Rey - Dreamer Fancied Me

[nightrain]

REY MYSTERIO claims he never expected to become WWE champion and credits Pat Patterson for convincing Vince McMahon to give him a run with the belt.

The 5ft 6ins masked superstar was always considered a special attraction by wrestling bosses — but too small to be a bona fide headliner.

But after the death of pal Eddie Guerrero in 2006, everything changed.

In the first of three exclusive extracts from his autobiography 'Behind The Mask', Mysterio reveals: "It was the Royal Rumble in January and the winner was promised a shot at the heavyweight title.

"Not only did I win, I set a record for the longest Rumble turn, clocking in at 1:02:12.

"I raised my hands to the sky, dedicating my match to Eddie.

"Many things helped me in my run for the belt. The crowd and the push that I'd gotten from Eddie were certainly on my side.

"And I really have to give credit to Pat Patterson, who played a big role behind the scenes pushing for me, vouching that I would make a good champion.

"At the time, Pat was a producer and consultant to WWE. Older fans will remember that he was a longtime superstar as a wrestler, then an onscreen personality and commentator.

"I don't know what Pat saw in me.

"Maybe it was my professionalism. Maybe it was my love for this business, and the passion inside me. Maybe he liked my style or thought I'd be able to bring something new and unexpected to the company.

"Whatever it was, he made the case to the top people at WWE, including Vince.

"I didn't know anything about it until right after the Rumble, when I was called into a meeting with the top execs.

"'You're going to be heavyweight champion,' they told me.

"'Oh s***,' I answered."

After a controversial feud with Randy Orton between the Rumble and Mania, Mysterio faced off against Orton and champ Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 22 on April 2 2006 in Chicago.

He continues: "Before the match, I'd been talking about it with Randy. He suggested I do the West Coast Pop.

"He called it 'that thing you do'.

"I told him how to base for me, and we set it up for the finish.

"Now, in the ring, he was battling hard with Kurt. Kurt flew to the apron, while Randy staggered to the ropes.

"It was 619 time. I flew across the ring, hit the ropes, and kicked him in the face. Then I climbed to the top and executed a West Coast Pop.

"He caught me beautifully. I covered him for the pin.

"Inside, I was thinking, Oh, s***, it's here.

"The referee put the championship belt in my hands. I went to the corner and hung over the turnbuckle, calling out my wife and kids. Then I knelt and prayed in the ring.

"The moment was incredible. There was no acting. It was all emotion, all real."

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/2733673/Rey-Mysterio-on-why-he-never-thought-hed-be-WWE-champion-and-how-Pat-Patterson-convinced-Vince-McMahon-to-give-him-a-title-run.html#ixzz0X7bxh64t

As there are to be 3 extracts from his autobiography I'll post the others when they are up on the website.

[Hammy]

To be honest I'm not surprised he thought he'd never be champion.  When he started out the model of a champion was big and roids etc. and so on.  I don't think giving him the strap was a mistake, it could have been booked well, unfotunately they had him lose virtually EVERY match of his reign, from Finlay to The Great Khali and CLEAN too.

[nightrain]

Part 2 of the extracts from Rey's new book.  What a great first line 

THE first time Tommy Dreamer set eyes on Rey Mysterio he wanted to take him out on a date.

Mysterio joined Paul Heyman's cult wrestling group ECW in 1995 and at first Tommy thought the future WWE champion was a GIRL.

In the second exclusive SunSport extract from Rey's autobiography, the star writes: "I almost had a date with Dreamer. Or so the story goes.

"The version I heard runs like this. Early on I was riding in an elevator with Paul E. I hadn't been introduced to most of the guys yet.

"Tommy Dreamer saw us get out, gave Paul E a puzzled look, then turned away as we walked on.

"Later on he went over to Paul E and asked: "Hey, who was that chick you were with? She looked hot. A little flat-chested, but hey.

"He lost interest real fast when he found it was me.

"It's a good thing he told Paul E. The boys would have set us up for a date, then hidden around the corner to see what happened.

"That's the boys."

Rey says he truly loved his stint in ECW — where he had some of the best matches in history against Psicosis — due to the fact that anything went in and out of the ring.

He added: "We walked into the locker room and found a whole different atmosphere from the one we'd grown up in working in Mexico.

"It was one of the best locker rooms I've ever seen in the wrestling world. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. There was music, beers and smoking — all sorts of smoking.

"I don't want to go into too much detail, but basically everything and anything went in that locker room.

"You walked in and you were like, wow, this is wild. It was exactly like I thought it would be from watching the ECW tapes. What you saw was what you got backstage."

Rey added: "At ECW, there were literally no limits for matches.

"I didn't totally believe it at first. I may have asked Paul E a couple of times whether he was serious that we could do whatever we wanted.

"'We can do anything?' I asked.

"'Yes, yes.'

"'Anything?'

"'Yes.'

"'What can we use?' I asked. 'What can't we use? Can we use a table? Can we grab a chair?'

"'Rey, f***ing go out there and have fun,' he said. 'Do whatever you guys want.'

"I was like, s***, okay. That's what we'll do."

Rey finishes his chapter on ECW by telling how Heyman's organisation had to declare bankruptcy but that the original lives on in DVDs.

He also makes the controversial statement that: "WWE has since taken over ECW and revived it, recapturing some of the old spirit.

"Maybe the best testimony about the original's success is the fact that the brand still counts fans from the old days when the cramped auditorium next to the highway was its home."[/i]

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/2739921/Rey-Mysterio-Tommy-Dreamer-fancied-me-Behind-The-Mask-book-extract.html#ixzz0XTYRzFJz

[Hammy]

^ The current ECW is a solid show but in no way related to the original, in spirit or anything!