Edge and Christian open today’s show by speaking about last Sunday’s Elimination Chamber PPV. Edge points out that WWE cleaned up the Chamber structure both visually and from the competitor’s perspective. He notes that performers would always work around the structure’s limitations, but they’d be in so much pain throughout the match and they’d think about that all day long prior to the match.
Christian liked the Women’s Chamber match overall, but he would have liked to see Mickie James start the match. He adds that there were a couple of inexperienced women in that match and their inexperience showed at times. He thinks James could have led that match nicely had she started.
Edge has said in the past that he doesn’t really get the Asuka character as the ass-kicker that WWE presents her as. While watching her in the match against Nia Jax on Sunday he started to appreciate her appeal, as she worked underneath as a babyface in peril. This really made him have sympathy for her, and he thought Jax was the perfect opponent for Asuka on Sunday.
Edge and Christian welcome Rey Mysterio to the show.
Mysterio informs that he started working when he was 14 years old. He recently found his first paycheque from 1989 which was worth $15. He adds that you needed to get a license to wrestle in Mexico back in those days, similar to needing a driver’s license in order to drive. He took that test when he was 15 and passed.
Since he was underage he needed to get his parents to sign a release form, giving him permission to wrestle. He notes that it wasn’t easy to get his mother to sign, but she saw how devoted he was to wrestling at a young age and eventually she signed the release form.
Mysterio was always a Lucha Libre fan, but he started to watch WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event as he got a little bit older. He became a big fan of Randy Savage due to Savage’s promos and colourful ring gear, and he had the chance to share the ring with Savage one time in WCW years later which was a very cool moment for him.
Edge points out that Mysterio broke down a lot of doors and barriers, giving guys like Daniel Bryan and Evan Bourne a greater opportunity in the business many years later. Mysterio gives credit to Konnan for putting in a good word for him, and that allowed him to come into WCW and show them what he could do.
He points out that he just went into WCW determined to do his thing – not to change the business. Little did he and the other cruiserweights know, the United States audiences weren’t accustomed to watching that style of wrestling, and soon they realized that they were onto something pretty cool.
Christian asks Mysterio how he came up with the idea to give young fans at ringside a replica mask before each match. Mysterio informs that he was a big fan of Bret Hart, and he loved watching Hart go up to kids in the front row and give them his glasses before matches. The smiles on those kids’ faces always stuck with Mysterio, and he was happy to be able to do something similar for young fans years later.
Mysterio informs that while working in WCW he heard rumblings that WWE wouldn’t be interested in him based on his height. When WCW was bought out by WWE, Jim Ross told him they’d negotiate once his contract ran up, and as soon as his contract expired Ross called. Mysterio was so excited to work in WWE, and he considered WWE to be place he was supposed to be all along.
Edge points out that he and Mysterio worked well together, and every time WWE didn’t have anything creatively for either of them they’d just be thrown together and they’d always find a way to make entertaining television. They worked several tag matches with Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit and those matches were always very good.
Mysterio informs that The Undertaker is an incredible human being inside and outside the ring. It was a tremendous honour to wrestle Undertaker and their first meeting was a dream match for him. He remembers entering the ring first that night and kneeling in the corner during Undertaker’s entrance and he felt like a fan in that moment. He points out that Undertaker always made him look like a million bucks in their matches.
Mysterio admits that he wasn’t really ready to take his mask off in WCW back in the day. He fought to have that creative direction changed but Eric Bischoff and those in charge already had plans in place. He adds that he tried to make the best of it, and taking that mask off led to him working with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall who both taught him a lot about selling for big men. He thinks everything happens for a reason, and things he learned after taking his mask off helped him in WWE years later.
Edge points out that even though Mysterio is a big star in the United States, he’s an even bigger star in Mexico. Edge has traveled with him there and saw how much people adore him. He’s also worked against Mysterio there and had urine thrown on him by the fans who were all Mysterio supporters.
Mysterio talks about his return at the Royal Rumble this year. He informs that he snuck into the building about an hour before the show and was able to speak to a few guys beforehand to try to put some things together for the match. He adds that this return was one of the coolest moments of his career, and the ovation he received that night was breathtaking for him.
He informs that he’s keeping as busy as he wants to be right now. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to sit back down with WWE and discuss some potential work in the future. There are several performers on WWE’s roster that he’d love to work with including A.J. Styles, Finn Balor, and Ricochet.
He mentions that his son, Dom is training to be a professional wrestler now, training with Jay Lethal at the moment. He mentions that he’s prepping his son to take over the family name and brand before he hangs up his boots.
That sums up today’s episode of E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
