Rey Mysterio: I Thought About Retiring During My Feud With Samoa Joe, Dominik Convinced Me Not To

Rey Mysterio reveals that he was contemplating retirement during his 2019 feud with Samoa Joe.

Ahead of his WWE Hall Of Fame induction on Friday, March 31, fans are taking a look back at the 33 year career of Rey Mysterio. Throughout his historic career, Mysterio has arguably solidified himself as the greatest luchador of all time.

After being away from the company for nearly four years, Mysterio returned to WWE in 2018. Since then, Mysterio has largely just been involved in storylines with his son Dominik Mysterio, who he has tagged with in the past, but is currently feuding with.

While appearing on the latest edition of the After The Bell podcast, Rey noted that he was considering retirement in 2019 because he felt like he couldn't keep up with the younger talent. Mysterio went on to note that Dominik convinced him to stay around.

“I mean at one point when I first came back [to WWE], I was actually feuding with Samoa Joe and I remember that’s when I really wanted to hang up the mask and retire. As weird as it sounds, Dominik convinced me not to and told me to stay. I just felt like I was falling behind with all this young talent opening up a path… but I stayed and I committed to putting in the work and it’s been incredible ever since. Yeah, I was really having doubts and I was like ‘Maybe it is time to step back and let this new generation come in and do their thing.’ But I think shortly after, I went to get some Stem Cells and I came back and I was ready to go.”

As previously noted, Rey is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame on Friday, March 31. Fightful will have full coverage of the event beginning at 10 p.m. EST.

On night one of WWE WrestleMania 39, Rey will finally face off against Dominik Mysterio in a singles match. Fans can see the other matches that are set for night one of WrestleMania 39 by clicking here.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Get exclusive pro wrestling content on Fightful Select, our premium news service! Click here to learn more.