Rey Mysterio's career comes full circle at Triplemania 23

Rey Mysterio has been on the big stage before.

The pint-sized luchador with a lion-sized heart from San Diego has performed in football stadiums full of fans, and has put on performances that left those fans awe-inspired.

Being on a worldwide stage does not rattle the former world champion.

He'll step onto the big stage on Sunday, Aug. 9 in Mexico City when he headlines Triplemania 23, the biggest event for Mexican lucha libre promotion Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion (AAA).

For Mysterio (born Oscar Gutierrez), who took part in the inaugural Triplemania back in 1993, this is no ordinary main event, as he is participating in what is being billed as a dream match. Mysterio, arguably the most famous luchador of all time, will go one-on-one with a man that rivals his popularity in Mexico, Myzteziz (formerly WWE's Sin Cara).

No championship titles will be at stake, but this match has more prestige than any title could bring.

This is more than just a match. It is a spectacle in which two legends will attempt to define their legacies by finding out who is the best on the biggest stage in lucha libre history.

"There is a lot of animosity building up to this match and egos," Mysterio told philly.com. "This is definitely a match that was created by the fans. The fans, after murmuring and speaking so much about who would be the best -- either Myzteziz or Rey -- it's finally here.

"It's not just a wrestling event; it's a cultural event," he said of Triplemania. "You see the masks. You see the outfits. You see the colors. You see the capes. This brings a whole different theme to the industry of wrestling."

While Mysterio will carry all of the good that comes with his legacy into his match with Myzteziz, he will also carry some of the bad. Back on March 20, Mysterio was in a tag-team match in Tijuana, Mexico. One of his opponents was lucha libre star and friend Perro Aguayo Jr.

In what can be explained only as a freak accident, Aguayo's body went limp in the ring after he took a routine dropkick from Mysterio.

Upon realizing something was legitimately wrong with Aguayo, paramedics took him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 35.

Unfortunately, Aguayo wasn't the first friend of Mysterio's to die in tragic fashion, but this one hit him especially hard, as he was in the ring when the tragedy occurred.

"When somebody gets hurt in the ring, you never, never, I mean it doesn't even cross your mind that it's death," he said. "You always think of the worst. Maybe a neck injury, you name it, a torn ligament or et cetera, but you never imagine that it would come to this. It was very impactful on myself, on my kids, on my wife."

"It was a hard moment to try to cope with, but I tell you what, the fans were incredible … incredible," he added. "Their support was unconditional, and that helped me out a lot. Perro's family is incredible. Once they understood that this was an accident, there was nothing but a lot of weight taken off my shoulders. That really helped me cope with this, as well."

Through it all, Mysterio has remained strong as he prepares for one of the biggest matches of his career at Triplemania.

And Mysterio has indeed been through it all. From working his way to stardom in Mexico to bursting onto the American wrestling scene in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling to becoming a worldwide star in WWE. Along the way, Mysterio has gained a lot of friends and, unfortunately, has lost a few.

But Mysterio carries all of that good and bad into a match that could cement his legacy as the greatest luchador ever in a match that takes place where his career started.

Mysterio has been here before, but things are a little different this time. He's a little different this time, but his desire to push the boundaries of what people thought were humanly possible has not.

Mysterio on his post-WWE life

Since he left WWE back in February, Mysterio said that he's been enjoying having more time to spend with his family and to take advantage of various opportunities.

"This is something I've wanted for quite some time now — a little bit of freedom and rest for my body," Mysterio said.

"I think I made the right choice at the right time as far as wanting to heal my body and be around my family and my kids and my wife. Going back to a normal lifestyle," he added. "Again, I'm very thankful for the years that I was in WWE, for the opportunity, for the success that was made in WWE, but I needed to think about myself."

"I do recall at one point being part of WWE and other guys taking the risk of stepping away and a lot of guys don't do it because of the fear that it's not going to be the same. Being part of WWE is beautiful. You're on the biggest stage of them all, you're living well, you're making good money, and the only flipside to that is that you're on the grind and you've got to be committed. You've got to make sure to understand what being on the grind is."

"My intentions were never to leave to go look for work outside [the company]. My intentions were to leave to enjoy my life, my family time and all of a sudden opportunities started to come my way once they knew that I was out. There is a lot of things out here that sometimes you don't realize because you're inside the circle, but once you're out, there's a lot of things that pop up and you'd be surprised."