Rey Mysterio Snr has passed away, his family have said.
The wrestling legend, real name Miguel Angel Lopez Dias, was the uncle of current WWE star Rey.
Mexican wrestling company Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide revealed the news on social media. They posted: ‘We regret the sensitive death of Miguel Angel Lopez Dias, known as Rey Mysterio Sr.
We send our most sincere condolences to his loved ones and raise our prayers to heaven for his eternal rest.’
Mysterio, who was 66, began wrestling in 1976 and officially retired in 2009. His son, Rey, and grandson, Dominik, are still with WWE and Rey was introduced into the Hall of Fame in 2023.
The tragedy comes just a week after Mysterio Jnr’s father, Roberto Gutierrez, died at the age of 76.
Additionally, Misterio Sr. trained other professional wrestling legends like Konnan, Psicosis, Halloween, and Damian 666. He also trained his son, Rey Misterio Heredero, who is better known as El Hijo de Rey Misterio. Misterio began his professional wrestling career after training to be a boxer. He made his in-ring debut on Jan. 6, 1976, on at Día de los Reyes, translated to “Day of the Kings.”
Misterio would go on to become wildly popular in Mexico and wrestled in multiple promotions, including Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Pro Wrestling Revolution, Tijuana Wrestling, and World Wrestling Association (WWA).
Misterio also appeared in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1990 as part of the “Pat O’Connor Memorial International Cup” during the Starrcade pay-per-view. He represented Mexico alongside Konnan.
Misterio has won multiple titles, including the IWC World Middleweight Championship twice, the America’s Championship, the Tijuana Welterweight Championship, and the WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship.
In addition to his singles titles, Misterio won the WWA Tag Team Championship with his nephew and the Revolution Tag Team Championship with his son.
Misterio was inducted into the Tijuana Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and retired from professional wrestling in 2009. Despite that, he wrestled his final match in 2023.
Multiple tributes have poured out for the wrestling legend.
“So sorry to hear about the death of the original Rey Misterio (Sr.), Miguel Lopez, at 66, the uncle of the WWE star,” said Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer. “In his heyday he was almost like Tijuana’s version of Jerry Lawler in Memphis.”
By Agencies