Curt Hawkins Is Right About Rey Mysterio's Value to WWE

Former WWE wrestler Curt Hawkins (real name Brian Myers), now a mainstay on the independent circuit, pointed a spotlight at Rey Mysterio's quiet exit from the company. He is 100 percent right about Mysterio's greatness and that WWE loses out by not having him in the fold.

In an interview with Alex Obert of Journey of a Frontman, Myers said:

"

Rey Mysterio is hands down the greatest luchador of all time. If you want to dispute that, tweet me. I don't think anyone else is comparable. He's the most successful, he's the most talented, he is an absolutely special performer. I think it's a huge loss for WWE and a huge gain for all of us wrestlers that get to be around him and have him on our shows and learn from him and work with him. It's just a win.

"

Mysterio hadn't performed for WWE in nearly a year when the saga involving his contract ended, freeing him to return to Mexico.

Lucha Underground and Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion (AAA) now get the honor of hosting Mysterio in the twilight of his career. While the high-flyer is slower and not nearly as explosive as he was in his prime, his name power will be a boost for those promotions while WWE scours the wrestling world for his replacement.

Myers is spot-on about how special Mysterio is, that you simply can't compare him to anyone else.

At his peak, he was almost superhuman, a blur darting between the ropes and leaping in the air. He served as a bridge between lucha libre and American-style pro wrestling, introducing new fans to the kind of electric offense that is commonplace in Mexico.

Beyond his physical gifts, he managed to create a lasting bond with fans.

The athleticism of wrestlers like Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis didn't translate to the level of adoration that Mysterio earned. Other luchadores didn't convince WWE decision-makers to buck tradition and have a man their size win the company's top titles; Mysterio did.

With several steps lost or not, Mysterio was still a valuable asset to the company. He helped WWE tap into the Latino demographic, especially the youngsters. And as the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestleView.com) noted last year, Mysterio still sold more merchandise than almost anyone else in the company.

Now that a tumultuous relationship between promotion and wrestler has ended, WWE is minus The Biggest Little Man.

It can't use him as a spokesman, a tag team specialist or a mentor to young stars. He's instead a boon for AAA and whoever else he works with in the near future. 

It's a loss that WWE would have had to deal with eventually. Even if he didn't fight to get out from under his contract and wrestle in Mexico, he couldn't have had many years left in him.

Just as WWE is struggling to find the next John Cena, it has yet to find a new Mysterio to plug in. 

Mistico was supposed to do just that when he came in as Sin Cara, but injuries and an inability to adjust to the WWE style cut his tenure short. The new Sin Cara has done better than Mistico, but he most certainly hasn't had a Mysterio-like impact.

WWE has to hope that NXT's Kalisto can fill the Mysterio-sized void.

His quickness and spring in his legs remind one of Mysterio's early days, but the company has to wait and see if he can develop a fanbase as loud, large and willing to buy merchandise as Mysterio's.

You just don't replace someone like The Ultimate Underdog with just the next masked high-flyer. Men with the "greatest of all time" label don't come around often.