Konnan and Rey Mysterio were two of the brightest stars to cross over from wrestling to American professional wrestling.
While it’s easy for some American wrestling fans to think that wrestling is simply one style or a small segment of the world of wrestling, it can be seen as much more than that. Emerging from Mexican culture, lucha libre is its own entity. The term literally translates to “wrestling” and encompasses a tradition of fast-paced, high-flying action that has featured its share of sensational masked superstars and other memorable characters and wrestling rule variations throughout a long history.
Two wrestling legends who transcended that wrestling genre and became American wrestling stars were Konnan and Mystery King. It is no coincidence that each of them reached such heights or had intersecting moments on the screen. In fact, the two have a long personal history with each other, leaving their careers and legacies in the business unmistakably intertwined.
Konnan and Rey Mysterio’s friendship dates back to Mysterio’s childhood
Many fans of mainstream American wrestling first became acquainted with Konnan and Rey Mysterio in WCW, where they crossed paths multiple times during Monday Night Wars as pivotal Nitro stars. Their careers included working as opponents for matches like their clash at Road Wild 1997 and as teammates as two of the key members of the Filthy Animals faction. His time-share in WCW also included Konnan’s notable milestone as Mysterio’s tag team partner for the match in which he lost his mask at SuperBrawl 9.
In a visit to the Apter Chat (h/t Fightful) podcast, Mysterio opened up about being only eleven years old when he met Konnan, over a decade older than him. While the age difference meant they wouldn’t naturally bond as friends, it’s clear they had immediate interpersonal chemistry, rooted in a love struggle. Konnan trained to wrestle under Mysterio’s uncle and began a big brother/little brother style relationship, a bond that neither could have anticipated would last for decades and prove very important to each man’s life and career.
Konnan and Rey Mysterio had a business relationship
Konnan was known to have an unofficial role in WCW as a liaison and agent between the Spanish-speaking wrestlers and the company’s formal management structure. In his interview with Bill Apter, Mysterio credited Konnan for getting his foot in the door of WCW and other opportunities, going so far as to say, “I owe him my life for opening doors for me.”
While Konnan was on bad terms with WWE which didn’t exactly help Mysterio’s career there, it seems likely that Konnan also played a role in Mysterio’s choice to spend a stint working with Lucha Underground as well, despite having little overlap between their respective terms with the smallest promotion. More generally, though, Mysterio praised Konnan’s efforts, “for giving me the opportunity and the platform to show off my fighting style. The fact that he believed in me at a very young age and believes in me now, it’s such a blessing to have had him in my life.”
Konnan has perspective on Dominik Mysterio’s career
In an interview with Denise Salcedo for Instinct Culture (h/t Bodyslam.net), Konnan talked about how happy it made Rey Mysterio that his son Dominik was following him into the business. The discussion included Dominik’s training with a variety of veterans and teachers that included not only his father, but also Jay Lethal, as well as Konnan himself in Phoenix.
Konnan highly praised Dominik’s efforts, citing that each time he worked with him, it seemed like the young man had learned more and took his craft more seriously. In fact, many fans have gone so far as to speculate that now, as an established WWE Superstar, Dominik’s new look since his kayfabe jail stint, may be an homage to Konnan for the superficial similarities of how he uses his bandana and flannel like Konnan did. at the height of his popularity as one of the rising stars of the popular nWo Wolfpac faction in WCW.
Konnan clearly shares a special bond with Rey Mysterio that both fighters who emerged from the lucha libre tradition speak freely about. Mutual respect and mutual affection from him is undoubted. It’s particularly interesting that they struck up a friendship when Mysterio was so young, and even more so because his connection has been passed down to the next generation with Konnan helping Rey’s son on his business journey.