While it’s easy to dismiss the popularity of soccer if you were born and raised in the United States, objective analysis would tell you that Manchester United is one of the most iconic entities in all of the sports. Manchester United’s legacy dates back to 1878, 140 years ago, and in 2017, Forbes reported that Man Utd is the most valuable soccer team on the planet with a $3.69 billion valuation. Manchester United is an institution.
WWE icon and current wrestling free agent, Rey Mysterio, is a huge Manchester United fan. This news will probably turn Mysterio heel to a lot of wrestling fans in the United Kingdom, but you can’t manufacture this kind of fandom.
Mysterio’s status as a walking wrestling legend earned himself a pretty inclusive tour of Manchester United’s historic stadium, Old Trafford. Old Trafford opened in 1909, and Manchester United has been playing there since 1910. Despite multiple rounds of significant renovations over the years, Old Trafford is one of the most historically significant stadiums in all of sports. It’s Fenway Park. It’s Wrigley Field. You get the point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owAv5QptGVo
The entire video is chock-full of cool moments for Mysterio. He got to visit the locker room, walk down the tunnel, and even sit where Man UTD head coach José Mourinho sits. It’s easy to hear the passion and emotion in Mysterio’s voice as he describes what being inside Old Trafford meant to him, and it’s always nice to see that wrestlers like Mysterio can take a step back from their own fame and appreciate something in a similar way a lot of folks appreciate him.