Rey Mysterio Pulled From WWE World Cup

Former WWE Champion Rey Mysterio was originally set to be part of the WWE World Cup on SmackDown but injury meant he was pulled from the tournament.

It was announced on the November 4th edition of Smackdown that WWE will be doing a World Cup tournament with the winner of the competition receiving a shot at GUNTHER’s Intercontinental Championship.

Eight WWE Superstars were announced for the tournament representing their different nations – Braun Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn, Santos Escobar, Mustafa Ali, Jinder Mahal, Butch, and Ricochet. Original reports had Rey Mysterio listed in the competition instead of Ali and now it appears that Mysterio was pulled from the competition due to an injury.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer confirmed a Ringside News report which says that Mysterio is currently out of action. Meltzer noted that Mysterio is suffering from a foot or ankle injury and was backstage at SmackDown in Indianapolis with a walking boot on. The injury is not likely to keep Rey Mysterio out of action for more than a few weeks but long enough for him to miss the World Cup.

47-year-old Mysterio last competed in a live event on the 30th of October in Mexico City where he teamed with AJ Styles and Raquel Rodriguez to defeat The Judgment Day trio of Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley.

The WWE World Cup continues on the 18th of November edition of SmackDown when Mustafa Ali takes on Ricochet and Sami Zayn faces Butch.