Rey Mysterio Dishes on Being Forced to Remove Mask in WCW

Every iconic wrestler has a calling card of sorts. Ric Flair had his robes. Steve Austin had his beer smashing ritual. And Rey Mysterio had his mask. But during WCW's darkest hour, the future Hall of Famer was asked to remove the mask that endeared him to fans across the globe.

During an appearance on The Apter Chat, Mysterio revealed that Eric Bischoff and Co. liked the idea of a mask-less Mysterio and would float the idea on occasion

"It all started as a rumor for me to wrestle without the mask and, if I'm not mistaken, Scott Hall was the one that kept on saying 'you gotta baby face', 'you're a pretty mf'. He goes 'you don't need the mask, look at that face sells', so that began to get bigger and bigger and escalated up until Halloween Havoc in 1997 where Eric [Bischoff] had me thinking that I was going to lose the mask that night," he said.

But losing the mask wasn't as simple as it seemed. Anyone familiar with wrestling knows that Mysterio's Mexican heritage mandated the mask not only stay on but remain a crucial element of his career.

"I was paranoid because the mask is everything to me. It's my legacy. It's my heritage. It's something that I wear with honor and respect for my uncle. It's what wanted me to become a luchador. Being able to grow up as a fan and see my uncle wrestle in Tijuana. Witnessing him losing his mask at one point in his career. He broke down crying thinking that it's not going to be the same.

But in 1999 and Superbrawl IX, the call was made for Mysterio to lose the mask. In a hair vs. mask match, Mysterio teamed with Konnan against Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

"Then later the night came off the orders of me having to lose the mask on that pay-per-view against Scott and Kevin [Nash]. At the time I said there's nothing I can do at this point. I fought and I tried and there's just no sense of pursuing something that's not going to happen. So I gave in. I had a contract. I had the obligations. So I gave into it and made the best out of it," he said.

It doesn't sound like Mysterio loved the idea, but as a WCW employee, he had no choice. However, just three years later, Mysterio would join WWE where he enjoyed arguably the most lucrative time in his career. Often relegated to the Cruiserweight Division ins WCW, Mysterio would go on to win three World Championships in WWE.

despite being 43-years old, Mysterio may not be done in WWE, either. News broke in September that Mysterio had agreed to a two-year deal with Vince McMahon's company. We have yet to see him, but Mysterio's arrival is believed to be imminent.

[H/T Wrestling Inc.]