Rey Mysterio Recalls Thinking He Was Getting Unmasked At Halloween Havoc 1997

Rey Mysterio was recently a guest on The Kurt Angle Show, where he discussed his 1997 match against Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc.

“I remember I didn’t want to show up to the pay-per-view because, again, I was supposed to lose my mask that night. Long story short, I was told if I didn’t show up, I was in breach of contract, so I showed up. Once I was there, I’m going over my match and fans are into it and everything is pumping and going. I’m thinking, ‘Damn, it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. I can’t get out of this.’ So, I had already set my mind to going out there and losing the mask. Shortly before our match, they came up to us and said, ‘The finish has been changed. Rey, you’re going over.’ Do you think Eddie knew something about that? He probably didn’t [laughs]. Anyways, I didn’t lose my mask. I was a nervous wreck because I was trying to put everything together, and we had to change a bunch of things in the match. But it ended up being a perfect match for me. I know Eddie was asked this before he passed – how was that match at Halloween Havoc 1997? He goes, ‘I wouldn’t change anything in that match. That match happened the way it should’ve happened.’ And I believe the same thing.”

Rey eventually did lose his mask in WCW, which he spoke about.

“I don’t think so, Kurt. I think when I lost the mask, the next night I faced Kevin Nash, and that’s what the giant killer came up. Sometimes, I think to myself, if I wouldn’t have lost the mask, would I have had the push that I got against all these bigger guys? I don’t know. But because it happened, there was a positive side to it. And that’s when I started working with the bigger guys, which eventually opened up the doors for me in WWE.”