Rey Mysterio Explains Why He Didn't Immediately Come To WWE After WCW Folded

When WCW closed its doors in March 2001, the free agency pool in professional wrestling was filled to the brim with many top stars as WWE was the only major company left standing. Rey Mysterio was one of those stars as he performed on the final episode of "WCW Monday Nitro," but unlike people like DDP, Booker T, and Lance Storm, Mysterio wasn't signed by WWE until mid-2002.

During a recent appearance on the "Insight" podcast, Mysterio admitted that his prolonged WWE debut was a result of him still technically being under contract with WCW, as well as the fear of being too small. 

"I think at the time, I was probably making a little too much in WCW money-wise and the contract was still running when the company was bought out," Mysterio said. "The conversation at the time was, 'Sit back, enjoy your pay for the rest of the year that's in your contract, and once it's expired we'll sit down and we'll negotiate.' At the time, I thought it was a way for them to say, 'We're not really interested.' That's what I thought because I had always heard that [I am] too small. Definitely too small for WWE, and that it wasn't going to happen."

Mysterio explained that when he saw many of his peers like Chris Jericho and The Radicalz move from WCW to WWE on their own accord and achieve success, he hoped that one day he would join them in WWE despite his size. Sure enough, the company meant what they said when they told Mysterio to wait, and in mid-2002, he got a call from Jim Ross. "JR kept his word. Once my contract expired, we sat down, we negotiated and I kicked off the first year."

Please credit "Insight" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.