Rey Mysterio reveals Aalyah's wrestling training plans, AJ Lee's return uncertain

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Rey Mysterio holds hands with his daughter Aalyah in front of a new San Diego mural honoring the WWE Hall of Famer and lucha libre. | Credit: M. G0MEZ You know it, because you hear it every time Cody Rhodes makes an entrance. No, not “hard times breed better men” or even “Whoa-OH”. We’re talking the “wrestling has more than one royal family” intro bit. Well, turns out… There is another… She didn’t mention it when speaking with our own M. G0MEZ last year before Survivor Series, but that occasion wasn’t about Aalyah Mysterio. It was about her father Rey, their hometown of San Diego, and the tradition of lucha libre. WWE fans first met when she was hiding behind her dad as CM Punk menaced her on her birthday in 2010, and who we were reintroduced to as a 19-year-old ten years later when she had a storyline affair with Buddy Murphy (now Matthews) as part of one of her brother Dominik’s early WWE programs. Aalyah apparently caught the bug the same way Dom did, and spent a couple stints working out at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida since graduating college last year. Rey recorded an episode of Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast last month that was just released yesterday (June 10). On it, he revealed that Aalyah’s second time at the PC was a two-week stay that went so well it sounds like she’s headed there full-time soon: “She graduated in July of last year. That’s from UCSD [University of California San Diego], human biology. Showed me the diploma and goes, ‘Okay, I’m ready’ Took her up in October of last year — she loved it. Sent her again this year, February, for two weeks — she loved it. And now we are in May and she’s getting ready to go up there and establish herself at the PC.” The WWE Hall of Famer told his fellow Hall of Famer he didn’t think his kids would follow him into the business, but he’s happy they have: “I’m excited. If you would have told me, ‘Your kids are going to grow up and become wrestlers, both of them.’ Ehh, think you’re wrong. The cool thing is, I’ve never pushed the sport down their throat. It’s all came out of them. Like, they wanted to be a part of this.” While her brother’s training got attention, he did a fair amount of it outside the WWE system before arriving for good beside his dad in 2019-2020. If she signs a developmental deal and comes up through the WWE system, Aalyah will have a pretty bright spotlight on her — and no small amount of pressure to live up to the family name. On Six Feet Under, Taker and Michelle McCool even fantasy booked a marquee match for Aalyah — her and her father against Dirty Dom and Liv Morgan. We’ll see if we ever get that mixed tag (Rey’s health may be more of an issue than Aalyah’s acumen). However her career goes, we wish Aalyah the best, and look forward to chronicling her rise. More rumors! It doesn’t sound like AJ Lee will be back in WWE for a little while yet. The former Women’s Intercontinental champion has been since WrestleMania 42 — the same amount of time as husband CM Punk (if you missed the latest on his absence from yesterday, head here). During their live Fightful Select show this week, WrestleVotes said “Lee isn’t expected to return to WWE imminently.” In posts on her Instagram, Janel Grant denied being the source of the anonymous emails which prompted the WWE board’s 2022 investigation into Vince McMahon’s hush money payments to multiple women. SmackDown goes back to two-hours after Fri., June 26’s Night of Champions go home, which will tape in London on Tues., June 23. Word on that came our way from Wrestling Observer Radio, and its companion Newsletter recently reported that the show will alternate being three-hours long from January-June each year, and an hour shorter from July-December. It’s not clear if that’s specified in WWE’s media rights deal for SmackDown here in the United States with NBCUniversal, but Dave Meltzer writes that current plans call for the show to stick to that schedule for a third-straight year in 2027. His booking for Forbidden Door gives AEW some room to work even though word is MJF will be fine by that June 28 PPV. But the AEW World champ said on Instagram that even though he has a “shit ton” of inflammation in his hyperextended knee, he doesn’t expect to miss any television time. On the same date as that cross-promotional event, NXT will hold this year’s Great American Bash. Lines are up for the early matches at sites like betonline, and Lola Vice is currently being given a 63% chance to retain the NXT Women’s title over Kendal Grey, while Tony D’Angelo is getting a 72% chance to retain the men’s belt over Naraku. Regarding NXT, there’s no shortage of speculation that former NXT Women’s champ Tatum Paxley could be on her way to the main roster after she dropped the Women’s North American title to Zaria on this week’s show. WWE Performance Center coach Terry Taylor will be having knee surgery soon, which will cause him to miss at least one July booking. That per Mike Johnson of PWInsider. Make your predictions for the Mysterio Dynasty in the comments below, where you can chat about that or any of these rumors. You can also always offer your takes to your fellow wrestling fans in The Feed!