Rey Mysterio: His 5 Best Tag Team Partners (& His 5 Worst)
Rey Mysterio is a living legend. The luchador celebrated his fiftieth birthday on December 11 but you wouldn't know his age when you see him in the ring on a weekly basis - Mysterio has barely slowed down and there seems to be no end in sight for the career of the WWE Hall of Famer.
Since Rey has popped up on American television screens in the mid-nineties, he has not only excelled as a singles wrestler but also as a tag team specialist. Throughout his career, Rey has held five Tag Team championships in WWE, and four Tag Team championships in WCW, among others. Mysterio teamed with eight different partners for those nine title runs alone, a testament to his adaptability when it comes to tag team partners.
As a result, we want to look at the five best - and worst - tag team partners of Rey Mysterio's career, based on the chemistry he had with them as a team.
Worst: Sin Cara
The Mexican Sensation Didn't Click In WWE
- The Original Sin Cara's Run Was Snakebit From The Start
- The Team Lasted Only Three Months In Late 2012
When Sin Cara entered WWE in 2011, expectations were sky-high - and they quickly faltered. Alleged attitude problems and consistent lackluster performances soured fans and officials on the former Mistico.
As a last-ditch effort, WWE paired him with the always reliable Rey Mysterio in late 2012. While the pairing wasn't terrible, it just didn't click. The pair was written off TV after an attack by The Shield and was never used together again.
Best: Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero And Rey Brought Out The Best In Each Other
- Both Teamed In WCW And WWE
- Their WWE Tag Title Run Merged Into Their Legendary Feud In 2005
In early 2005, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio began teaming with each other in WWE. They had briefly been part of the Filthy Animals in WCW together in 1999, but it was their WWE run that really established them as a, albeit brief, team.
The pair won the WWE Tag Team Championship from the Bashams at No Way Out 2005 and, instead of defending the titles at the biggest stage, they faced each other at WrestleMania 21. It was the beginning of a legendary feud that really started kicking off after they lost the titles to MNM on the April 21, 2005 episode of SmackDown.
Worst: Juventud Guerrera
The Duo Held The Tag Team Titles In A Dying WCW
- Were Part Of The Filthy Animals In 2000
- Also Feuded Over The Cruiserweight Title In 1998 And 1999
Rey Mysterio and Juventud Guerrera had been rivals for much of their time in WCW. Rey had even beaten Juventud at one point for the Cruiserweight Title but by mid-2000, both had lost their masks and joined the Filthy Animals group, alongside Disco Inferno and Konnan. On the August 14, 2000 episode of Monday Nitro, the two defeated Vampiro and the Great Muta to win the World Tag Team Titles.
Unfortunately, the team didn't really click, partly because their styles were very similar. Nonetheless, they held the titles for a month until they were forced to relinquish them after Ernest Miller beat Disco Inferno in a singles match - it was WCW 2000 after all.
Best: Batista
Batista & Rey Mysterio Complemented Each Other
- Rey Sort-Of Replaced Eddie Guerrero As Batista's Partner
- Their History Would Eventually Impact Batista's Heel Turn In 2009
After Eddie Guerrero's passing in November 2005, Rey Mysterio kind of replaced him in the storyline with Batista. Unlikel Eddie though, Rey was a straight-up babyface. The pair defeated MNM to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, only to lose them back to the heels a few weeks later.
Despite their short run, the pairing with Batista worked quite well as Dave provided the power while Rey was the quick highflyer and sympathetic underdog. The partnership with Batista would later also play into Dave's fabulous heel turn in the fall of 2009.
Worst: Konnan
Rey Mysterio Came Across Like A Copycat Konnan
- Teamed In The No Limit Soldiers And Filthy Animals
- Are Long-Time Close Personal Friends In Real Life
After losing his mask in early 1999, Rey and Konnan began teaming up as part of the No Limit Soldiers group. While the two share a close personal relationship to this day, the pairing back then didn't help Rey Mysterio. The change from masked luchador to cool hip hop sidekick did not work. Rey came across more like Konnan's young nephew.
The Rock has teamed with a number of different partners throughout his illustrious WWE career, some better than others.
Despite that, the pairing won the tag team titles as part of their new group, the Filthy Animals, on the October 18, 1999 Monday Nitro episode, only to relinquish the titles six days later before the Halloween Havoc PPV due to a knee injury to Rey.
Best: Dominik Mysterio
Their Babyface Run Laid The Foundation For Dirty Dom
- Dominik And Rey Were The First Father-Son Tag Team Champions In WWE
- Their Partnership Laid The Foundation For Dominik's Heel Turn In 2022
When Dominik Mysterio debuted in 2020, he was green and a little awkward in the ring. He teamed mostly with his father and, despite Dominik's greenness, the two made it work. It was the perfect opportunity for Dominik to be trained on the job and he got better quickly.
The somewhat cheesy nature of the father-son team and Dominik's awkward attempt at copying his father arguably laid the foundation for his heel turn in 2022 and his development into the incredible Dirty Dom of today.
Worst: Rey Misterio Sr.
The Uncle Of Rey Mysterio Was Of A Different Generation
- Mostly Teamed In The Early Days Of AAA
- Rey Misterio Trained His Nephew Rey Mysterio
Rey Misterio, the uncle of Rey Mysterio, recently passed away at the age of 66. A lucha legend himself, Rey trained his nephew to become a wrestler. Mysterio, debuting when he was only 14 years old under the name Colibri, eventually took on his uncle's name, adding a 'Jr.' The two would team quite a bit in the then-new AAA promotion in Mexico in the early 1990s, mostly in six-man tag team matches.
While Rey Misterio was a great performer, it was clear that him and his nephew had different styles and ideas. Both also faced off in a match in Mexico in 2001, shortly after WCW closed (and before Rey joined WWE a year later).
Best: Edge
Teaming With Edge Elevated Rey Mysterio
- One Third Of The SmackDown Six In Late 2002
- Revived Their Partnership In 2022 Against The Judgment Day
Any long-term WWE fan remembers the SmackDown-Six era. Overseen by booker Paul Heyman, Edge and Rey Mysterio comprised one third of the six, putting on fantastic matches throughout the summer and fall of 2002. The pair won the WWE Tag Team titles on the November 7, episode of SmackDown, only to drop them in a triple threat match to Los Guerreros at Survivor Series 2002.
From his days with Legacy to his time with the Bullet Club, Cody Rhodes has had a ton of tag team partners over his long career.
Years later, Rey and Edge would renew their team to fight the Judgment Day - a vehicle that would allow Dominik Mysterio to turn on his father.
Worst: Rob Van Dam
Rey Mysterio & RVD Just Didn't Click
- Teamed For Most Of 2004 On SmackDown
- Their Styles Likely Were Too Similar
Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio, on paper, sounded like a dream team. Both men's styles were unique; both men were high-flyers. It should have worked. But, as is often the case, opposites attract each other more than similarities.
While RVD and Rey did team for most of 2004 and even held the WWE Tag Team Championship, the team never really clicked. It seemed like a temporary solution to give both men something to do, rather than actually a long-term plan. Once they lost the titles, Rey quickly found a new partner - and rival - in Eddie Guerrero.
Best: Billy Kidman
Perhaps The Greatest Cruiserweight Tag Team Ever
- Held World And Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles In WCW
- Briefly Reunited On SmackDown In 2003
Whereas the similarities in style hurt Rey's teams with Juventud and RVD, it didn't hurt his team with Billy Kidman. While both men were cruiserweights, Kidman and Rey complemented each other very well.
During their WCW run, they held both the World and (short-lived) Cruiserweight Tag Team titles. In 2003, they also briefly teamed in WWE although no tag team gold would result from that brief reunion.