Few WWE stars can boast a WrestleMania record quite like that of Rey Mysterio.
The hugely poplar performer has a CV you’d need to sit with a cup of tea to get through, his wild list of accolades including three world title reigns in WWE, and multiple runs with United States and Intercontinental gold to name just a few.
Debuting in 1989, Mysterio has been flying high across wrestling rings all around the world for over 35 years.
He has featured extensively for companies around the world, with time spent in New Japan and the now defunct WCW and ECW.
He wrestled on the final Nitro – WCW’s flagship show – before the company was bought out by Vince McMahon and WWE, Rey signing there in 2002 and, barring a three-year spell, remaining to this day.
He’ll battle Chad Gable – currently performing under the storyline name El Grande Americano at this weekend’s WrestleMania 41 and, much like his unrivalled career, the masked magician has walked a path at the WWE megashow that few can follow.
All told, the diminutive Hall of Fame star has wrestled 15 times at the biggest annual wrestling show on the planet, his outings proving to be varied as well as many.
He got off to a fairly inauspicious start, going down to Matt Hardy at 2003’s WrestleMania 19 in a challenge for the Cruiserweight title – failing to win the same gold again in a Cruiserweight Open a year later.
Perhaps his emotional WrestleMania appearance came next; he beat long-time friend Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania in Los Angeles in 2005.
Emotion gave way to sheer achievement at WrestleMania 22 in 2006 – perhaps the pinnacle of his career seeing him win the World Heavyweight Championship by downing Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a short triple-threat match.
In fact, short outings have punctuated Mysterio’s iconic appearances as The Granddaddy of Them All; he won the WWE Intercontinental title from John Bradshaw Layfield at WrestleMania 25 and took just 21 seconds to do it, forcing JBL to ‘quit’ the company.
Decades later, though, the Texan has only high praise for his former rival, telling Something To Wrestle With: “I think Rey Mysterio is the greatest luchador of all time and without a doubt, I think he is and one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.”
JBL is far from the only name to throw praise of that stature Mysterio’s way. Even icon Bret Hart feels the same way, bemoaning the fact he never got the chance to get in the ring and throw hands with the veteran himself in his heyday.
“[He is] one of the greatest, maybe the greatest wrestlers of all time that people don’t often forget about or don’t recognise,” hailed the Canadian.
“Rey Mysterio is maybe one of the greatest. I wish I could have had one match with Rey Mysterio just to be in the ring with him. He’s one of my favourites and is always a class act.
“Very few wrestlers have the respect that I have for Rey Mysterio.”
The calibre of California-born star’s WrestleMania opposition over the years reads like a ‘Who’s Who?’ of WWE; he’s also worked with CM Punk, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes in showpiece matches, though the matches haven’t always gone his way.
While the victory over JBL was Mysterio’s quickest, it isn’t his only sub-one-minute match – in 2019, he was seen off in just 58 seconds in his attempts to win the United States Championship from Samoa Joe.
At Mania 38, he had the honour of working Logan Paul’s first WWE match. Paul and The Miz beat Dominik and Rey Mysterio in a tag team affair as father teamed with son.
Rey beat Dom in a singles match two years ago to continue his WrestleMania path, before last year’s outing saw him combine forces with Andrade to see off Dom and Santos Escobar.
Now, at the age of 50, he’s the oldest performer with a confirmed match on the card at the Las Vegas spectacle that is WrestleMania 41.
He’ll likely tear the house down with Gable on Saturday night despite is relatively elder years – his age putting him above AJ Styles and John Cena who, at 47, battle Paul and Cody Rhodes respectively at WrestleMania 41.
Overall Mysterio has won, lost or held the World Heavyweight, Intercontinental, United States, Tag Team and Cruiserweight Championships at WrestleMania with 619s dished out here, there and everywhere.
With the latter now defunct, it’s seemingly a feat that will never be equalled – quite fitting for one of the most decorated performers in the event’s storied history.
