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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