Rey Mysterio believes The Undertaker’s impact behind the scenes in AAA comes from a quality wrestling fans saw throughout his legendary in-ring career: an ability to understand exactly what a situation requires.
Speaking in a new interview, Mysterio addressed The Undertaker’s involvement in AAA creative following WWE’s acquisition of the lucha libre promotion roughly a year and a half ago. Mysterio, who serves as AAA general manager, described The Undertaker as fundamentally unchanged despite the transition from performer to a key voice in the creative process.
“He’s really the same person. There’s really no change,” Mysterio said.
For Mysterio, the most revealing aspect of working with The Undertaker in AAA has been seeing the thought process that viewers could often sense, but not fully see, during The Undertaker’s decades at the top of WWE. Whether he was working with Kane, The Great Khali, John Cena, or Mysterio himself, The Undertaker developed a reputation for approaching each opponent and each major match as its own challenge.
For more background on this topic, read Rey Mysterio Has No Retirement Date in Mind as WWE and AAA Roles Keep Him Energized.
Mysterio said that same mindset is now evident in the way The Undertaker contributes to AAA. In his view, the former WWE champion understands the appropriate direction, timing, and motivation for a story or wrestling situation, and he is applying that knowledge to the company’s creative identity.
“He knows where, when, and why, and I believe that’s what he’s applying in AAA,” Mysterio said.
A Veteran’s Approach to Creative
The Undertaker’s career was built on longevity, evolution, and a rare ability to retain the core of his character while adapting to changing eras. From the supernatural presentation of his early years to the more grounded “American Badass” period and the later version of The Deadman, his work changed with the circumstances around him without losing the sense of importance that made the character distinctive.
That experience naturally carries value in a creative role. Wrestling television requires more than simply arranging matches. It requires an understanding of character, conflict, escalation, crowd reaction, pacing, and payoff. A performer must know when a moment needs to be given room, when an angle needs urgency, and when a wrestler’s actions should speak more loudly than a lengthy explanation.
Mysterio’s comments suggest that The Undertaker’s role in AAA is not defined by trying to recreate his own past. Instead, Mysterio sees him bringing an established method of preparation and situational awareness to a different setting. That distinction is meaningful for AAA, a promotion with deep lucha libre traditions and a roster that has its own style, history, and audience expectations.
The Undertaker’s major rivalries covered a wide range of opponents, and Mysterio specifically pointed to Kane, Khali, Cena, and himself. Each presented a different kind of match and story. Kane was The Undertaker’s longtime storyline brother and one of his most enduring foils. Khali was a physically imposing attraction whose size shaped the presentation of their encounters. Cena represented a different generation of WWE’s leading stars. Mysterio brought speed, agility, and a lucha-influenced style that stood apart from the larger opponents associated with many Undertaker programs.
By naming such varied opponents, Mysterio highlighted why he views The Undertaker’s current work as a continuation rather than a reinvention. The Undertaker had to find the right approach for distinct personalities and distinct physical styles throughout his career. Mysterio believes he is now using that same ability in the broader context of AAA’s creative direction.
AAA’s Identity and Its WWE Era
AAA occupies a prominent place in Mexican wrestling, with a legacy built around high-flying lucha libre, colorful characters, generational rivalries, and an atmosphere different from conventional American wrestling television. The company’s relationship with WWE has created new attention around its direction, as well as understandable interest in how established WWE figures may influence a promotion with such a strong preexisting identity.
Mysterio’s role as general manager makes his perspective especially notable. Few performers have a more natural connection to lucha libre’s global growth than Mysterio, whose career has included work across Mexico and the United States while helping demonstrate that smaller, faster wrestlers could become major attractions on wrestling’s biggest stages.
His assessment of The Undertaker is therefore not merely the perspective of a former colleague recalling a respected locker-room leader. It comes from someone working within AAA’s current structure and observing how The Undertaker handles creative discussions in the present.
Mysterio did not offer specific examples of particular AAA angles or matches shaped by The Undertaker. He also did not lay out a detailed description of The Undertaker’s formal responsibilities. His comments were centered instead on approach: a recognition that The Undertaker’s instincts as a performer remain visible in the way he works behind the scenes.
That framing may be particularly important for a company navigating growth and increased visibility. A creative process benefits from people who can identify the purpose behind a proposed match or storyline. The central question is not only what happens, but why it happens at that point and what it is meant to accomplish for the wrestlers involved.
Mysterio’s “where, when, and why” description captures that philosophy. A major angle can lose force if it arrives before a rivalry has developed. A match can be diminished if its participants do not have a clear reason to fight. A character can struggle to connect if the audience is not given a coherent sense of who that wrestler is and what they want. The Undertaker’s in-ring career repeatedly required him to navigate those questions on an enormous stage.
The Value of Perspective
There is also a difference between being a creative decision-maker and being an active wrestler who must make those decisions work in real time. The Undertaker spent years operating under that pressure. He had to help deliver stories in front of live crowds, adjust to opponents with different levels of experience, and maintain the credibility of one of wrestling’s most protected characters.
Mysterio’s comments indicate that the qualities which made The Undertaker dependable in that environment have carried over into AAA. The knowledge may be expressed differently now, but the underlying process remains recognizable to someone who shared the ring with him.
For wrestlers in AAA, having access to a veteran perspective can be valuable without requiring everyone to become a version of the person offering the advice. The most productive creative guidance helps a performer sharpen what already makes them compelling. In AAA’s case, that means supporting the promotion’s own lucha libre strengths while making stories and moments as clear and effective as possible.
Mysterio did not present The Undertaker as someone operating differently simply because he is no longer wrestling full-time. Quite the opposite: he portrayed him as the same person whose preparation was visible whenever he encountered a new rival. The stage has changed, but Mysterio sees the same attention to detail and awareness of purpose.
Mysterio Also Addresses Retirement
Elsewhere in the interview, Mysterio discussed his own eventual retirement from the ring. The WWE Hall of Famer did not set a firm timetable, saying he intends to “wing it” rather than commit publicly to a precise final date.
That answer fits a career that has repeatedly defied assumptions about how long it could continue. Mysterio has remained one of wrestling’s most recognizable figures through several generations, adapting his style and presentation while continuing to connect with audiences. His role with AAA adds another chapter to a career closely intertwined with the broader history and international influence of lucha libre.
For now, Mysterio’s comments about The Undertaker provide a glimpse into the working relationship between two iconic performers whose shared history spans some of WWE’s biggest eras. In AAA, their contributions are no longer limited to what happens between the ropes. Mysterio sees The Undertaker bringing the same calculated understanding of opponents, timing, and story that made him such a defining in-ring presence.
As AAA continues through its current era, Mysterio’s description offers a clear view of what he believes The Undertaker adds to the promotion: not a departure from the man fans knew, but an extension of the instincts that shaped his career.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.