing out my knee or any other part of my body. It’s worked out pretty
well.
Q:Is the torn ACL the worst
injury?
A: There
were actually five ACLs on the same knee. It’s a bummer, man. I don’t know if I
wish I would’ve got half and half. Apparently my right knee is really good and
my left knee is bad. After the last ACL tear on the left knee, I suffered a
bicep tear on my right arm. There’s the scar right there. Battle wounds. This
one (the bicep) unfortunately got complicated after the first surgery. I had to
go in twice to get it redone.
Q:Have you ever gotten up high and had
second thoughts about it?
A:
Yes. My very first show
with the WWE I had my wrestling match versus Chavo (Guerrero). . . . I had to
climb up a cage on the outside and stand on top and dive into the inside of the
ring. At the moment it didn’t hit me — I climbed so fast — until I tried to
stand with nothing behind me and ring in front of me. And looking 15 to 17 feet
down is when it really hit me. (Laughs.) I don’t like heights. I just
did it. It happened so fast, I just dove off and it was
over.
Q:Do you have an estimate as to how
many masks are in your home?
A:
Ahhh . . . I’m going to
say anywhere from 250 to 300. It’s a good collection.
Q:Is there a story behind your mask
designs?
A:
My uncle came out with
the first design. He had numerous designs every week. The reason was he was Rey
Mysterio, mystery. He’d do all sorts of colors, play with the mask. One stood
out, and it’s this one with the falcons on the side. Instead of the cross he had
a crown representing the king, rey. I tweaked it around a little bit. I put the
cross on it, but I left the falcons. The eyes and eyebrows were part of his
design. What I do now is just rotate colors, switch it up.
Q:It’s convenient for dropping the
character. Just unzip the mask and pull it off.
A:
Oh yes, it’s incredible
. . . to actually have a second life. We all have split personalities, we all
wear masks at some point in our careers. I literally wear a mask. When I take it
off I’m a father. I’m a husband. I like to come home, and I like to spend time
with family, and I like to travel, and I like to have a good time. And I like to
be a kid every now and giggle and play with my kids.
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