Rey Mysterio

Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler.

He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand.

Óscar Gutiérrez was born on December 11, 1974, in Chula Vista, California, a suburb of San Diego.

The nephew of Rey Misterio, Mysterio began wrestling on the independent circuit in 1989 at the age of 14 before signing with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in 1992.

Gutiérrez made his debut in Mexico on April 30, 1989, when he was 14 years old.

He was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the Lucha Libre high flying style that has been his trademark.

He had ring names such as "La Lagartija Verde (The Green Lizard)" and "Colibrí (Humming bird)" before his uncle gave him the name of Rey Misterio Jr. In 1991, Mysterio was awarded "Most Improved Wrestler" in Mexico while wrestling as Colibrí.

In Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), Mysterio feuded with Juventud Guerrera.

Mysterio's uncle Misterio Sr. also took on Guerrera in a tag match: Misterio Sr. and Mysterio Jr. facing Guerrera and his father Fuerza Guerrera.

Mysterio signed with Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1995.

He debuted in September 16, 1995 at Gangstas Paradise, defeating Psicosis, who was also making his ECW debut.

A feud between the two began, which included a two out of three falls match at South Philly Jam and a Mexican Death match at November to Remember 1995.

After brief stints with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the World Wrestling Association (WWA), and Wrestle Association R, Mysterio signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1996.

In WCW, Mysterio helped popularize lucha libre in the United States, which led to the rise of cruiserweight wrestling divisions, winning the WCW Cruiserweight Championship five times; the WCW World Tag Team Championship three times; and the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship once.

Mysterio also had a series of matches with ECW-newcomer Juventud Guerrera during early 1996.

He wrestled his final bout for ECW at Big Ass Extreme Bash in March 1996.

Mysterio made his World Championship Wrestling (WCW) debut on June 16, 1996, at The Great American Bash, challenging Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship in a losing effort.

At Bash at the Beach on July 7, he defeated Psicosis in a #1 contender's match to earn another opportunity at the Cruiserweight title.

The next night, on the July 8 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, he defeated Malenko to win his first Cruiserweight Championship.

He reigned as champion for three months, which included title defenses against the likes of Ultimate Dragon at Hog Wild on August 10, Malenko, and Super Caló at Fall Brawl on September 15 before he lost the title to Malenko at Halloween Havoc on October 27.

Mysterio challenged Ultimate Dragon for the J-Crown Championship in a losing effort at World War 3 on November 24.

In early 1997, he began a feud with Prince Iaukea over the WCW World Television Championship, culminating in a title match against Iaukea at SuperBrawl VII on February 23, which he lost after Lord Steven Regal attacked him.

Mysterio also lost a title rematch at Uncensored on March 16.

He defeated Ultimate Dragon at Spring Stampede on April 6, and Yuji Yasuraoka at Slamboree on May 18.

Mysterio began a feud with the New World Order (nWo), which culminated when he lost a Mexican Death match to nWo member Konnan at Road Wild on August 9.

Mysterio was then involved in a feud with his real-life friend and Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero, whom he defeated in a Title vs. Mask match at Halloween Havoc on October 26 to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the second time.

On the November 10 episode of Nitro, he lost the title back to Guerrero, as well as in a rematch at World War 3 on November 23.

On the January 15, 1998, episode of WCW Thunder, Mysterio defeated Juventud to win his third Cruiserweight Championship, but lost it nine days later to Chris Jericho at Souled Out.

After the match, Jericho continued the beating by using a toolbox he found at ringside.

This storyline was used to cover Mysterio's need for a knee operation that kept him out of the ring for six months.

At Bash at the Beach on July 12, Mysterio returned and defeated Jericho for his fourth Cruiserweight championship.

The next night, however, the result was overturned and the belt returned to Jericho due to Dean Malenko interfering.

Later that year, Eddie Guerrero formed a Mexican stable known as the Latino World Order (LWO) (a spin off of New World Order) that included nearly every luchador in the promotion.

Following the closure of WCW in 2001, he wrestled for promotions including Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), the World Wrestling Council, and the X Wrestling Federation before joining World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002, where he began to use a mask during his matches.

He also lost his mask in a Lucha de Apuestas against Kevin Nash, working unmasked until 2002.

During his tenure, he won the WWE Championship once; the World Heavyweight Championship twice; the WWE Intercontinental Championship twice, and the WWE Tag Team Championship four times, as well as winning the 2006 Royal Rumble.

He stayed with WWE until 2015, winning the WWE Cruiserweight title (the old WCW Cruiserweight Championship) three times.

Mysterio departed WWE in 2015, going on to appear with promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Lucha Underground, and AAA.

He returned to WWE in 2018, where he was joined by his son Dominik.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest cruiserweight wrestlers of all time, Mysterio is an inductee of the AAA Hall of Fame, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, and WWE Hall of Fame.