Rey Mysterio has been wrestling professionally for over half of his life.

From working small matches in Mexico, sleeping in gyms, and asking his wife for money to eat, to being snuck into clubs by Konnan because he was under 18, to breaking it big in WCW and then WWE, Mysterio has been a professional wrestler longer than he's been a father, longer than he's been a household name, and longer than being a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, though, to be fair, that happened less than a year ago in Los Angeles on the eve of WrestleMania 39, so that's understandable.

And yet, after suffering another setback in his right knee, Mysterio is starting to think about the end, as even the Lucha Legend can feel that his athleticism and, thus, his career, is starting to wind down.

“Just wear and tear. This time, it was my right knee. I've never had any injuries on my right knee since 97 when I had my first surgery in WCW. The left knee kept on breaking down every other year, sometimes a little bit longer. Numerous ACL tears. The last big surgery I had on my left knee was in 2011. This time, you put in all the years, I've been favoring the right knee for the left one and finally, I tore the meniscus on my right knee. It's six to eight weeks. I'm in week four. I'm getting a personal trainer at the beginning of the year that's going to work with me just so I can work on my lower body and strengthen up my hips, my quads, my legs in general so I can resist. I've never had a personal trainer that can train me, kind of like UFC fighters train, so I can use most of my power from the hips down,” Rey Mysterio said via SE Scoops.

“I know that I'm slowing down, the older I get, but I can make things look faster just by being in the business so long, that keeps the fans perspective of ‘he hasn't slowed down.' I can go out there every time and pour it out. I don't know how to hold back. I know how to hold back on movements and stuff I know I can't do, like pushing off my left knee is really hard. I know personally that I've slowed down over the years. I try to be very innovative and creative with my style that it makes it seems that I haven't slowed down.”

Has Rey Mysterio wrestled his last match? No, of course not, unless he really suffers a setback, he'll be back in a WWE ring in no time and will likely script any sort of full-time exit well in advance in order to give fans around the world a chance to enjoy his efforts one more time before he gets off the road and signs his Legends contract. Still, the fact that he acknowledges that he's “slowing down” means talk of the R-word can't be too far behind, with a retirement tour likely coming sooner than some fans may like.

Booker T believes Rey Mysterio's son is WWE's MVP of 2023.

While Rey Mysterio's career is certainly winding down, his biggest legacy within the WWE, his son Dominik Mysterio, is truly coming into his own as a member of the promotion.

Wrestling the second-most matches of any performer on either RAW, SmackDown, or NXT, the younger Mysterio landed a pretty big honor when Booker T named him the MVP of WWE on his Hall of Fame podcast.

“I might be going out there a little bit far, but I truly believe that you can put five guys in the WWE as far as MVP of the year. And Dom is one of those names that I really believe, at the end of that poll Dominic would be the MVP of 2023, bar none. I really believe that this kid changed the whole name of the game and showed what it really, really means to be a performer,” Booker T said on his Hall of Fame podcast via 411 Mania. “Dominic is not — I mean, what he does out of the ring is awesome. But then I turn to what he does inside the ring. He is so freaking uncanny. I talked to my students, and I told them wrestling is not wrong with doing this as long as you do it right. He has all of those elements to where it may not be traditional, but it's right every freaking single time. And that's what I love about watching Dominik do his work in the ring. And like I say, what he's done outside the ring, it hadn't been a whole lot at all. But it's definitely made you feel something… So that's what I mean by performer. He's definitely embracing that part of the game. So a lot of credit to that young kid.”

On one hand, is it a bit premature to give the younger Mysterio such a massive honor? Sure, especially since he's still coming into his own as an in-ring performer, but then again, Booker T has spent a ton of time calling “Dirty Dom's” matches up close during their shared time in NXT; if anyone knows about just how good Rey's son is in the ring and on the mic, it's the former King of the Ring.