Rey Mysterio

Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest luchadors and 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.

The nephew and trainee of Rey Misterio, Mysterio began wrestling on the independent circuit in 1989 at the age of 14 before signing with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración in 1992. After brief stints with Extreme Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Association, 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. He lost his mask in a Lucha de Apuestas against Kevin Nash, working unmasked until 2002.

Following the closure of WCW in 2001, Mysterio wrestled for promotions including Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, the World Wrestling Council, and the X Wrestling Federation before joining World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002, where he resumed wearing a mask. He stayed with WWE until 2015, winning the World Heavyweight Championship twice, the WWE Championship once, the WWE Cruiserweight Championship three times, the WWE Intercontinental Championship twice, the WWE United States Championship three times, and the WWE Tag Team Championship four times, as well as winning the 2006 Royal Rumble.

Mysterio departed WWE in 2015, appearing in promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Lucha Underground, and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. He returned to WWE in 2018, joined by his son Dominik.

Óscar Gutiérrez was born on December 11, 1974, in Chula Vista, California, a suburb of San Diego. His parents are Mexican nationals Maria del Rosario and Roberto Gutierrez (1948–2024), both from very poor, uneducated backgrounds; Maria was a house cleaner and Roberto was a factory worker. Gutiérrez spent his childhood crossing the border from Tijuana to San Diego each day for school. He dropped out of high school with his parents' approval. He has three brothers.

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 (Hummingbird)" before his uncle gave him the name of Rey Misterio Jr. In 1991, while wrestling in Mexico as Colibrí, Mysterio was named "Most Improved Wrestler".^{[citation needed]}

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. faced Guerrera and his father Fuerza Guerrera.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, Mysterio participated in the co-promoted event between AAA and American promotion World Championship Wrestling AAA When Worlds Collide. Mysterio credited there event as the reason WCW noticed him.

Mysterio signed with Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1995. He debuted on 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. Mysterio went on to have 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, defeating Guerrera.