As both a former AEW World Tag Team Champion and a two-time Ring of Honor World Champion, Bandido has made a name for himself in recent years as an exciting performer to watch in the ring. Sitting down for an interview with Denise Salcedo, Bandido offered some insight into his biggest inspirations, all of whom are luchadors with innovative offense.

“The first influence was Mistico, then I just became more into the lucha libre world,” Bandido said. “Then Ultimo Guerrero became my idol, which – he is my teacher, which is good. And then I started to watch ‘wrestling’ [instead of lucha libre] and I discovered, ‘Booyaka, booyaka, 619!’ Rey Mysterio Jr., and that was amazing for me. I say, ‘He’s small[er] than me. He is not big like the other wrestlers. … I want to be like him.'”

Bandido then identified Mysterio as not just an inspiration to himself but to many people around the world. Before Mysterio made his return to WWE for his current run, Bandido was able to wrestle Mysterio at the first-ever All In, which took place in 2018. “That was fantastic for me,” Bandido continued. “That was a dream come true.”

Following in the footsteps of his brother, who was already a luchador, Bandido got his start in CMLL around 2011, but he didn’t adopt his current name until 2016. Bandido also revealed that, before he decided on pro wrestling, he wanted to pursue a career as a professional soccer player. He’s far from alone there, as Bandido stated that many children in Mexico want to follow that path before most eventually decide on something else.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.