Rey Mysterio’s rivalry with CM Punk in 2010 produced one of the more unusual and memorable stipulation matches of its WWE era. At WWE Over the Limit, Mysterio defeated Punk in a Hair vs. Mask match, preserving his own mask and forcing the Straight Edge Society leader to have his head shaved. More than 16 years later, Mysterio has revealed that he still owns a small piece of Punk’s hair from that night.
Speaking with MuscleManMalcolm, Mysterio looked back warmly on his program with Punk, praising the former WWE Champion’s growth and recalling the significance of their stipulation. Mysterio said he keeps some of Punk’s hair in a Ziplock bag marked with the date, following a custom tied closely to lucha libre’s historic apuestas tradition.
“It was a really good learning moment for me, because look where he’s at now. He’s so damn good, man!” Mysterio said of Punk. “It was very fun being able to shave his hair. I actually still have part of his hair in a little Ziplock bag with the date on it, which is what we would do back in Mexico.”
A Lucha Libre Tradition on a WWE Stage
Hair vs. Mask matches, known as Lucha de Apuestas, carry enormous weight in Mexican wrestling. In many cases, the stakes can eclipse championship matches because they involve a wrestler’s identity, image, and legacy. A masked performer who loses must publicly reveal who they are, while a wrestler who puts up their hair is traditionally shaved in front of the crowd after defeat.
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The outcomes often become defining career moments. Wrestlers may spend years building toward an apuestas match, and the defeat can be treated as a permanent turning point rather than a temporary gimmick setback. The act of retaining a piece of the defeated wrestler’s mask or hair is part of the cultural significance attached to those encounters.
Mysterio explained that he learned the practice through his late uncle, Rey Mysterio Sr. For a wrestler whose career has been shaped by lucha libre customs as much as global superstardom, keeping the memento represents more than simply holding onto a prop from a major WWE event. It connects the 2010 match with the traditions that formed him long before he arrived in WWE.
WWE has only occasionally presented the specific Hair vs. Mask premise associated with lucha libre. El Torito and Hornswoggle competed under that stipulation at Payback 2014, but Mysterio and Punk’s encounter at Over the Limit remains the most prominent example involving top-level WWE stars. The story had a natural foundation, as Punk’s Straight Edge Society character was already using forced head-shaving as part of the group’s presentation.
CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society Era
At the time, Punk was in the middle of his Straight Edge Society run, a period that made his anti-alcohol, anti-drug, and anti-smoking persona increasingly controlling and antagonistic. Luke Gallows and Serena were aligned with Punk, and the visual of shaved heads became an important symbol of the group’s demanded obedience. Serena’s shaved head, in particular, was central to the faction’s presentation.
That context made Mysterio’s victory especially fitting. Punk had positioned himself as someone who could impose his beliefs and rules upon others, while Mysterio stood as the resilient opposing figure who refused to surrender his mask. The feud transformed the stipulation into a clear clash of identities: Punk’s hair against Mysterio’s mask.
When Mysterio won at Over the Limit, Punk was left to face the same type of public humiliation and transformation that had been associated with his followers. Punk’s head was shaved after the match, supplying a decisive visual conclusion to the rivalry and one of the defining images from that stage of his WWE career.
The angle also led to another notable wrinkle in Punk’s presentation. Following the shaving, Punk briefly wore a mask to conceal his bald head from fans. It was a striking inversion given that Mysterio’s mask had been the object Punk sought to take in the first place. Punk has since teased the possibility of revisiting that masked look in connection with a potential AAA appearance, giving the old visual an added layer of relevance for lucha libre audiences.
Mysterio Reflects on Punk’s Evolution
Mysterio’s comments were not limited to the hair-cutting payoff. He spoke appreciatively about Punk as a performer and pointed to how much the two had shared across different stages of their careers. Before their WWE rivalry, Mysterio, Punk, and the late Eddie Guerrero were involved in a Triple Threat match on the independent scene.
That history gives Mysterio a perspective that reaches beyond their 2010 WWE feud. He knew Punk before Punk became synonymous with some of the biggest moments and strongest reactions of the modern wrestling era. In praising Punk’s current level, Mysterio framed their WWE program as both a meaningful professional experience and an opportunity to see a fellow wrestler continue to evolve.
Punk’s career has included dramatically different chapters, from his independent wrestling rise to his emergence as a major WWE personality, his time away from the company, and his eventual return. Mysterio’s assessment that Punk is “so damn good” recognizes the longevity and continued effectiveness Punk has shown across those changing circumstances.
For Mysterio, the memories also underscore the unusual nature of a rivalry that was rooted in a classic Mexican stipulation despite taking place in WWE. His mask has always been inseparable from his identity, dating back to his earliest days in the ring. Any story built around putting it at risk naturally carries substantial emotional and historical importance.
The Lasting Meaning of Hair vs. Mask
A mask versus hair bout can be simple to explain, but its emotional logic is exceptionally strong. Both competitors enter with something visibly personal on the line. A hair loss can change a wrestler’s appearance overnight; a mask loss can change the entire way a wrestler is viewed forever. In Mysterio’s case, the mask is not merely ring gear. It is the emblem of a family lineage and a career that has brought lucha libre visibility around the world.
That is why the finish at Over the Limit resonated. Punk was not just defeated in a standard match. He was forced to surrender something that had become an extension of his character during the Straight Edge Society story. Meanwhile, Mysterio protected the symbol that has defined him for generations of fans.
The lock of hair Mysterio still has is a small physical reminder of those stakes. It also reflects the respect embedded in traditional lucha libre. While the stipulation is designed to create humiliation, the memento itself recognizes that the wrestler who puts up their hair or mask has made a significant sacrifice for the match and for the audience.
Mysterio has built a career full of championships, landmark matches, and historic moments, but his recollection of Punk’s hair suggests that the personal details can remain just as vivid as the major accolades. The date-marked bag is a link to one specific night in 2010, to the traditions passed along by Rey Mysterio Sr., and to a rivalry that remains one of WWE’s clearest adaptations of an apuestas match.
For Punk, the shaved head was a temporary look that eventually gave way to the masked concealment angle and later reinventions. For Mysterio, the hair remains preserved as a piece of wrestling history—and as a lasting reminder that even inside WWE, lucha libre’s oldest stakes can still leave a permanent impression.
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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.