Rey Mysterio looks back on his WCW debut.
The Lucha-Libre legend was only 22-years-old when he arrived at the 1996 Great American Bash, where he would be challenging Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Mysterio recently spoke with Sports Illustrated and recalled walking into the building that night and feeling like he didn’t belong due to the size of the other wrestlers.
I remember walking into the building in Baltimore, and I felt so uncomfortable. I was walking into a locker room full of giants. The Steiners, Big Show, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. It felt really awkward. I kept on hearing voices say, ‘Who’s that kid? What the hell is he doing in here?’ No one knew who I was. It felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there.
Fortunately for Mysterio, his good friend Konnan was already a member of the WCW locker room, and gave him a good pep talk prior to his debut.
Right before my match, Konnan spoke with me. I still remember him saying, ‘No pressure, but you’re representing Mexico and you’re representing lucha libre. You’re representing all the little guys. Now go out there and kick some ass.’ I was already nervous facing Dean, but that took it to a whole new level.
Mysterio went on to become a five-time cruiserweight champion for WCW. He has since become a grand-slam champion in WWE and was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year
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