Rey Mysterio Talks WWE 2K14 And His Upcoming Return

WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio spoke to us today over the phone to promote the release of WWE 2K14. The interview covers the game, his recovery from injury, recent appearances at house shows, changes to in-ring style, and who he'd like to work with (hint: he seems very interested in tag teams).

Out of all the wrestling games you’ve appeared in over your long career, what stands out about WWE 2K14?

WWE tries to outdo itself every year. And it just gets better and better as time moves forward to how realistic the games have become. Now [it's got a bigger roster] with all the modes that it has. [There's] Beat the Streak Mode with the Undertaker. If you haven’t seen Taker beaten in Wrestlemania, now you can try and do it yourself. 

How has it been working with 2K Sports compared to THQ, which had the WWE license for many years?

Like I said, WWE tries to outdo itself every year. There’s a reason why WWE and 2K have united, and that’s to make this better and better. So this is the first year. You can only imagine how it’s going to keep moving forward. When you've seen WWE video games in the past and you’ve enjoyed them and you thought the quality was great, get ahold of the new game that comes out today, and you’re really going to realize how realistic and how incredible all the features are. 

You've worked some dark matches in Mexico and Mississippi. How has it felt getting back in the ring after being out since February with your knee injury?

It felt good to hear the crowd, just to interact with the fans has been incredible – especially at my partial return in Mexico two weeks ago. I tried to wrestle two days out of the four that we were on tour over there to kind of test out the knee. In Mississippi, I was able to do a run-in in one of the matches between R-Truth and [Alberto] Del Rio. I still feel a bit insecure about the knee so I’m just going back to therapy to make sure that it's at 100 percent before I establish my complete return. 

You called the matches at the Spanish announce table last night at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. How was it being behind the table?

That was a new experience for me. That was incredible. It was so hard to be so close to the action and not be a part of it. I’m not used to being so close to that action and not getting a taste of it. I had an incredible time being able to commentate and see my colleagues go at it and perform at their best. At the same time, they were so close it was tempting. Very tempting. 

The WWE landscape is always changing. Things are a lot different than they were back in February. Who would you most want to challenge when you’re ready to return to the ring?

Yesterday, I got a chance to very much enjoy that tag team title match. The Usos are on fire. I thought that the six Superstars that performed in that match were incredible. Definitely The Shield, definitely like to get a piece of them as well.  Cody Rhodes and I have a history. Goldust, [I've] never been able to do something with him. Daniel Bryan as well. There’s so much talent coming forward and pushing really strong that there’s definitely a lot of good matches out there for Rey Mysterio. 

How do you think the recovering knee injury will affect your in-ring style?

I’ll definitely have to evolve and create moves that I can accomplish without hurting or damaging my knee any more. It’s easier said than done, but it’s not impossible. I have been working on newer stuff that I can perform at a Rey Mysterio level just without so much landing and tweaking and forcing that left knee. 

Any message for the fans?

I just want to thank all the Rey Mysterio fans, all the WWE fans from the bottom of my heart for being loyal, for supporting our product. Remember to pick up your 2K14, which goes on sale today, and to relive all the Wrestlemania moments or any moment that you would like to live -- especially if you’re a hardcore WWE fan.