Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness Recap
with Guest, Rey Mysterio
Release Date: March 2, 2018
By: Jeff Indelicato
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
“For The Benefit of Those with No Time” (Top Stories)
-
- Rey’s son Dominik is now training to become a wrestler
- Mysterio began wrestling at the age of 14 and had to pass a test to become a wrestler
- Macho Man Randy Savage & Bret Hart were two of his favorites and inspired him
- While he was initially against it, Rey feels that losing his mask in WCW may have potentially led to him becoming a main eventer
- If there is interest on both sides, he wouldn’t be opposed to meeting with the WWE about a possible return
“5 Second Pose of Timestamps”
0:00: Show Introduction/Elimination Chamber Chat
20:20: Sponsored Ads
21:50: Interview with Rey Mysterio
50:00: Eddie Guerrero/Connection with Fans
1:00:00: Debut in the WWE
1:20:00: Thoughts on Losing his Mask in WCW
1:46:00: Thanks and Close
“You Think You Know Them” (Recap)
Show Introduction/Random Thoughts 0:00-20:20
The boys open the show by discussing their upcoming guest later on, Rey Mysterio. Christian tells a funny story about how Rey’s son Dominik was fearful of Christian’s heel persona back in the day, and was hesitant to talk to him backstage when he was younger.
Christian then asks Edge if he wants to chat about Elimination Chamber. Unfortunately, Edge hasn’t finished watching the whole show, and only saw through the Nia Jax/Asuka match, so he can provide his thoughts on the show up until then. He thought that the women’s title match was pretty cool, and enjoyed watching it. He mentions that he had forgotten about the updates to the chamber, which includes the padding and additional space above the holding pods. They both think that those updates are definitely for the better, as it is a little safer.
For those that are unaware, two of Edge’s fondest memories were in the Elimination Chamber. The first was in 2009 when he lost the WWE Championship in the first chamber match of the night, only to show up in the second one and win the World Heavyweight Championship. The second was in 2011, when him and Rey Mysterio started, and ended, the match. He enjoyed that not only because he was wrestling Rey, but from a storyline perspective, it allowed a little mystery as to who would win, since both of the competitors had issues with Royal Rumble Winner Alberto Del Rio.
They’ll talk about the men’s match next week, once Edge gets a chance to finish the show.
Sponsored Ad 20:20-21:50
Interview with Rey Mysterio 21:50-1:46:00
We then move on to our interview with Rey Mysterio. Christian brings up Dominik’s uneasiness towards him back in the day, which gets a good laugh. Rey mentions that Dom is now training to become a wrestler in Florida. This leads into the discussion of how Mysterio started out at the age of 14. He would go to school and then train. The requirements were much different back then in Mexico, as in addition to regular training, you had to pass a test! This included such sections as grappling and conditioning.
Since he watched lucha libre, Rey didn’t really become a fan of the WWE until they started broadcasting Saturday Night’s Main Event on television. He was working at a pizza restaurant at the time, and would schedule his breaks around the show.
His favorite wrestler from that era? Macho Man Randy Savage. For Rey, Randy was the total package, from the promos to the colorful gear. In fact, Randy’s decision to wear different gear in each wrestling appearance influenced Rey’s decision to do the same. This is something that I also appreciate, as it keeps the wrestlers fresh. Not in a million years did Rey ever think he’d get to work for the WWE, but obviously he did, and in addition, he even got to share the ring with Randy Savage once in WCW.
Edge congratulates Rey for all that he has done over the years, and credits him for knocking down a lot of doors, and evolving the business, leading to the success of such wrestlers as Daniel Bryan and Evan Bourne. Rey appreciates that, but gives credit to Konnan for opening the doors for him, and helping him get noticed. In his opinion, he could’ve had all the talent in the world, but if he hadn’t been introduced to the right companies and people at the right time, he wouldn’t have made it. Christian adds that as he was training, he was even influenced by Rey while watching him on AAA Wrestling.
In 1995, Eddie Guerrero & Chris Jericho were leaving ECW for WCW, and Paul Heyman was looking for some new talent. He called Konnan, who recommended Rey. From there, his career began to go nothing but up. This leads to the discussion about his mask, and how he was able to still convey quite a bit of emotion to get the fans invested.
We then talk about some of the greats that he wrestled in WCW, including Eddie Guerrero. For Edge, Eddie was like a Jazz musician in that he would adapt in the ring on the spot, and as the opponent, you’d just go along with it. He could take things in so many directions by feeling the crowd, and not be afraid to change things on the spot.
Speaking of connections with the crowd, Rey has had a strong one with the fans as well. What led to the decision to talk with kids on the way to the ring, and give one a mask? One of Mysterio’s all-time favorites was Bret Hart, and he remembered how Bret would give his sunglasses to someone in the front row. Also, his Uncle was known for throwing out merchandise to the fans as well. All of this stuck with him, and he decided to move forward with deepening that connection. It’s about giving the fans a special moment that they’ll remember forever, and parents of some of those kids have pulled Rey aside and told him how much that meant to their child. It’s really special, and he appreciates that.
We then move on to his debut with the WWE in 2002. Throughout his run in WCW, he had been led to believe that it would be impossible to get signed, due to his size. When WWE bought out WCW, he had a conversation with Jim Ross where he was told to just let his contract run out, and that they would be in touch after that. He figured that JR was just being nice, but sure enough, he received a call after his contract was up, and it led to him debuting in 2002. Christian jokes that Rey probably wasn’t looking forward to launching up from the stage every week, or making his official debut by jumping off of a cage, but it leads to some interesting stories.
With regards to the entrance, it was actually Dean Malenko that contributed to the suggestion that Rey jump up from under the stage, which they liked, because it made his character even more interesting. When referencing him debuting and jumping off of a cage, the person that he was saving from an attack was none other than Edge, and the person who was on the other end of that jump was Christian. In another interesting tidbit, the person who tried to save Edge before Rey was a young John Cena, who had just debuted that year also. Edge finds it fascinating that the three young faces back then were himself, Rey, and Cena. This leads to a quick laugh about a Smackdown outtake that featured the three and ended with Rey falling. Don’t worry fellow readers, if you haven’t seen it, here it is:
We then quickly discuss Rey’s history with Edge, which included them eventually becoming Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Even with all the partnerships and feuds, he interestingly never really did anything with Christian.
Rey adapted his wrestling style with not only every company that he worked for, but also every wrestler that he worked with, from Eddie and Edge to Batista and the Undertaker. Being in the ring with the Undertaker was a dream come true, and he is an incredible human being. During their matches, he would take Mysterio’s offense very well, and would make him look like a million bucks. He then recalls an incident where he landed on Taker’s head during a match, and realized that he might have broken the Dead Man’s nose. In the moment he was disappointed, and felt like he might have disrespected him, but all fears were put to rest when the Undertaker assured him that everything was cool.
He credits his last year in WCW as a learning experience, since he began working with big men such as Kevin Nash, and also had the opportunity to work closely with Scott Hall, who provided great advice with regards to the selling process.
Speaking of WCW, there obviously became a time when the decision was made for him to remove his mask. What were his thoughts on that? At the time, he wasn’t ready and fought it. When the company wouldn’t budge, he decided to just make the best of it. Looking back, he now wonders if he would have gotten a chance to make it to the next level if he wouldn’t have went through with it. He believes that things happen for a reason, and it gave fans a chance to see a side of him that they hadn’t before. Overall he feels that it helped out in the long run.
Upon debuting in WWE, the mask returned, which led to a very successful feud with Chris Jericho in 2009 and revolved around the mask. Rey mentions that Chris understood the psychology of how important the mask is in the Mexican heritage, and knew how to build that feud properly. Speaking of Mexican heritage, Edge talks about how popular Rey is in Mexico, and that they had some great times traveling together in that area. Of course that popularity also led to Edge getting a cup of unpromising liquid thrown in his face after beating Rey in a match there. It was very quickly that he realized that it wasn’t Mountain Dew…..They laugh about that, and Rey mentions that the Mexicans appreciate when one of their own achieves such a success, and how great of a feeling and blessing it is.
Fast forward to 2018, and Mysterio makes his long awaited return at the Royal Rumble in phenomenal shape. He mentions the intention to keep his return a surprise which led to him staying at a hotel in New Jersey, and hiding out on a bus until an hour before the show started. It was without a doubt one of the best feelings he’s had in his career, and he really appreciated the incredible reaction received from the fans. In fact, his adrenaline didn’t stop until he got back to his hotel room that night.
This leads to some chatter about what’s next for Rey. He’s staying as busy as he wants to without overexposing himself or burning out. He’s really focused on his nutrition and taking care of himself, which is why he looked so good at the Rumble. With regards to a possible return to the WWE, if there’s an interest on both ends to go back, he’d be open to meet and come up with a game plan. Since it’s been a while, there’s now a fresh round of opponents for him, including A.J. Styles and Finn Balor. Edge would also like to see him tangle up with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Christian adds Braun Strowman to the list as well. Good selection, and I would definitely be interested in all of those matches. They then look at the future superstars, and Rey mentions Ricochet and Will Ospreay as two wrestlers who have bright futures ahead of them.
We then wrap up the discussion, with the boys sending the master of the 619 their love.
Close 1:46:00-1:50:00
E & C thank their guest again, and Edge talks about how he and Rey have remained close friends. They then promote their online t-shirt store at ProWrestlingTees.com, and close out the show, with the advisement to follow the show on Twitter @EandCPod, E-Mail them at ecpodofawesomeness@gmail.com, and call their Voicemail at 929-367-8204.
Jeff’s Take: 7 Kazoos out of 10
For some reason, this was a mixed bag for me. Getting Rey Mysterio is huge, and I was really looking forward to listening. Rey is a very humble, nice guy, and there was an interesting piece of information here and there, but for a conversation that lasted well over an hour, it felt like something was missing. It was still entertaining as always, but the boys sometimes fall into this trap when they have an old friend on and it turns into just a conversation. Many topics would only just cover the surface (like his feud with Chris Jericho) and would bounce around a lot. Either way, it was still fun, and I always look forward to the next episode. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @the_Indel or send me an email at indelpw@gmail.com. See you next week!
About the Author
Jeff has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was knee high to a grasshopper (little kid), after coming across the Wrestling Challenge episode after WrestleMania 7, and has not looked back. His passion has led him to winning wrestling trivia contests in his city, and even won him his Senior Talent Show by dancing to Shawn Michaels theme song. When not annoying others with wrestling talk, he loves spending time with his family and friends, and focuses on his other passion: movies.
Be the first to comment