Keep The Mask On, Rey
DISCLAIMER: THE VIDEO BELOW FEATURES REY MYSTERIO WITHOUT HIS MASK. CLICK WITH CAUTION!
I neglected to mention another fairly significant piece of news coming out of last night's Raw. GM Mike Adamle announced that if Rey Mysterio loses his match against Kane at this Sunday's No Mercy, he’ll be forced to take his mask off. I dislike this stipulation on a number of levels. For one, there's no way WWE will take the mask off of Rey. Go to any Smackdown live event, and it seems like every other kid is wearing a Rey mask. It's a huge merchandise seller, and WWE would be crazy to jeopardize it. So, in announcing the stipulation, WWE is essentially giving away the finish to the match - Rey will beat Kane.
But what if he doesn't? Then you're left with two scenarios - neither of which is good. One is, of course, Rey unmasks. Besides the merchandise repercussions, this would be a bad idea on so many levels. The mask is much a part of Rey's identity, that it would do untold damage to take it off of him. He's a superhero. And every superhero needs his mask. Ask Eric Young.
The other scenario, of course, is that WWE fails to deliver on its stipulation. Maybe Rey takes off the mask to reveal another mask, or his face being painted with the image of the mask. Either which way, it's a bait and switch and will earn some ill will with fans.
I'm sure there are plenty of fans who are curious to see Rey without his mask on. You can quench your curiosity by clicking the video below. Indeed, about ten years ago, WCW had Rey unmask in an angle that was entirely forgettable and did nothing to help get Mysterio, or WCW, over. WWE has done a good job in rebuilding the equity in Rey's mask over the last five years after WCW squandered it. I hope and I trust that they'll learn from history.
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Comments (12)
wtf audio was that on the video? You can go to youtube and find a copy with actual wcw audio. Yikes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms_slQOwQjQ
I think the sole reason they had him come into the WWE with the mask on in the first place was to move merchandise, so yeah I doubt he'll be losing it this weekend. Besides, he looks like a little kid without it, it would kill him.
I have to admit I didn't even listen to the audio. It is pretty awful. I changed it to your suggested link. The video quality isn't as good, but it has the original audio. Thanks.
I have to admit I didn't even listen to the audio. It is pretty awful. I changed it to your suggested link. The video quality isn't as good, but it has the original audio. Thanks.
I have to admit I didn't even listen to the audio. It is pretty awful. I changed it to your suggested link. The video quality isn't as good, but it has the original audio. Thanks.
I'm gonna go get the paper get the paper.
Fonzo Three Times.
Yeah, I can remember there being a little bit of upset when he came into WWE with the mask on, and I think I heard that it was against his wishes, since in Mexico, losing your mask is such a big deal, and you're not ever supposed to put it back on.
I can even remember after Eddie died, on the memorial show, Rey Rey did his piece to camera, and was obviously really upset, and took the mask off to dry his eyes, or let his tears run, and even then he dropped his head, and didn't reveal himself to camera.
Man, SuperBrawl IX sucked. Hogan beat Flair after David Flair joined the nWo... Hall beat Piper.... what garbage.
If I recall correctly, Rey came to WWE with the mask because he changed the spelling of "Misterio," adding a "y" in there, which technically made him a "different character" so it was okay to wear the mask.
I know WWE probably doesn't care, but I read somewhere that that was a big deal for Rey.
I also know that in Mexico shortly after the WCW match you have posted up there, Rey was set to face Psychosis in a mask vs mask match. AAA or EMLL, I don't remember which promotion, was upset that he runied their "match of the century," and they wanted him to do the mask match in mexico anyway. Rey came to the ring wearing the mask but took it off before the match.
I think the stip should be Mask vs Mask: if Kane wins Rey removes his but if Rey wins Kane has to put his back on. The WWE has teased Kane putting his back on, so they might as well follow through.
On the other hand, I imagine the WWE is scratching their heads over why Kane gets as much applause as any of the faces when he even mentions his mask. Anyone with half a brain would realize that maskless crazy psycho Kane hasn't really gone anywhere.
The biggest thing that I liked from that clip was seeing Elizabeth again. I almost forgot how good she was at distracting refs.