Rey Mysterio Explains When He'll Retire From Wrestling

Rey Mysterio has proved since his WWE return that even though he's had a boatload of surgeries and is 45 years-old, he can still fly around the ring with the absolute best wrestlers in the world. The former WWE Champion's current contract runs through October of this year, but based on comments he made in a new interview with BT Sport it sounds like he'll still be wrestling after that. Since his comeback Mysterio reached the level of becoming Grand Slam Champion by finally winning the United States title, the only major championship within the WWE that had eluded him.

"I always step in the ring thinking 'I gotta prove I can still go.' I get a lot of feedback like 'Rey, you don't have to do much anymore," Mysterio said (h/t Fightful for transcript). "Your name is already...you've made your mark.' But to me, when I feel like I have nothing more to prove, that's when I feel like I need to step back. It's still exciting to me and emotional."

Mysterio battled against former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Angel Garza on Raw this week in Garza's debut for the Red Brand. The match was thrown out after Garza nailed the lucha legend with a DDT onto the unprotected concrete floor.

During the same interview Mysterio crowned Ricochet as the "new Rey Mysterio." The high-flyer closed out Raw by beating Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins in a triple threat, earning a shot at Brock Lesnar's WWE Championship at Super ShowDown.

"He was actually one of the first superstars that really impressed me. When you're in this world and you come home, the last thing you want to do is watch wrestling or hear about other wrestlers, and I secluded myself very well. I was home for two-three days a week, and it was family time specifically," Mysterio said. "There comes a point where you gotta make sure you see you're competition. Who's up and coming? He was one of the guys that really stood out to me, and he's been doing incredible. I personally feel he's the next Rey Mysterio."

On top of wrestling on the Raw roster, Mysterio has also been training his son Dominick on how to become a luchador. Mysterio talked about his son possible signing with WWE back in June.

"That's gonna be a very hard call because what I want is very different than what he wants," Mysterio said. The only thing I can do is guide him and leave it for him to decide. That's what I've been doing for the last year or so — just letting him know how this works and how this happens. At the end of the day, he's man enough to make the decision on his own. I can't decide for him.