Rey Mysterio Comments on Royal Rumble Appearance and Potential WWE Return

Rey Mysterio made a surprising return at the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble last Sunday in Philadelphia. Mysterio left WWE after working there from 2002 to 2015 and before that he made his name in the wrestling scene by working for ECW and WCW from 1996 to 2001. He is one of the best cruiserweight wrestlers ever that worked a style that influenced so many wrestlers in the business today.

Mysterio’s Royal Rumble appearance saw him enter at #27, he eliminated Adam Cole and was eliminated by Finn Balor after 9:39 in the match. Mysterio in the Rumble appeared to be a one-time thing, but he’s not currently signed to any wrestling company after having a run with Lucha Underground. Based on Rey’s recent comments in an interview with The Mirror to promote Five Star Wrestling in England, Mysterio sounds like he’s open to returning to WWE. Here are some snippets from that interview.

Mysterio on the reaction to his Royal Rumble return:

“It’s been incredible. I have nothing to say but to thank the fans for their loyalty, for their respect, for being a Rey Mysterio fan from day one… and for all those fans that have never seen me on TV, because this is a new generation of fans that are watching the WWE. So to all the new fans that have heard about Rey Mysterio, or played as me in a video game, or seen me on the Network, for the first time if you got the chance to see me at the Royal Rumble, thank you very much for being part of it as a fan.”

“It’s indescribable… It was one of those moments that you had to be there, to really live it. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever felt that type of reaction, in a massive fanbase, like it was in Philly. Man, it was just – unforgettable. It was just one of those feelings that you’re going to cherish and it will be with me for the rest of my life.”

Mysterio talking about the 2014 Royal Rumble when he entered at #30 when fans wanted to see Daniel Bryan:

“Of course, you’re right, you have nothing to say, except that has to do with timing. When they are expecting to see a face that they want to see and you give them the wrong one, then they are going to boo. Not at you, but at the way that show was written.

So this time I was very fortunate to be number 27, to come out after three years and to have that emotional feeling of being loved and being wanted to be seen again. To be able to be seen again in front of the WWE Universe, was just incredible.”

Mysterio on possibly returning to WWE full time:

“I want to say that there is a big possibility that I will be back. [We’re] figuring out what the situation is, you know from both ends. But there is definitely a positive feedback on behalf of the fans, on behalf of the WWE staff and behalf of myself man. I think we’re possibly going to sit down and negotiate something where we can both work together and have a good time and enjoy.”

TJR Thoughts: It sounds to me like Rey is open to coming back to WWE and that WWE will be interested in bringing him back as well. There are questions about the schedule, though. Mysterio has had a lot of knee issues that led to surgeries over the course of his 25 years career. Mysterio is in great shape at 43 years of age, but part of the reason for that is he’s not working 150-200 dates per year like he was a full-timer in WWE. At 43 years of age, it’s unlikely that Mysterio would want to work a full-time schedule with WWE and if he did agree to it, would his body hold up? That’s part of the reason why he departed three years ago. Injuries were piling up, he wasn’t being used much for a few years there and who’s to say that will change? If you look at Matt Hardy, he’s a similar age to Mysterio and he came back to WWE a year ago. Hardy’s working live events nearly every weekend, so I don’t know if WWE would be willing to give Mysterio a part time schedule.

I like Rey and I think his presence in today’s WWE would be great. I just don’t think it would be smart to have him back full time working live events on the weekends. Perhaps he’ll have a deal where he’s working only Raw or Smackdown and PPVs.

If I had to guess, I think Mysterio will be back in WWE regularly before WrestleMania, but if not by that point it might be on the Raw or Smackdown after WrestleMania.