Rey Fenix Beats Nathan Frazer in WWE Debut on SmackDown After AEW Exit

After weeks of teaser vignettes, Rey Fenix made his WWE debut on Friday night's episode of SmackDown.

Fenix defeated Nathan Frazer in a fast-paced, high-flying match.

He ended up getting the win with a Mexican Muscle Buster (MMB).

Afterward, Fenix was interviewed in the ring, where he expressed his sheer excitement for his new era in WWE.

His match didn't go unnoticed, though. Following Fenix's promo, Legado Del Fantasma was seen backstage watching the proceedings. Berto made clear that he thought he could take Fenix, and Santos Escobar said he'd talk to SmackDown GM Nick Aldis to get a match done.

Fenix, 34, has long been regarded as one of the top luchadores on the planet, which has been on full display over the past several years in multiple American pro wrestling companies.

In 2014, Fenix burst onto the scene as part of Lucha Underground, emerging as a one-time Lucha Underground champion and one of the promotion's top stars.

Fenix parlayed that success into stints with Impact Wrestling and Major League Wrestling, and he became an even bigger star in his native Mexico with AAA and CMLL.

In 2019, Fenix and his real-life brother, Penta, signed with AEW, and they spent most of their time in the promotion as a tag team known as the Lucha Bros.

Fenix and Penta held the AEW World Tag Team Championships and AEW World Trios Championships one time each, plus they were ROH world tag team champions once during their AEW tenure.

Additionally, Fenix had a brief run as international champion, which he won from Jon Moxley before dropping it to Orange Cassidy about a month later.

After his AEW contract expired, Penta made his WWE debut on a January episode of Raw, and it was widely expected that Fenix would soon join him in WWE.

However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlePurists) reported that AEW added injury time to Fenix's contract, totaling nearly one year in length.

AEW conceivably could have kept Fenix under contract until late 2025, but something changed last month, as PWInsider.com (h/t WrestlePurists) reported that Fenix received his release from AEW, making him a free agent.

WWE apparently worked quickly to sign Fenix, as vignettes hyping his debut began airing on SmackDown within the same month.

Now, Fenix is officially part of WWE, adding to an already impressive roster of luchadores that includes Penta, Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee, among others.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.