WWE legend Rey Mysterio leaves fans stunned as he appears unrecognisable picture without iconic face mask
WWE icon Rey Mysterio finally showed fans the man behind the mask as he posed WITHOUT his signature attire for the first time in years.
Mysterio is arguably the greatest cruiserweight of all time having popularised Lucha Libre in the US with the help of his iconic mask.
The Hall of Fame star is known as the 'biggest little man' in WWE having become a three-time world champion at just 5ft 6in.
The 48-year-old is still wowing fans with his stunning high-flying stunts but suffered a torn meniscus that has sidelined him.
After undergoing surgery to repair his knee, Mysterio posed for a photo with a fan while out on crutches but without his mask.
And some fans, who grew up watching him wrestle will have never seen him without it.
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"It’s like seeing an owl during the day, just feels weird," one wrote on Twitter, while another added: "Seeing Rey Mysterio without the Mask feels so wrong," and a third joked: "Seeing Rey Mysterio without the mask feels illegal."
The California-born grappler - real name Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio - is usually never seen in public with his face on show.
Mysterio was trained in Mexico in the 1980s by his uncle Rey Misterio under the country's strict and sacred laws around wrestling culture.
One of the most famous traditions of the Lucha Libre style will see wrestlers don masks at the start of their careers.
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Their mask becomes synonymous with the luchador and they maintain kayfabe (staying in character) by wearing it while out in public.
Losing a mask is considered a serious dishonour in Mexican wrestling culture and usually happens when a luchador is approaching retirement or else abandoning the gimmick entirely.
The rules have been somewhat relaxed these days which has helped Mysterio show off his ever-youthful face.
The SmackDown star has been sporting his signature mask since his days at WWE's rivals WCW where he was famously unmasked.
Mysterio and tag partner Konnan were defeated by Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in a 'Hair vs. Mask match' at SuperBrawl IX in 1999.
“I was strongly against it!” said Mysterio. “I don’t think WCW understood what the mask meant to me, to my fans and to my family. It was a very bad move on their behalf.
"The fans wanted Rey Mysterio with the mask and losing it hurt me a lot. It was also frustrating that it didn’t come as the climax to a feud with another masked wrestler, but in a throwaway match.”
Mysterio then briefly spent a stint wrestling without a mask as part of the Filthy Animals faction - WCW's answer to D-Generation X.
Upon signing with WWE in 2002 Mysterio successfully gained permission from the official lucha libre commission to don a mask again after the request of owner Vince McMahon.
Mysterio will be back wearing his iconic mask in 2024 after dropping his United States title to Logan Paul at Crown Jewel.
The Master of the 619 is nursing a torn meniscus but was spared an even more serious injury thanks to the Maverick.
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Speaking on his IMPAULSIVE podcast, Paul said: “Look, I’m going to come clean, because I’ve seen all these positive headlines right, ‘Logan saves Rey Mysterio’, the Mexican community going crazy, they’re praising me, saying I’m sort of a hero and so I’m like dang, I’m being recognized for doing something cool I’ll take it.
“Upon assessing my performance, while I do think I did save Rey Mysterio’s life I think I also almost killed Rey Mysterio.”