Rey Mysterio has been announced as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2023. The announcement was made on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown.
This is a significant moment as Mysterio will enter the Hall of Fame while still an active performer. He has been regularly appearing on SmackDown and even wrestled on the February 24 episode of the show. Interestingly, the news of his induction came at a time when there is an ongoing storyline feud between Rey Mysterio and his son, Dominik Mysterio.
During the episode, Dominik accused his father of being an absent father and pointed out the achievements of his soon-to-be Hall of Fame career. Rey Mysterio received support from Santos Escobar and his Legado del Fantasma faction, leading to a six-man tag team match against Dominik Mysterio, Damian Priest, and Finn Balor.
Rey Mysterio is widely regarded as one of the most popular luchadors and has been a significant representative of Mexico’s wrestling culture on the North American stage. He is credited with breaking barriers for smaller wrestlers and masked performers, popularizing the cruiserweight division and the lucha libre style in promotions like WWE, WCW, and ECW.
Throughout his career, Mysterio has achieved remarkable success, capturing 15 championships in the WWE. This includes one reign as WWE champion and two as world heavyweight champion. He also won the Royal Rumble in 2006 and is recognized as the 21st Grand Slam and Triple Crown champion in WWE history.
