Over the years, Rey Mysterio has competed in countless WWE PPV matches, doing everything from epic World Title matches at WrestleMania to an Eye for an Eye match with Seth Rollins in front of no fans. Throughout all of that time, he has become one of WWE's greatest ever wrestlers, but all journeys have to start somewhere.
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Mysterio was able to benefit early on in his WWE career by the fact that most wrestling fans already knew who he was. There was a buzz about him and at the time, Mysterio was putting together some very innovative and fast-paced matches. But what sort of an impression did the Master of 619 leave in his first 10 WWE PPVs?
10 Rey Mysterio vs. Big Show (Backlash, 2003)
The story of David vs. Goliath was told here but considering that they were given less than four minutes to do it, this was never going to be anything special. The two men would have much better matches later in their careers, but this was very forgettable.
They crammed a lot into the small-time, with a chair shot from Mysterio (with the referee distracted), allowing him to hit a trio of 619's to different parts of Big Show's body, which was quite a cool idea, but ultimately Big Show got the victory in what was a very rushed match.
9 Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble (Royal Rumble, 2004)
In what is a bit of a theme with many of Rey Mysterio's early WWE PPV matches, this Cruiserweight Championship bout was given no time at all, lasting just over three minutes. It felt like more of an angle to continue Jamie Noble's storyline with Nidia than an actual match.
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At this time, Nidia was portraying her blind gimmick, and she ended up grabbing Noble's leg by accident, which set up the finish. It's a shame they didn't get more time, as the two men did have great chemistry, but this match wasn't great.
8 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble, 2003)
Rey Mysterio got the chance to compete inside the Royal Rumble within his first 10 PPVs with the company. While he would obviously later go on to win this match in an epic moment, his 2003 appearance was pretty forgettable.
While the actual match itself was entertaining, here we are just focusing on Mysterio's involvement. He was the fourth entrant, lasting just over five minutes. While he and Edge teamed up well at points, he didn't really have much impact on the match itself.
7 Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy (WrestleMania XIX, 2003)
Rey Mysterio's first-ever WrestleMania match saw him challenge for the Cruiserweight Championship against Matt Hardy in what was a true sprint of a match. The two men absolutely made the most of their time, but they were given less than six minutes to tell their story.
With Shannon Moore on the outside with Matt, there was a fun distraction element to this one. Rey and Matt went at a breakneck pace to make sure this match was an exciting one, and they certainly did just that.
6 Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri vs. Jamie Noble (Rebellion, 2002)
Once again, Nidia was involved in the finish of the match, which did impact the overall quality as it diminished a lot of the good work that was done. However, the match featured three very talented wrestlers, so it's no shock that it was a good match until that point.
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Battling for the Cruiserweight Championship, the match was very fast-paced, which is what kept it so entertaining. The three men worked well together, going back and forth throughout, but it just lacked a stronger finish.
5 Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri (No Mercy, 2003)
Rey Mysterio and Tajiri had excellent chemistry in the ring together, and that was on full display within this match. It was a very hard-hitting match that was packed full of strikes, which made it very entertaining to watch.
They went back and forth throughout and pushed each other well, with the only thing really holding this one back being the finish. That saw two 'fans' who were actually wrestlers hop the barrier, distracting the official to give Tajiri a victory, stopping a clean finish.
4 Rey Mysterio & Billy Kidman vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team (Vengeance, 2003)
A lot of Rey Mysterio's early WWE PPVs saw him in tag team action, but his partnership with Billy Kidman is one most people forget about. That's a shame, because the two of them clicked incredibly well, and this match is a great example of that.
The two teams put on a brilliant match for the Tag Team Championships, with Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin really clicking throughout this one. They went back and forth in a match filled with great reversals and highflying action, which was a lot of fun to watch.
3 Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Los Guerreros vs. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle (Surivor Series, 2002)
This match featured six absolutely incredible workers who really were amongst the best of their generation, therefore it isn't a surprise that this was a fun encounter. With elimination rules, it allowed for some different storytelling to take place as well.
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The starting section of the match was frantic, with lots going on until Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle were eliminated. Then the match became a traditional tag that featured some great double team moves and plenty of action overall.
2 Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle (SummerSlam, 2002)
This was Rey Mysterio's first-ever PPV match, and it was a fantastic example of what he brings to the table as a wrestler. Kurt Angle was the perfect opponent for him here and it kickstarted the event in a brilliant manner.
They kept the pace of the match very fast as they went back and forth, with Mysterio really putting on a display of his highflying moves and incredible agility, with Kurt selling perfectly to put Mysterio over.
1 Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle (No Mercy, 2002)
Despite the fact that neither of these are teams people think about straight away when it comes to WWE's tag team division, this is one of the best tag matches in WWE's history.
This was an absolutely incredible match that stole the entire show and was widely considered to be a match of the year contender. It was a perfect story between four excellent workers with some amazing in-ring work, counters, and near falls all coming together to create a true five-star classic.
