Rey Mysterio was not one of the many wrestlers signed by WWE after the company bought WCW in 2001. Instead, he was signed in 2002.
Appearing on The Kurt Angle Show, the former WWE Champion talked about this. He competed in Mexico under the CMLL banner before going to WWE while waiting for his deal to expire.
“So, when the company was bought out I was told right off the bat that they were interested in me but they wanted me to let my WCW contract run out. Once it ended, we would sit down and do business.
“I thought that it was a nice way of saying, ‘We’re not interested,’ because a lot of contracts were bought out. Chavo’s, Booker’s, a lot of guys. So, again I’m thinking, ‘Is Vince really gonna open up the doors for me because he doesn’t believe in small guys?’
“I would hear that sometimes from Nash, from Hall but I never lost hope and sure enough when that contract expired JR reached out and said, ‘Okay, we’re ready to do business,’ and that’s when I signed. So, they kept their word.”
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