Rey may have had some success against larger men in the past, but none as agile & downright nasty as Vader.
Um, Bam Bam Bigelow?
You know, it's funny that this thread has devolved into a circle jerk of a 400 pound stiff bloke who really needs a lesson in how to not hurt his opponents, talking about what Rey can't do to Vader. Because it seems to me, Rey did something Vader never did.
Make it to the top of the WWE. Vader, for all we talk him up, had his chance to wrestle for the top wrestling company at the time, and was an abject disappointment. Whether it be choking in the clutch against Shawn Michaels (a guy similar to Rey), being made to be Kane's baby back bitch, or just all out dicking around in the mid card, Vader had a shitty stint, when he got the chance to join WWE. He is, and I mean this with all of the humor of a switchblade, a really big fish, in a small pond.
Hell, even in WCW, you could argue that when the best options were around to wrestle, Vader fell short when it really mattered. Against Ric Flair? Choked. Against Hulk Hogan? Choked. The only person that Vader beat that really impresses me is Sting. That's it. Without Sting, Vader is a massive jobber to the stars; he is King Kong Bundy.
And, while we're at it; Vader has some losses where you can argue Vader came in overconfident, and got upset. He came in overconfident against Ron Simmons, and lost the WCW title. He came in overconfident against Ric Flair at Starrcade, and lost the title. He came in overconfident against Shawn Michaels, and lost his big chance at the WWF title. Sure, when Vader is focused, he looks great. When he isn't focused, he loses to a debuting Edge on Sunday Night Heat, and a sparingly used Bradshaw. Vader is a bully, one who when he isn't prepared, comes up making a fool of himself. And this is the perfect kind of opponent to have that happen against.
Professionally, for as much as we make out of Vader, he's a guy who really doesn't get that the main point of professional wrestling is to make your moves look like they hurt, without actually hurting the man you work with. And spare me that whole Japanese hard style crap:
1. Vader was trained over here in America, by Brad Rhenigans
2. Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero also spent plenty of time working in Japan, and not one person has complained that either men are stiff, so it's not an excise that just because you worked Japan, you get to be stiff with everyone.
Meanwhile, Rey has made it to the top if professional wrestling, and he did it by proving that his speed and agility can get him through matches. His whole career is built on doing the impossible. He's won a world title in WWE, something I can never say for Vader, and you know what? He also proved himself to be a draw in Mexico and in WWE, something Vader didn't do while in WWE. And actually, I'm not so sure Vader even proved it, in general.
In the long run, Rey Mysterio means more to the world of wrestling than Vader does. Rey Mysterio will be remembered as a guy who tells magnificent stories in the ring, and as one of the greatest babyfaces of all time.
Vader? He'll be remembered as a good to great wrestler, but also a guy who never lived up to his full potential, and when pushed to the biggest stage, was an abysmal failure. While Rey thrived, Vader proved a complete disappointment