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Rey Mysterio On When He Plans To Retire, His Surprise Return At 2018 WWE Royal Rumble

January 29, 2022 | Posted by Blake Lovell
Dominik Rey Mysterio WWE Smackdown Image Credit: WWE

In a recent interview on Rasslin with Brandon Walker, Rey Mysterio discussed his surprise return at the 2018 Royal Rumble, when he plans to retire, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Rey Mysterio on his surprise return at the 2018 Royal Rumble: “It was in Philly in 2018. I was asked if I wanted to be part of the Rumble, and I said, ‘Yes, I’ve been waiting for this moment.’ It was almost four years of being gone. I remember not flying into Philly. I flew into New York, then I had a car service in New York that drove me to Philly. That’s what makes it special because fans were expecting to see someone at the airport in Philly. Nobody expected to see someone in New York and drive to Philly. That made it more unique. That’s what was cool about this is that it didn’t leak. Nobody knew who was coming out in 2018. Nobody even mentioned Rey Mysterio. I think the big thing about this is the surprise – the surprise entry that not even some of the wrestlers or superstars at the time know who’s coming out and what number. It’s kept away from everybody pretty much. Only the people who need to know, know. The rest, it’s a surprise. Of course, when I came out, I was pumped. The reaction I got from the fans and all the love, I get chills just thinking about it.”

On how many masks he’s had in his career: “I have a little more than 1,000 masks. That’s not even counting all the ones I gave away over the years. At first, it was like, ‘Hey Rey, you have a mask?’ ‘Sure, here you go.’ So who knows where those are at.” I think maybe 1,100 [masks].

On being on the cover of WWE 2K22: “It’s awesome. It’s a huge honor for me to be able to represent all my people, Latinos, my sport of lucha libre through the cover of 2K22. I’ve shared covers before in the past whether it was in WCW – we did the NWO – and shared the cover with other superstars. This time, it was strictly surrounded around my mask and my image, so it’s a huge, huge honor, especially after 20 years of being with WWE and kicking off the year 2022 with all these crazy times that have been going on. It’s a blessing.”

On when he plans to retire: “I think I’ll step back once I feel like my son is ready to just take off on his own. I’m hoping that happens within this year for him to branch out and just take care of things on his own. I’ve had the opportunity to be on the same house shows as him, me wrestling in a completely separate match and him wrestling by himself. A couple of times he wrestled Chad Gable. Other times he wrestled Otis one on one. I can see the difference when I’m not in there with him and when we’re in there together. He tends to do a lot better and I think it’s less stressful and not that much pressure when he’s in there by himself. He enjoys it.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Rasslin with Brandon Walker with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.