Real Reason Rey Mysterio Was Squashed At WWE WrestleMania
A WWE legend has provided insight into why a Rey Mysterio match at WrestleMania was cut short.
As a former WWE Champion and Hall of Famer, Rey Mysterio might not seem like somebody who would suffer from a WrestleMania match being cut in terms of time, but it can happen to anybody at any time.
At WrestleMania 35 in 2019, Rey Mysterio challenged Samoa Joe for the United States Title that Joe held at the time. This was the last WrestleMania event that took place in one night because every WrestleMania since then has been two hours.
That WrestleMania 35 event went about 5 hours and 20 minutes for just the main PLE/PPV broadcast, which makes it one of the longest shows in WWE history.
Legendary WWE referee Mike Chioda was the third man in the ring that night and he recalled how the Rey-Joe match was originally going to be 12 to 15 minutes, but instead, it became a one-minute squash match. Chioda explained what happened during his Monday Mailbag podcast on AdFreeShows.com.
“The worst match I’ve done with Rey, which it sucked because me and him were very close and s**t went down horrible at WrestleMania in New Jersey. He had to face Samoa Joe.
I know Rey got this badass costume. This Japanese dude from Japan and this other guy from Mexico make his gear, and these guys are so good at making his gear, and he spends so much money on his gear. I’m talking like 15 grand, you know. He flies these guys in, he gets their hotel, and he puts his gear together every year.
The match went down from 15 to 12 or something, and then 12 to something like nine or eight. And when I got in the ring, and Rey Mysterio was just about on his entrance, they said you gotta go home. As soon as Rey and Joe get in the ring, you gotta go home. You have two minutes.”
Rey Mysterio And Samoa Joe Found Out About Match Time Changing While In The Ring
As Mike Chioda continued his explanation about what happened, he said that Rey Mysterio was shocked by the time change.
“It was literally like a two or three, four minute match, man, and he just squashed Rey pretty much, and boom, and won. And I know Rey was stunned, shocked, because they didn’t take off anybody else’s match during the show basically, you know.”
The discussion continued with Chioda recalling what he asked former wrestler Billy Kidman, who is a WWE Official who keeps time of the matches for the company.
“These people went long and they didn’t b*tch at them, and all of a sudden they just pull the last second, you know, man. And I was like, ‘Are you f**king kidding me, Billy?’ He’s like, ‘you gotta go home.’ As soon as they go in, tell him to get to something, do something, go home. It was a title match too. I think it was a title match.”
“I mean, I know they’re going to still get a big paycheck and all that, but sometimes, you know, money ain’t there. It’s your pride.”
The 50-year-old Rey Mysterio last competed on WWE Monday Night Raw on November 25th when he teamed up with Dragon Lee in a losing effort against The Creed Brothers group that is part of the American Made stable.