Vince McMahon made RAW Superstar change his look before WWE debut
Vince McMahon made Rey Mysterio change his in-ring look when the former WCW star debuted on WWE's main roster in 2002.
Fans who have witnessed his journey from the beginning know that he debuted with his mask on and continues wearing it today.
Rey Mysterio's in-ring debut would have looked quite different had it not been Vince McMahon's request. The WWE veteran recently spoke with Graham GSM Matthews of Bleacher Report and disclosed he wasn't planning to wear a mask in WWE.
A few days before Rey's debut, WWE officials asked him what he would wear in his first match. When he didn't mention a mask, they informed him that Vince McMahon wanted him to use one.
"It was actually WWE who brought that up, or in this case, Vince McMahon. I was doing my training a week prior to my debut and I was in OVW. I forgot who approached me at the time, but they said, 'The company wants to know what type of ring attire you're going to use for next week.' I said, 'What I've been using.' I was using the Scott Steiner, "Big Poppa Pump" chain around the head, like a gladiator chain, and a vest that went along with it. Baggy pants. They were like, 'Where's the mask?' I said, 'I haven't been wrestling with the mask.' 'No, no, no. Vince wants to see you with the mask,'" Rey Mysterio recalled. [H/T Bleacher Report]
Vince McMahon's request changed Rey Mysterio's career
At WCW SuperBrawl IX, Rey Mysterio and Konnan lost a Hair vs. Mask match to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, and Mysterio was forced to unmask as a result. He began wrestling without a mask following the events of SuperBrawl IX and made additional changes to his attire.
When Vince McMahon made Mysterio bring back his masked look, it proved to be a major turning point in the latter's career. He instantly became popular among WWE's young audience. Over the past two decades, Rey Mysterio has helped Vince McMahon make enormous amounts of money from merchandise sales.
Vince McMahon saw potential in Mysterio and eventually turned him into a main event star. He won the 2006 Royal Rumble match in memory of his late friend, Eddie Guerrero, and won the World Title at WrestleMania 22.
It's quite hard to fathom how Rey Mysterio's WWE career would have turned out if it hadn't been for Vince McMahon's request.