Legendary luchador Rey Misterio Sr. has passed away at the age of 66, his family announced Friday morning.
The announcement came via a Facebook post from his son, who wrestles as El Hijo De Rey Misterio Lopez. His passing was also acknowledged by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, which posted a statement on Instagram.
"The Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide family joins in solidarity for the sensitive passing of Miguel Ángel López Días, also know as Rey Misterio Sr.," the statement reads in part, translated from Spanish. "We send our most sincere condolences to his loved ones and raise our prayers to heaven for his eternal rest."
Misterio is the uncle of WWE wrestler, Rey Mysterio. His great-nephew, Dominik Mysterio, is also signed with WWE. The younger Mysterio paid tribute to his great-uncle on Instagram across two posts. The first showed a number of old promotion photos from Misterio Sr's career.
The second was an Instagram reel showing highlights from a number of matches.
In addition to training his son and nephew, Misterio also trained a number of other famous international wrestlers such as Halloween and Hayabusa.
Misterio made his wrestling debut in January 1976 on a show called "Day of the Kings." From there, he would go on to wrestle with multiple promotions, including Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Pro Wrestling Revolution, and the World Wrestling Association.
He would also win multiple titles across the different promotions, including the IWC World Middleweight Championship, a title he held twice.
Despite formally retiring in 2009, Misterio's final match took place in April 2023 in Spring Valley, California. According to Cagematch, it was a six-man tag-team match where he, along with Aero Star and Mr. Iguana, defeated Hereje, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, and Nightmare Azteca.
At time of reporting, a cause of death has not been announced.
