WWE has reportedly covered the cost of hip replacement surgery for veteran luchador Dionicio Castellanos, the influential performer best known internationally as Psicosis and in Mexico as Nicho el Millonario.
The surgery was believed to cost approximately $44,000. WWE President Nick Khan was reportedly involved in the decision to have the company pay for the procedure, with Castellanos’ WWE Legends contract also playing a role in making the support possible. The effort was described as having been spearheaded by Rey Mysterio, one of Castellanos’ defining rivals and contemporaries.
While Psicosis’ direct WWE run was relatively brief, his impact on the style that later became a major part of WWE’s cruiserweight and lucha libre presentation is much broader. His body of work in Mexico, Japan, ECW, WCW, and WWE made him one of the most recognizable masked wrestlers of his generation. The reported assistance also reflects the enduring personal and professional bond between Castellanos and Mysterio, whose rivalry helped introduce a wider North American audience to a faster, more aerial form of wrestling during the 1990s.
A major rivalry across multiple promotions
Psicosis and Mysterio wrestled one another across several important stages of their careers. Their rivalry extended through AAA, Japan’s WAR promotion, ECW, and WCW, allowing both men to develop their reputations in front of audiences with very different expectations and wrestling cultures.
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For many fans, their most famous encounter came at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996. Psicosis and Rey Mysterio opened that event in a match still widely remembered for its pace, innovation, and influence. The show itself is historically associated with the formation of the New World Order, but the opening bout became a landmark showcase for cruiserweight wrestling. It was an early indication that WCW’s lighter-weight division could deliver matches that stood apart from the company’s heavyweight-centered main-event picture.
The significance of the match was not limited to the individual spots or athleticism on display. Mysterio and Psicosis brought years of familiarity into the ring, and that familiarity made their work feel urgent rather than merely flashy. Their meetings were built on a shared lucha libre foundation, but each wrestler approached that foundation differently. Mysterio’s speed and explosiveness contrasted with Psicosis’ intensity, physicality, and willingness to take dramatic risks.
Those matches helped create a larger platform for luchadores in the United States. They also helped establish a template for future generations of wrestlers who combined high-flying offense with a more globally influenced approach to match structure. Mysterio would ultimately become one of the most decorated and enduring stars in WWE history, but Psicosis remained an essential part of the story of Mysterio’s rise.
Psicosis’ career stretched far beyond WWE
Castellanos’ career was never defined solely by his time in WWE. He built his name as Psicosis in lucha libre, became a recognizable international performer during the 1990s, and continued to work in Mexico long after his major United States television appearances.
Among his notable accomplishments, Psicosis won the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship twice. Those reigns came during an era when WCW’s cruiserweight division was one of the most acclaimed components of weekly American wrestling television. The division featured performers from Mexico, Japan, and across the United States, and Psicosis was an important figure within that environment.
His achievements in Mexico included two reigns as Mexican National Welterweight Champion. He also held the AAA World Tag Team Championship alongside Joe Lider. The partnership with Joe Lider was part of another phase of Castellanos’ career, illustrating how he continued evolving after his better-known WCW years and remained relevant to fans in Mexico.
Psicosis’ ability to work in a variety of settings was a key feature of his longevity. He could perform under the traditions of Mexican lucha libre, adapt for American television, work Japanese tours, and deliver a more violent or chaotic style when a promotion’s presentation called for it. That versatility was particularly valuable in an era when international performers did not always have the same access to worldwide television platforms that wrestlers have today.
He also wrestled during periods in which lucha libre stars were regularly asked to prove that their style could connect outside Mexico. Psicosis was one of the performers who did exactly that. His matches made an impression not simply because of spectacular dives or inventive sequences, but because he brought a distinctive personality and edge to the ring.
The WWE chapter: The Mexicools
Psicosis did eventually work for WWE, appearing with the company from 2005 to 2006. During that run, he was aligned with Juventud Guerrera and Super Crazy in the group known as The Mexicools.
The stable remains a controversial part of WWE history because of elements of its presentation. Even so, the group brought together three experienced lucha libre performers who had each already made names for themselves before arriving in WWE. Castellanos, Guerrera, and Super Crazy had overlapping histories from the Mexican scene, ECW, and WCW, giving them a natural chemistry as a unit.
Juventud Guerrera was also central to Psicosis’ larger career story. Along with Mysterio, Guerrera was one of his most notable rivals from the early years of his rise. The three Mexicools members therefore represented a group of wrestlers with deep connections to the lucha libre boom that had affected promotions on both sides of the border.
Although Psicosis’ WWE tenure did not last long, the reported decision to cover his surgery cost is notable because he has not been an active WWE-associated performer for decades. His inclusion under a Legends contract provides an ongoing formal connection to the company, but the role reportedly played by Mysterio gives the situation an added personal dimension.
Hip injury ended his active in-ring career
Psicosis continued competing in Mexico until roughly two years ago, when a hip injury required emergency surgery. The injury ultimately brought a halt to his active wrestling career after decades spent performing a physically demanding style.
High-impact lucha libre can be especially punishing over a long career. Wrestlers such as Psicosis routinely absorb hard landings, aerial offense, dives to the floor, and the accumulated wear of constant travel and frequent matches. A hip issue severe enough to require emergency surgery represented a major turning point for a performer whose career had been built around mobility, explosiveness, and a willingness to push physical limits.
Later that same year, Castellanos was inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame. The honor recognized a career that reached well beyond any one company or character. As Psicosis, he was a standout rival for Mysterio, a decorated champion in WCW, and a memorable figure during a pivotal era for lucha libre’s international visibility. As Nicho el Millonario, he remained a familiar presence for Mexican wrestling audiences.
The reported WWE support for his hip replacement surgery arrives as another acknowledgment of that legacy. It also underscores the way relationships forged in the ring can endure long after a rivalry has ended. Mysterio and Psicosis spent years trying to defeat one another in some of the most influential cruiserweight and lucha libre matches of the 1990s. Decades later, Mysterio was reportedly instrumental in ensuring his former opponent received help with a major medical procedure.
For fans who remember their AAA, ECW, WAR, and WCW encounters, the story is a reminder that Psicosis was never simply a supporting figure in Rey Mysterio’s career. He was a major star in his own right, an athlete whose work helped make a generation of lucha libre performers impossible for the broader wrestling world to ignore.
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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.