Does Rey Mysterio Need to be Replaced?

The thought of a wrestling world without Rey Mysterio actively competing becomes more a reality with each passing day. With nagging injuries continuing to take their toll, it’s a wonder he’s managed to stay in the game as long as he has.

As his final match becomes more and more a certainty, you have to wonder if the WWE will try to seriously pursue a replacement for him. Alberto Del Rio’s new angle seems to cater to the Hispanic audience and Sin Cara’s role at one time looked to be a way of the company to pass Mysterio’s torch to a younger star.

At the end of the day though, Mysterio cannot be replaced and doesn’t need to be. His legacy, much like the ones of Gorgeous George, Gorilla Monsoon, Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers will always draw counterpoints and similar characters, some possibly even more talented and charismatic, but they’ll never hold the same type of significance.

Mysterio is one of a kind. He pioneered the luchador style in North America and is an even bigger legend in Mexico. He is irreplaceable. But that doesn’t mean someone else can’t come along that inspires our thoughts of his legacy. The same way that the work of the late-Chris Benoit and Daniel Bryan immediately bring back thoughts of the Dynamite Kid, or how Scott Steiner, Triple H, Hulk Hogan and Jessie Ventura drew so much of their in-ring characters from Superstar Billy Graham, someone will come along eventually that captures the audience in a similar, yet different way as Mysterio.

It’s something that can’t be forced or pushed. It’ll just happen. Wrestling fans are all ebb and flow, more fickle than a fat kid who just found out his two for one coupon ran out yesterday. Sometimes they don’t even know why someone captivates them. A lot of it has to do with they way they compete; sometimes it’s just an intangible such as swagger.

In the case of Del Rio and Cara, they may be able to compete, but they lack the purity and heart that Mysterio brings to every match. The way he’s able to always be the underdog, even as a champion is a trait almost impossible to find anywhere else.

If the WWE wants to recreate the Mysterio phenomenon, that’s what they have to replicate first.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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