To me, being a role model is awesome. It's a blessing.
— Rey Mysterio
Instead of being like the other kids going to soccer or football practice, I was wrestling every day.
Those who have not seen wrestling before have probably tuned in to 'Lucha Underground' and go, 'Whoa! This is a TV series turned into wrestling.'
Sometimes when I get asked by younger wrestlers, 'Do you have any advice for me? What do you think you can help me on?' and I tell them I think the best advice is to try and outdo yourself. Always be unique, always be creative. I think that was part of my success. I never wanted anybody to be on top of me. I always wanted to be number one.
I always wanted to return to the company that gave me my first opportunity. Thanks to AAA, Rey Mysterio was born.
I do recall at one point being part of WWE and other guys taking the risk of stepping away, and a lot of guys don't do it because of the fear that it's not going to be the same.
It's all about the style and what you can bring to the table - how exciting you can be.
I remember when I first walked into an American locker room, and no one had ever seen a 130-pound wrestler before. Those guys thought I was such a joke.
As you get older, your body doesn't hold up as much.
Dark matches are usually off-camera. Sometimes you don't even wrestle in front of the crowd, you wrestle in front of the agents - but my first match with WCW was on a pay-per-view.
What I have on my left calf is two skeletons; when you put them together, they form a heart, and it says, 'Love till Death.' That represents me and my wife - 'til death do us part.
A lot of people have doubted me because of my size. They think someone like me doesn't deserve to be in the main event, but I think if they knew me, and knew what I've been through in my career, they would respect me.
It just goes to show, if you remain focused and you have a dream and you have a desire to do something, then no matter what gets in your way, you can never lose hope. It's possible.
I always said when Edge and I were tag team partners that we had great chemistry together. Then we ended up parting our own ways and facing each other, and we found that chemistry again as opponents. It doesn't matter how you put Edge and myself in the ring, we're going to make sure that we give you what you pay for.
My elementary school teachers were big on pushing kids to read. If you read a certain amount of books, they would provide you with incentives, sort of like what we are doing with the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.
I made good money at WWE and traveled the world and interacted with my fans, but I missed a lot of family time. That really hits me.
Kids aren't scared to pat my shoulder when I come down the aisle to the ring.
I am excited by the opportunity to join such an extraordinary group of athletes and be a part of the 'Lucha Underground' family.
When you talk about Mexican culture, it's wrestling and soccer.
When you're young, you don't really think about what's going on. At least, in my case, I was always so hooked on being so innovative and didn't worry about what happened yesterday. I just wanted to focus on today and make it better. I was like that every day. I just made sure that every night I was at my best, at the best level I could be.
There is a lot of things out here that sometimes you don't realize because you're inside the circle, but once you're out, there's a lot of things that pop up, and you'd be surprised.
I would hope to end my career here if it came down to it and take other roles with 'Lucha Underground.' I see a lot of the style I was raised on here, and I think I can help out with the young upcoming talent and hope to be around here as long as it lasts.
Competition is always good, but I truly believe that 'Lucha Underground' has nothing to do with WWE or their programming. We are completely different, you know. And, in a way, we have more to offer.
When anyone talks about lucha libre and that style of wrestling, the first person they think of is Mil Mascaras. The other man the true wrestling fan will think of is El Santo. These were the names that came to me when I was growing up.
That whole 'Giant Killer' era was actually kind of fun for me. That is what elevated my name in WCW.
On my left forearm, I've got a gothic cross with a tombstone in the center with the initials 'E' and 'G' for my friend, the late Eddie Guerrero.
I'll never get my chest tatted up, and I'm not big on tattoos on the legs. I'm running out of space on my body; I'd like to get more but I haven't figured out where I'll put them or what I want to get.
When I was 17, I got a call from Konnan. He told me that he was about to start up a new promotion called AAA. A lot of the popular wrestlers were going to come to work for him, and he wanted me to be one of them.
It was just so cool to put on my uncle's masks and wrestle with him. I knew that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a part of this world.
Reading takes me to a different place than my everyday life. I usually get fully involved in what I'm reading about, so it's a great escape.
Reading has helped motivate me to become a spokesperson for programs like the WrestleMania Reading Challenge. It has motivated me to become more involved in my community and to keep learning new things.
I'm enjoying life at my fullest. Sometimes you realize that money isn't everything.
I am the underdog - the 5-foot, 6-inch wrestler. The kids don't say, 'I can beat Rey.' Instead, they say, 'I can be like Rey.'
It is a privilege to be able to represent this sport and have a chance to share my love of Lucha with passionate wrestling fans around the globe.
Soccer runs in my blood.
For the fans to be able to enjoy a lucha libre match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, I think, I don't want to be flattering myself, but that's probably some of the best lucha libre matches that I had throughout my career, and we were able to demonstrate it to the fans around the world.
Being part of WWE is beautiful. You're on the biggest stage of them all. You're living well; you're making good money, and the only flipside to that is that you're on the grind, and you've got to be committed. You've got to make sure to understand what being on the grind is.
I think titles are important to your career. Whether you reign as champion for a long time or just have it for the time being, to be part of a company and be their champion is always good to have on your resume.
I always kept the fans happy. They always saw a different Rey, whether it was a mask, a design, a color. I never gave them the same thing twice and always kept them on their feet. They were always excited to see what Rey was going to bring to the table.
I am excited to join Combate Americas on NBC UNIVERSO, and look forward to building this incredible MMA sports brand and supporting the extremely talented athletes on its growing roster.
'Lucha Underground' is the evolution of wrestling. It's high-style, high-flying, fast-paced hybrid style wrestling, and we're actually paying homage to lucha libre for the first time.
I've got a Kanji symbol on my shoulder; it's for my son and means 'strength and power.' I have my son and daughter's names, Dominik and Aalyah, written on the inside of the left and right biceps, too.
For me, the people who doubt me only fuel me to prove them wrong. I want to prove to them that I am better than they think I am and that I deserve to be on top and I deserve to be World Heavyweight Champion.
In Mexico, to become a pro wrestler, you have to have a wrestling license, and to get a license, you have to pass a wrestling test.
That's really what drew me into wrestling. To see my own uncle put on the mask every Friday to go into the ring, and me putting on his masks to play wrestle with him. It was a whole different world when it came down to sports.
My favorite place to read is next to the pond in my backyard.
When you're in WWE, it's a part of that contract signing, that grind. You're on-call 24-7. That's why you become the star that you are.
