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Recap of Rey Fenix Interview with Mas Lucha!!! 0

Written By Alfredo Esparza

Rey Fenix +Lucha Interview (10/28/16)

Rey Fenix did a very revealing interview with the Mas Lucha crew recently were he discussed why he left AAA, his name change, returning to the independents, his future with Lucha Underground, his recent shoulder injury as well as other topics pertaining to his career. The interview was conducted from Super Astro’s torta restaurant.

Rey Fenix on leaving AAA:

He was immediately asked why he left AAA. Rey Fenix said he felt that he had done all he could while in AAA and felt it was time for a move career-wise. He also said there were issues with AAA management.

Rey Fenix said, “When you are not happy or comfortable at a place (AAA), you can’t force yourself to keep going. I was not comfortable.”

He said that he wanted to make his departure from AAA done in a professional manner so he wanted to speak to AAA (Roldans) and give them his reasons why he wanted to leave. He told them that he was no longer comfortable there and wanted to return to the indies to try different things. Rey Fenix said he’s the type of luchador that likes to improve and innovate on a daily basis & didn’t want to become lazy in the ring. Rey Fenix said that he wanted to talk more about why he wanted to leave AAA with the Roldans but all he could get with them was a few minutes. He felt the discussion should have gone longer.

Since leaving, Rey Fenix said that AAA has made his life impossible. He said they have done everything possible to keep him from wrestling and its almost gotten to the point were it feels like they want him to retire. He brought up how AAA has gone to box y lucha commissions throughout Mexico, brought up the rights to the name issue and other obstacles in trying to get him to stop wrestling. Rey Fenix has remained positive and feels that it will all turn out okay.

Rey Fenix brought up that there were certain requests he made to AAA last year but he never got anyone from there to talk about them or look into it. He said that he wasn’t asking for much or anything any other luchador would ask for. His feeling was that as a luchador, he sacrifices his body and his family time and that he should at least be well compensated for doing so.

Rey Fenix talked about the difficult travel schedule for AAA. Said it was very difficult to stay in shape because not only were you traveling, but usually there was no hotel to stay at and other conditions that weren’t helpful. He brought up how you could show up at a show or at the AAA offices and the first thing they would do is complain how one looked physically. He said sometimes they would barely have 20 minutes to eat and yet they’d still complain about how they look. He said if they wanted luchadores to be in good condition then they should provide the “tools” and time for them to work on this.

Why the name change?

He said that AAA owned the “Fenix” name and said that he still was having issues over that and leaving with AAA.

Later in the interview, the Mas Lucha crew asked if he planned on sticking with the Rey Fenix name. Jose Manuel Guillen mentioned that there were two other luchadores using the Rey Fenix name that contacted them thru their social media. Rey Fenix said he wasn’t sure if he would keep the name long-term and did not know that there were already other luchadores using that name. He apologized to those other two luchadores.

They asked if he thought about using his first name Mascara Oriental and Rey Fenix said that he liked that name too. Said that he used that name before youtube, twitter, facebook and social media in general became a bigger deal in helping get independent talent more known across the world. Said he, Eterno & Daga were probably the better known indie luchadores at that time.

Later in the interview, they joked that maybe Rey Fenix could do what Caristico did and just combine all his names into one.

Why Rey Fenix didn’t appear at a Veracruz TV taping & Triplemania this year?

Rey Fenix said he was available for both shows. He brought up how he likes to grow both personally and professionally so he felt that the best way to do this was to move to San Diego. He said this move wasn’t just about himself but about his family and bettering their lives as well. (He moved to San Diego earlier this year)

He said that when he told AAA that he had moved to San Diego they got upset about it and came across like he owed it to them to ask them for permission or to be involved in that decision. Rey Fenix mentioned that AAA later called him to let him know plans they had for him. He brought up that he was ready to wrestle on those two events but he never received tickets or an itinerary for either show. He waited for tickets to arrive for those shows and never got them. He said that he would call the AAA office and they would either tell him they were too busy to talk, or they weren’t there, or they wouldn’t answer his phone calls. He said they finally answered his phone call one week later.

Rey Fenix thoughts on his time in AAA

He was thankful and appreciative of what AAA did for his career and also thanked them for the opportunity to be a part of Lucha Underground. However, he said at some point you have to feel good about yourself. He brought up how he felt AAA doesn’t realize that the luchador is the fundamental part of the promotion. He brought up how they have secretaries, office workers, other employees and that its all thanks to the luchadores sacrificing their bodies day-in and day-out.

Rey Fenix talked about opportunities given to luchadores and how its important for those luchadores to make the most of those opportunities by working hard. He mentioned that he knows many luchadores who have been given opportunities only to see them fail or take them for granted.

Rey Fenix on Lucha Underground status

Rey Fenix said that at that moment he did not know. He has had talks with them. He mentioned how right now Season 3 is airing so he hopes to have a meeting with Lucha Underground/El Rey Network officials soon. He said that Lucha Underground was never the problem and that he hoped to continue with them. However Rey Fenix said if Lucha Underground tells him that he needs to return, “enslave himself” (with AAA), that he’d rather remain independent.

Rey Fenix was asked if he can’t continue with Lucha Underground what would he do. His response, “I’m 25 years old. The world isn’t ending. I’ll find something to do in order to move forward.”

He hopes that he can reach an agreement with Lucha Underground because he would not like to leave. He brought up how that is one of the projects that he loves the most and said it was the best thing that has happened to him in his wrestling career. He again repeated that he didn’t want to be a “slave” in AAA. (his term was much more colorful but doesn’t translate well to English)

Rey Fenix on wrestling in the U.S. Indie scene

His eyes got wide when he started talking about wrestling on U.S. indie shows. He talked about teaming with Drago & Aerostar to win the Chikara King of Trios tournament last year over A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks. He brought up how big of stars they beat which led to him saying, “if you don’t know who those guys are, its a shame!”

He talked about his first appearance for PWG and how the fans threw money into the ring. He mentioned that the PWG boss (Super Dragon?) told him that he had not seen that happen on a wrestling show in the U.S. in his 16-17 years in wrestling.

Rey Fenix admitted that those U.S. indie shows were the reason why he moved to the U.S. Also said that the bad travel schedule and being cramped up for hours in a bus, which is the way AAA travels in Mexico, wears on a wrestler’s body.

When talking about the treatment he’s gotten from the various wrestling promotions that he has wrestled for, Rey Fenix said that the wrestling promotions in the U.S., Japan & England all treated him well and then he would return to the promotion that he sought & chose to work for & give them his all and they would treat him poorly.

He was very excited about wrestling Super Crazy on an upcoming Martinez Entertainment show. Said he was feeling butterflies in his stomach because he grew up idolizing Super Crazy.

Rey Fenix on returning to Mexico’s lucha independent scene

He talked about his first match as an independent luchador on The Crash show were he wrestled Mascara Dorada/Gran Metalik. Said Mascara Dorada is a great wrestler and they had a great match.

He then named a few luchadores he’d like to face including Volador Jr., Dragon Lee, Flamita, Solar & Negro Navarro. When speaking of the two maestros he said he’s a big fan of the older luchadores who are still in great shape, look strong and still look like heroes. He mentioned how he recently watched videos of his old trainers Cuchillo & Skayde and even watched a recent match featuring Canek vs. Mil Mascaras from Monterrey. (He actually was happy to watch that last match! Seriously!) He said that he liked watching older luchadores because it brings back memories of what got him to love lucha libre.

Rey Fenix on shoulder injury suffered at the CaraLucha show

Said its a dislocated right shoulder. He was fortunate that there was a hospital across the street from Arena San Juan. He was told that he should rest his shoulder for a few weeks & then rehab. He was disappointed that he would be missing shows due to the injury but said that’s part of being a luchador.

Rey Fenix on whether he’d be interested in joining CMLL

Rey Fenix brought up how early in his career his trainer Cuchillo took him and 2 others (Ares & Niño de Fuego) to go train in Arena Mexico. A few days prior to them going to train at Arena Mexico, they had already spoken to Konnan. AAA had sent them an invite for a tryout and a chance to train with Apache. Since AAA reached out first, they went there.

He said every luchador dreams of stepping into Arena Mexico and wrestling there. He said that it is still a dream of his and believes that someday he will fulfill it.

Has Rey Fenix spoken to other luchadores who left AAA recently?

He said that he had a lot of respect for those who left before he did because he had to deal with hearing constant career “threats”. (i.e. “you’ll never make it on your own”) He brought up speaking to one of the luchadores who left AAA and that they came to the same points as to why they left.

Rey Fenix upcoming schedule

Rey Fenix mentioned that he would be returning to action in time for the 11/18 Muchas Luchas show in Guadalajara, the 11/19 CaraLucha show in Arena San Juan, 11/20 for DTU and 11/26 for The Crash in Tijuana. Bernardo Guzman revealed that the main event for CaraLucha would be Rey Fenix vs. Volador Jr. vs. Flamita. Rey Fenix asked how he knew that and Bernardo told him that he recalls it being announced after the last show. Rey Fenix told him that he wasn’t sure, which led to Bernardo saying they probably announced it while you were in the hospital.

Rey Fenix said he had the utmost respect for Volador Jr. and looked forward to that match. The two have never faced. He also said Volador Jr. was someone who influenced him while growing up watching lucha.

Rey Fenix then said he had U.S. appearances coming up for AAW (most recent one was cancelled due to injury), PromoLucha in New York, Mucha Lucha Atlanta, and PWG. Said PWG in December.

He also mentioned his schedule outside of Mexico & the U.S. saying he had tours scheduled for January 2017 in Australia, Germany & England.

In closing the interview they asked Rey Fenix if its difficult that half his family is still with AAA. (in reference to Pentagon Jr.) Rey Fenix said it was very difficult but the family is still very united. Rey Fenix joked that if he had to talk about the current family situation then the interview would go a lot longer.

El Monje bet Rey Fenix by telling him if he could finish of Super Astro’s Mega Tortas in 20 minutes, the torta would be free. Rey Fenix said he had already tried that in the past so he turned down the bet. He later joked that they should give him one of those giant tortas since it could feed him an entire week.

For more info on Rey Fenix, he’s on twitter & facebook.

Mas Lucha crew thanked Rey Fenix for his time. Really good interview.