WWE has released a new home video and DVD dedicated to everyone’s pint-sized high-flyer, Rey Mysterio Jr., titled Rey Mysterio 619.
The biography portion of the video starts out with highlights, mainly from WWF, interluded with comments from some of the wrestlers, mainly those who wrestled with Rey such as Eddy Guererro, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. It’s cool to see Dean Malenko talking about Rey, since the two had so many classic matches in WCW.
Next, we see highlights of the match between Albert and Mysterio from late 2002 that “put Rey out” for a while. Yay. Just what we want to see on a tribute DVD – an angle that did nothing of anything for Mysterio.
Of course, Rey had an actual injury, so we go through the surgery on Rey’s left knee. We open with Mysterio in a Top Gun moment showing scars from the various surgeries he’s already had. Scary stuff. I should point out that Rey has his mask on at this point. Once he sees the doc, Dr. James Andrews, however, the mask is off, though all shots are from the back, and any face shots are blurred.
Rey’s wife, Angie adds some commentary about his past knee problems, before I decide to look away during the actual surgery parts. Sure, I can sit through a Mick Foley deathmatch just fine, but surgery? No way. Thankfuly, Andrews soon starts talking and they play more highlights, so my stomach can stop churning.
After Andrews leaves, the mask’s back on. Rey says he wants to wrestle for another 10 years, but does not want to have a bum knee. Mysterio Jr. then sells Albert as a monster as he describes the match we saw highlights of. Again, not working. This should’ve just been kept to Confidential.
Next up, we go to some stuff about his background, including some commentary from mom and pop Mysterio. Maria Rosario, Rey’s mom relates a story about how Rey Rey stuck a bobby pin in an electrical socket as a kid that basically goes nowhere. Roberto, Rey’s father, talks about why Rey was born in the States, rather than Mexico, so the family could immigrate to the US to have a better life.
The two then talk about Rey as a kid more, as pictures of Mysterio Jr. flash across the screen, interluding with the parents. Rey then talks about his start in wrestling, and how he’d watch his uncle, the original Rey Mysterio. Mysterio Sr. is shown from one of his matches in WCW.
Next, Rey heads back to Mexico. Better take the mask off Rey, or your liabel to get lynched. In fact, he does, and his face is blurred out. Nice touch. Rey hooks up with some of his buddies form the past.
Rey heads over to an arena (even on the second and third try I couldn’t catch the name of it) which is famous for it’s Friday Night wrestling. He wrestled in the arena for the first time in 1988, at 15 years of age. We head in, and Rey is back in the mask. This one is his Spiderman tribute mask, as opposed to the blue one he had earlier. Mysterio describes the arena, as volleyball is practiced in the background. Rey talks about the night his uncle lost his mask, and how he has his mask back.
Next segment, and we talk more about his uncle. I should point out that segments are broken up by cartoon interludes. Man, they really should bring back Rock’n Wrestling. Now we find out about Rey’s training and schooling. Mysterio then brings us to the training facility he practiced in, where some students are practicing. Look out Rey! There’s an nWo member back there! Rey describes his early daredevil moves as he talks about his uncle and how he’s developed. He’s still selling Albert!
After watching some students train (including one who’s wearing a WWF shirt, and dear god, they actually blur out the WWF logo on the shirt. Okay, that’s a wee bit too much there. Stupid pandas).
Now we’re in the streets list, and we get a few glimpses of Rey’s partial face as he meets back up with his buddies, interluding with a street guitarist. You have to give the TV crew credit – they do their best to hide Rey’s face.
Rey talks about Konnan and how he brought him up in the business, and how he got Rey into WCW. Nice to see they completely ignore his ECW days. We see clips from his debut at the Great American Bash in 1996, a match which is thankfully included on the DVD. Malenko, his opponent that night, adds some commentary.
Then we go into highlights of some of their other encounters, especially Rey’s high flying moves. All this leads up to the Nitro match where Mysterio wins the cruiserweight belt for the first time. Once again, the match is in full later on, so we’ll talk about it again soon. Sufficed to say, it’s an awesome match.
Next segment talks about Mysterio’s match with Eddy Guererro, mask vs. title from Halloween Havoc in 1997. Another match that is on the DVD. Eddy talks about how it was one of his best matches.
Next, Rey talks about the mask as we see shots of Jushin Liger, La Parka, Juventud Guererra, Psichosis, Super Calo and Ultimo Dragon. Rey talks about how kids buy copies of the mask from vendors. He also talks about people wanting to see the mask, but not wanting to at the same time. We see Rey’s various masks. We get a moment form what has to be a WCW interview, before Rey lost his mask.
Then, all the sudden, we flash to Vince McMahon, buying WCW. Looks like the part where Rey loses his mask in WCW was edited out. Rey talks about WCW’s end, and how he was unsure if he would be picked up. He stayed busy doing independent shows, but the phone call did come. We see clips from the promotional spots, prior to his debut. Johnny Ace then comes on and talks about how he brought him to WWE. Then we talk about his WCW career as we see clips from his debut match against Chavo. Again, full match is on the DVD.
Now, we head to Rey’s house We get a full-out tour of his place, which is pretty damn sweet. We also meet Rey’s son, Dominik. While in Rey’s wrestling room, we find out he was known as Colibri (hummingbird in English) before becoming Mysterio Jr. We see some of this other awards, and the Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship belt he had when WCW closed.
Next up, Kurt Angle’s feud with Mysterio is featured. Angle is classic in his promos. We see clips from the Summerslam match, and Rey talking about hiding under the ring prior to the bout, and almost misplacing his mask. Mysterio gives props to Angle for working the match the way he was used to. Angle talks about the match, as we see Rey favouring the knee he was having surgery on earlier in the tape.
Next, we get some highlights of Rey in WWE, leading to his teaming with Edge during the era of the Smackdown Six. We get highlights from the No Mercy match against Benoit and Angle, then the 2/3 flals match from Smackdown. Neither match is on the DVD, unfortunately.
Next segment sees Rey heading to a tattoo parlour with his son to get a 619 tattoo. Rey is in the mask when this is done, and we see a close-up of those freaky white contacts he wears. We check out the various tattoos he has. Kinda cool.
Back to the Albert angle, and again, no one cares. We see Rey’s revenge, as we see him tag with Brock against Albert (now A-Train and Big Show). We then moves to hilights of other matches as we roll toward Wrestlemania. We see clips of Rey against Tajiri and Jamie Noble in the triple threat number one contender’s match. Then we see clips of the WM match against Matt Hardy.
We finish up the bio with more wrestler comments, and a final goodbye from Rey.
Overall, the bio was one of the better ones that I’ve seen, with some wicked-cool clips. Of course, the icing on the cake are the matches.
This is Rey’s WCW debut match, and it comes against one of the top competitors in the business.
Some Mysterio fans may find it a bit slow for their liking, as Dean controls about 75 percent of the match working on Rey Jr.’s left arm. Malenko shows just how good he is a technical wrestler, as he pulls out nearly 100 different arm-weakening holds, including a hammerlock Northern Lights suplex and a triangle hold.
The biggest complaint with this match is that the arm work is forgotten as Rey takes over with his high-flying stuff, including a spring board hilo to the floor. The psychology doesn’t factor into the end either, as Malenko wins with a powerbomb and his feet on the ropes.
Not a bad match, per se, just one that is not indicative entirely of Rey’s style.
Match 3 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psichosis from Bash at the Beach 1996
The two, as many already know, have had many glorious battles throughout Mexico, Japan and the US, particularly in ECW. This, I believe, was their first match in WCW, and it does not disappoint.
The emphasis here is building up Rey’s ability to hit the huricanrana from anywhere (as is consistently put over by Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan), and even though we are so used to seeing him use the moves, they are simply killer in this match, especially when he converts a Splash Mountain attempt in to a mid-air ‘rana for the win.
I’ve long been a believer that Psichosis is one of the most under-rated cruiserweights, and this match proves just how good he can be. Psichosis, almost out-manoeuvres Mysterio in some instances, including a top-rope senton on Rey, while he’s laid out on the floor!
This one’s a must-see, no questions asked.
Match 4 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko from 7/8/1996 Nitro
This is immediately following the aforementioned Bash at the Beach, and judging by the reaction Rey got during that match, I’m not surprised Rey gets the belt here.
This is another classic example of speed versus brawn. Malenko throws everything at Mysterio, but cannot keep him down. This must have been before Malenko settled on the Texas Cloverleaf as his finisher, because all of his offence is power-based, including a brainbuster on the floor.
There’s some classic heelwork here by Malenko, including picking Rey up on a two-count, twice. My handy-dandy SLAM! Wrestling rulebook states that, “any wrestler who picks up his opponent mid-pin-fall will likely lose the match,” and it’s true in this case, as Rey picks up the W for his first Cruiserweight title.
Solid match, definitely worth watching.
Match 5 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddy Guererro, Mask vs. Title from Halloween Havoc 1997
This is Guererro in full-out, pissed-off heel mode, ready to take Rey’s mask. In fact, a couple times during the mask he rips Mysterio’s mask, nearly exposing Rey Jr.
This has to be one of the most innovative matches I have ever seen. Rey hits a slew of huge moves, including a tope con hilo into a hurracanrana and a DDT with a flip from the top-rope. Edddy, on the other side, uses mainly power moves such as a fold-up powerbomb to control the match on his end.
The finish itself is a sight to see. Guererro has Rey set up for a top-rope Splash Mountain, but Mysterio Jr. reverses into a killer hurracanrana for the 1-2-3. While it was the same end as the Psichosis match, this one looked a lot better.
An exciting match not to be missed, especially with the history-centred commentary of Tenay.
Match 6 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Chris Jericho from Bash at the Beach 1998
The storyline behind this match is one of the better ones WCW had with Jericho, where Dean Malenko was scheduled to face Y2J for the Cruiserweight belt, but the match was cancelled because Malenko attacked Jericho on the Nitro before the pay-per-view, something he was warned not to do or the match would be thrown out. On the following Thunder, Jericho said he would still be at the pay-per-view entertaining the Jerichaholics, even if he had to put on a tap dance routine.
Sure enough, the first thing we see is Jericho with a top hat and cane, but we only see this briefly before the match begins. Unfortunately, I’m guessing due to copyrights, Rey’s entrance (and return to WCW after a knee injury) and Jerihco’s pre-match promo is not included, which would have made for better viewing.
As is, the match is fairly decent, but not Rey’s best (though it is as good as you’d expect from a fresh return). The match has some pretty good highspots and action, but there have been better Jericho/Mysterio matches. Rey wins after Malenko comes down to distract Jericho.
Match 7 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Chavo Guererro Jr. from 7/23/2002’s Smackdown!
This, of course, is Mysterio’s debut in WWE, and all the hype that preceded this match now comes to a head.
The match is pretty good, but does more to put Guererro over as a legit Cruiserweight title threat than showcasing all of Rey’s talents. I can understand WWE not wanting to give fans everything at once, but Chavo dominated too much of the match. Rey, of course, debuts the 619 as an actual move, rather than a deke, and finishes with a West Coast Pop.
A solid, yet unspectacular match.
Match 8Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kurt Angle from 9/12/2002 Smackdown!
This is built as a Summerslam re-match, where Rey and Kurt tore the house down. Unfortunately, this chapter does not include Angle’s hilarious “you’re a boy, I’m a man” promo, but you can’t complain about the match being on the DVD.
The action start hot and heavy as Rey does everythign in his power to piss off Angle, until Kurt finally catches him and gives him a German suplex that is absolutely stunning. Some sweet action from the two leads to Angle hitting a top-rope Angle Slam for the victory.
This is a must-see if you’re an Angle or Mysterio fan. It’s rare to see heavy and cruiserweights put on killer matches like this one.
Match 9 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit from 9/26/2002 Smackdown!
It’s matches like this one that make me really miss Paul Heyman’s booking.
This one was an instant classic, as we see a technical exhibition mixed in with the high-flying antics of Mysterio. There’s just so much that is good about this match, but there’s one sequence that really sums it all up. Near the end, Benoit has Angle in the Crippler Crossface, which Angle tries to roll out of. Beniot keeps the submission locked in, until Rey comes in out of nowhere with a springboard guillotine leg-drop to break up the move.
Rey ends up winning the match, and proves that he can hang with the main-eventers in WWE. Take a look at this match, but if you can, get a hold of this Smackdown! episode, because the famous Edge vs. Eddy Guererro no-holds-barred match is on it as well.
Match 10 Mysterio Jr. vs. Jamie Noble from 11/21/2002 Smackdown!
This one appears to be a throw-on bout. Noble was fresh off dropping the Cruiserweight belt to Billy Kidman, and this was a match intended to elevate Mysterio Jr. I’d rather have seen the Rey/Tajiri match from shortly after his debut, personally.
The match itself is a rather quick one, with Noble using power against Mysterio’s speed. The match is solid, with an amazing finisher – after chasing Nidia out of the ring, Rey goes for a ‘rana on Noble, only to be thrown over Jamie’s head. Rey bounces back off the ropes, lands on Noble’s shoulders and ‘rana’s him for the three count.
The majority of the match is nothing special, and it would’ve been sufficient to put the finisher (which I shall dub the Rewind Rana) in the biography.
WWE Confidential “619”
This piece focuses on the origin of the 619. The report is an interesting, as Rey talks about the evolution of the move from a deke to a strike. He also shows how the move is done, going through the step-by-step physics of it. At the end of the piece, Rey quickly summarizes the West Coast Pop.
Not a bad piece, but I would’ve preferred this to be part of the biography DVD rather than an extra.
Overall, the extras are a solid effort, mainly due to the awesome WCW matches. I’m a bit surprised they didn’t have any Ultimo Dragon or Juventud Guererra matches on here, since Mysterio had so many sweet matches with them. I’m also a bit surprised that there wasn’t a tag match with Edge, especially since the “Smackdown Six” bouts were the hottest of 2002. The choices on the match list, however, make sense, and is as good an effort as I have seen on any compilation tape, WWE or otherwise.
If the DVD extras did anything, however, it made me want to see more WCW action, particularly from Guererro and Malenko. Hopefully WWE will be putting out more DVD specials from WCW’s former stars, because this DVD really wetted my appetite for it.
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