Interview: WWE icon Rey Mysterio on retirement, his daughter's wrestling journey and more
WWE legend Rey Mysterio opens up about how long he wants to wrestle for, and how it feels seeing his daughter follow in his and his son Dominik Mysterio's footsteps.
WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio is leading the charge for a new generation of AAA.
The masked legend, who appears screen as the iconic lucha libre brand’s general manager, is still going strong in the ring as he approaches his 52nd birthday in December.
Speaking exclusively to Alistair McGeorge for BANG Showbiz, Rey breaks down this weekend’s action, working with The Undertaker, and why he’s not looking to retire any time soon.
The interview is available to watch at the bottom of the page, or you can read the full conversation here.
This weekend is huge for AAA, huge for you as well. Jump in with that first year wrestling Omos this weekend. It kind of harks back to your battles with Great Khali, Big Show, Kane, so many giants. Going into that match and having seen Omos’ work, how do you rate his potential and talent?
Oh, I think he's going to do incredibly. You I think he's gonna go out there, own the ring, own the night, and confirm to the world that he is a giant for a reason. So now the only thing, he's gonna have to get through me. So I just gotta guide him on the way.
How special is it for you when you get matches against these giants, and you can tap into - compared to someone like Chad Gable, it's a different set of skills for you as an entertainer and performer.
So funny enough, in my early years with WWE, they started working me with giants. Even - I want to take it a step back to WCW, the late end of my career in WCW, after losing the mask. Kevin Nash, Bam Bam Bigelow, Scott Hall. These are all people that taught me how to work that style, and just be the David, and them being the Goliaths.
So it's really, really cool. I love having that adversity, or the willing to learn a different style, whether it's selling or bumping or being in there with the giant, like all these guys. So, it's definitely a challenge, and I love challenges.
So, this is going to be a very special one because, you know, Khali was renowned, I mean, big in every sense of the word. His story was already at the very top, working with Taker, so being able to mix it in with him, we really didn't have to do much.
Big Show, [we had] history, and it was always so fun to be able to step in the ring with these guys, and I think this is how it's going to be with Omos, it's going to be a learning page for both of us when we step in there.
You mentioned ‘Taker, he’s obviously doing great work with AAA behind the scenes, which I don't think anyone saw going into this brand. How's Taker changed from the man you first wrestled in the early 2000s to here, leading the charge for AAA?
Well, it's crazy. I mean, he's really the same person. There's really no change. You know, we just didn't know - at least most of us didn't know how he really operated.
And the way he's operating now in AAA is the way he has always operated in the brain when he had different opponents, whether it was Kane, whether it was Khali, myself, or John Cena. He knows where, when, and why, and I believe that's what he's applying in AAA.
Not taking anything away from Lucha, “leaving everything the way you guys have built it for over 90 years. Let me just now add this”, and the recipe has been incredible.
He's doing great work. I want to mention your daughter Aalyah, who's started training now and going into the family business. How's that going for her? What do you make of her potential, and these first steps she's taken?
Her potential is, she's a fast learner, very similar to Dom as well. He picked up very fast on things. I think with Dom, he started picking up things much faster when he was already in the ring and learning.
Maybe it was a little bit more difficult at the beginning, the process, but now it's like he he's on top of little things, and I noticed that even when we were tagging together. And Aalyah has that that gift too.
She's a fast learner. She commits to something when she sets her mind to it, and overall, it's something that I didn't think that she was passionate about, but obviously, she was when she tried it for the first time, and that's why she's here.
She's training, she's just kicking butt, trying to trying to make a name for herself and honour both of our names, her brother’s and her dad’s.
Were you immediately on board when you realised it was something she was passionate about and wanted to try?
She wanted to try it before when she was still in school, and that was my only reason why I didn't let her. I said, "You show me a diploma, and when you graduate, we can. I'll take you to the ring”, and sure enough, she graduated last year, UCSD, Human Biology.
Saw her diploma, she goes, "Okay, Dad, now I'm ready to step in the ring”, and I thought it was going to be like a one-time thing. So, she went up to the PC with me in October of last year, went into the PC almost a year ago, and she really liked it.
She enjoyed it. She goes, "That was fun. That was really cool. So then I signed her up to go up for two weeks without her dad, on her own to do it 10 days back-to-back. Sleeping, waking up, doing it, coming back home, sleeping, waking up, that same routine, and she really enjoyed it.
So, that all leads up to where she's at now. She's already graduated, and she wanted to pursue this. I said, “You can always go back to school at any time, whenever you want, if this is really what you want to do, door’s right there. You just got to put in the work”. And she understands that.
Your son Dom is doing incredible work across the board. It seems like there's an added edge to the work he's doing in AAA, going into this weekend too. What do you make of the work he's doing in AAA compared to something like Raw, where there seems to be a different emphasis to his work?
Well, they have him as Mega Champion in AAA, so he's involved in some way or form throughout the whole night. But overall, I think from the moment AAA kicked off and he appeared on AAA, it was a very cool moment for the fans, the fans that probably grew up watching me. And to see now my son, who they probably have followed in WWE for the past couple years.
That's when like I feel that things started get really flowing with AAA. People were just popping up randomly and making appearances, and the fans, “Oh, we love this!”
But for Dom, I just think he's in that part of evolution where he's still growing and learning and becoming himself. But he's definitely broke out of his shell, 100%.
He still thinks he needs to be the one to retire you when that moment comes, it should only happen that way. I know previously you said you'd retire at 50. Obviously, you're turning 52 in December. The work you've been doing, you seem to look better than ever. How are you feeling? And do you have a date in mind, or are you just gonna enjoy the fact that you can still do it at this level?
I think, I’m loving the process right now of enjoying the moments as they come. Before it was maybe a little bit more stressful because you were working constantly, four or five days a week.
But now it's been like, with the GM role in AAA and then wrestling on Raw, I kind of vibe that program. I don't mind it at all. I enjoy it because I'm still on both sides of the spectrum and I'm learning as I'm growing still.
So it's really fun. I think I'm just gonna wing it and see where this road takes me, because I'm really enjoying the moments right now that I'm living inside the ring, whether as a wrestler or as a GM.
Physically, how are you feeling now?
Really good! Really, really good. No injuries, knock on wood. The last one I had was my groin, which was two years ago, prior to wrestling Chad Gable at WrestleMania, and finally that match came true about a month ago, which was really cool.
I kind of had that on my back, carrying it for that long until it happened. Once it happened, I'm like, “Oh, that feels good”, and I'm glad. We felt we had a great match.
I want to talk a bit about the culture in Mexico, especially as it comes to wrestling and the mask. You've spoken in the past about not necessarily liking the decision of being unmasked when it came around in WCW. As the years gone on, it seems sort of on TikTok things like that, you're a bit more open to giving a glimpse. How's that mindset kind of changed?
I think that that obviously happened after I lost my mask, and when I was requested to come into WWE with the mask on, I was like, "Whoa! Nobody told me anything. But yeah, I'm down to do it”.
I had already been wrestling for about two, almost three years without a mask, and then I just started realising that fans would just, "Hey, Rey, can I get a picture?” And I would just start taking the picture without the mask. And I felt like this might have been one of the first times in history, I could be wrong, where a guy had been unmasked and then had put the same mask back on to wrestle again.
But they still enjoy it. They know the Rey Mysterio with the mask on. They know the Rey Mysterio without the mask. But they love both of them in their own corner, me being in the ring and without the mask when I run into them on the streets.
But I'm never minded taking pictures. I've always enjoyed it, and might have started like a new trend for so many years now of doing that. But that's why I protect my face much less nowadays, and I just love being able to connect with the fans as well.
You're loving getting to do everything you're doing on screen. Do you give much for thought to what you'll do when your time is up in the ring? Whether you want to do anything behind the scenes, or we've seen plenty of wrestlers go into acting and make real waves there. Do you give thought to what the future will hold for you when this is all said and done?
Not really. I do see myself being involved in some way, and I've always thought that even before the role of GM for AAA, I thought I could be useful in some way with either the newer generation, young talent, helping in some capacity.
And when I was given this role as a GM, like, oh wow, this is the perfect thing. I didn't see myself coming to this point, during my career or towards more the end of my career. But I've enjoyed it very much.
So I definitely see myself being around in some way or form, and also being able to enjoy my time off with my wife and travel and be able to just see the world on different terms, not on working terms, but on vacation terms.
Bringing it back to TripleMania and AAA, for UK fans it's free to stream on YouTube each week, same for the shows this weekend. It's really built up a lot of momentum, not just in the UK, but worldwide, as one of the best weekly wrestling shows going. Why do you think it is resonating so well, and what can fans expect this weekend?
Well, I mean, wow! AAA has so much history from 1992 to where we're at right now, 2026. The fact that WWE purchased that company and now is adding WWE vibes onto it, sprinkling little things here and there, and turning it into to a worldwide event.
And now it's like, there's really no excuse for a fan that has heard about AAA or TripleMania in this case, and hasn't been able to see it. Now it's right here, it's in your phone. You just click on it.
It’s special because it's the first time ever, in the history of AAA that we do two nights of TripleMania in two different countries, the first one being Friday in Las Vegas, which is going to be incredible. That's where I get to face the giant Omos, and the rebirth of the giant killer will be back that night.
Then we have night number two, which is Sunday in Mexico City, and that's where we have the Mega Championship on the line, which is Dirty Dominic, who is the champion, versus El Grande Americano, and the card is stacked, man.
We have the cruiserweights, [Rey] Fenix, Laredo [Kid]. It's insane. So, if you've always heard about lucha libre and you've never seen it before, this is your time to just log on and check this out because this this style is crazy.
I thought I was crazy - no, this generation is much crazier, and I really get a kick watching something that I was able to create, and now they just turned up the level 100 times, which is really insane, man.
But I will enjoy it myself, and I and I recommend the fans to enjoy TripleMania both nights, this Friday and Sunday, first night from Las Vegas, second night from Mexico City.
It's going to be a special few days, I’m looking forward to seeing you do your thing, and always great chatting to you. Appreciate you taking the time!
Thank you very much. Have a good one!
Triplemanía 34 airs live on WWE's YouTube Channel this Friday from Las Vegas and Sunday from Mexico City.
