Rey Mysterio Reflects On The Importance Of Konnan On His WWE Hall Of Fame Career

Rey Mysterio was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last night, and he's following that up by finally wrestling his son, Dominik, at WrestleMania 39 after several months of building tension. That means he's been one of the key focuses of the WWE publicity machine this week, including being this week's guest on "WWE After the Bell," which dropped the morning of his induction. Among other topics, Graves asked Mysterio about the role that Konnan, who inducted him, played in shaping his career.

"We met when I was 12 years old, roughly," Mysterio explained. "He walked into this gym in Tijuana where I was training, where my uncle [Rey Misterio Sr.] was lead[ing the] class and was taking students under his wing. Konnan showed up with another friend of his, just jacked, straight out of the navy, and he looked like he was a bodybuilder, he was just so frickin' big. We bonded right away, it was crazy. He takes off first in Mexico, becomes a huge mega star, and the first thing he does is, [in 1992,] when they get ready to kick off this new promotion[, AAA], he calls me and Psicosis to come over and continue with our wrestling careers."

Mysterio added that without Konnan getting him his big breaks in AAA, ECW, and WCW, he thinks he would have most likely been a local star in southern California, Tijuana, and the surrounding areas. "I've always said 'thank God for this beautiful, enormous career that I've had," Rey noted. "But next to God? I thank Konnan for opening up these doors." During Mysterio's induction last night, his son Dominik furthered their feud by getting up and walking out, to massive boos.