Rey Mysterio performed without the mask
Junior Rey Mysterio earned initial fame of his career while competing in WCW. The owner Eric Bischoff forced him to lose in Hair vs. Mask match which he was strictly against off. But Bischoff put his job on the line in reality. So he has no other choice but to continue to perform without his wrestling heritage. This was the only time he performed under a villainous gimmick named “giant killer”. He was unhappy with this whole process as reflected in the following comments,
“I was strongly against it! I don’t think WCW understood what the mask meant to me, to my fans and to my family. It was a very bad move on their behalf. The fans wanted Rey Mysterio with the mask and losing it hurt me a lot. It was also frustrating that it didn’t come as the climax to a feud with another masked wrestler but in a throwaway match. The same thing happened to Juventud and Psicosis and psychologically wise it was a bad move by Eric Bischoff. I think the fans understand that I was in a position where I had no option. I either had to lose my mask or lose my job.”
