Rey Mysterio Addresses Being Unmasked On WWE RAW, Andrade Responds
Last night's gauntlet match to determine the new #1 contender to AJ Styles' U.S. Championship featured a familiar bout set up between Rey Mysterio and Andrade. Andrade would ultimately defeat Mysterio and then proceed to yank and tear at Rey's mask until it was nearly removed from his face. Former U.S. Champion Ricochet came to make the save for Mysterio and defeat Andrade in the next gauntlet match.
In a backstage interview that followed Andrade's unmasking of Mysterio, Rey looked back on the very exclusive list of superstars that have done the same to him before.
"That's when you think about the hard work you've put in, and it just goes to show that I've worked really hard but not enough. I needed to go through two more rounds and tonight just wasn't my night, but I can't live with that weight on my back forever. Tonight was just one bad night that happened; and even though the circumstances were a bit horrible," Rey continued as he looked down at his mask, "because the only person that has ripped my mask before, in the past, has been Eddie Guerrero and Randy Orton. Now Andrade took it overboard. I have two main goals in mind right now – first, get that U.S. Title back, and second, take care of Andrade for what he did tonight."
Andrade has yet to audibly speak out about his attack and the ultimate disrespect associated with what he did to Rey. He has, however, taken to Twitter to reply to WWE's post and claim, "I am the new face of Latinos!!! I will end with the legacy of #ReyMistero"
If this is indeed a reigniting of their feud that began as the year started, we may see another entertaining contest like their highly praised two-out-of-three falls match that took place in January. Matches likes these are why Rey recently told Wrestling Inc.'s own WINCLY Podcast why he thinks Andrade is the future of the business.
"[Andrade] is awesome. I mentioned it before in previous interviews, but every time I'm in the ring with him, there's an affiliation to how I would move with Eddie [Guerrero]," admitted Mysterio. "This is how good he is: he's thinking a step ahead before you even move. He already knows the positioning and knows exactly what to do and how to do it. My hat goes off to Andrade as he's definitely the future of WWE."
You can see Andrade's tweet below:
Pure DISRESPECT from @AndradeCienWWE...
He's got ONE MORE opponent to deal with! #RAW #GauntletMatch pic.twitter.com/TgHpKweILt
? WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2019
I am the new face of Latinos!!! I will end with the legacy of #ReyMistero https://t.co/xU8Roj15uq
? "EL IDOLO" ANDRADE (@AndradeCienWWE) July 30, 2019
Andrade also wrote on Instagram, "I enjoyed this moment so much, I remembered my time in Mexico when I did this every week !!!"
Ross Kelly contributed to this article.