Rey Misterio Sr. has died.
Miguel Ángel López Días, who performed under the alias of Rey Misterio Sr., passed away on Friday with an announcement made by AAA and confirmed by his son on Facebook.
Misterio Sr. was the uncle and trainer of WWE star Rey Mysterio (they used alternate spellings of the last name) and grand-uncle of Dominik Mysterio.
The elder Misterio began his career in 1976 after initially setting out for a career in boxing before redirecting his efforts.
Misterio Sr. was a featured star in Benjamin Mora’s World Wrestling Association (WWA) after its launch in 1986. Misterio Sr. was the promotion’s inaugural World Junior Light Heavyweight Champion after beating Fishman on March 11, 1989, and held for nearly a year before Fishman secured the belt in February 1990.
His rivalry with Fishman included a Mask vs. Mask showdown on March 25, 1988, with Fishman prevailing in Tijuana.
Misterio Sr. worked his lone WCW pay-per-view at Starracde 1990 when he entered the Pat O’Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament with Konnan. The pair defeated Norman Smiley & Chris Adams to advance to the semi-finals and lost to eventual tournament winners, The Steiner Brothers.
Years later, WCW brought Misterio Sr. in for the Festival de Lucha Libre taping on January 27, 1999, for a pair of multi-man tapings. The pilot never saw the light of day until years later when WWE uploaded it to the Hidden Gems section of the WWE Network.
In 1995, Sr. and nephew Rey Misterio Jr. won the WWA tag team titles for a brief period until dropping them to Fuerza & Juventud Guerrera.
Misterio Sr. engaged in a rivalry with Psicosis / Nicho where Rey unmasked the Luchador on August 26, 1999. This was while Psicosis was still in WCW and one before he was unmasked in the U.S. The following May, Psicosis beat Misterio Sr. in a rematch with Misterio in a Hair vs. Hair contest.
Fast forward to August 2006 and Misterio Sr. defeated the legendary Cien Caras in a Hair vs. Hair match. After, Misterio Sr. was attacked by Caras, Inferno & Mr. Aguila before Nicho (Psicosis) and El Hijo del Rey Mysterio (Misterio Sr.’s son) made the save. It was a ruse when Nicho attacked Misterio Sr. which led to another Hair vs. Hair match in December 2006 where Misterio Sr. prevailed.
Misterio also leaves behind a legacy as an esteemed trainer.
In 1987, he opened a school with Negro Casas and Super Astro. The school is credited with churning out future stars including Konnan, Psicosis, Halloween, Damian 666, Misterioso, and Cassandro. Of course, Misterio Sr. is also credited with training his nephew, who has become one of the biggest stars of the past three decades and one of the most influential performers of his era, Rey Mysterio Jr. He also helped train his son, El Hijo de Rey Mysterio.
Misterio Sr. was inducted into the Tijuana Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
A cause of death has yet to be revealed and we extend our condolences to his family and friends.
