Rey Mysterio, the legendary wrestler, was recently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, an honor that acknowledges his tremendous contributions to the world of professional wrestling. However, it has come to light that his mask designer, Masahiro Hayashi, was once involved in a frame-up that resulted in Iyo Sky being arrested on narcotics charges.
Masahiro Hayashi has been a vital figure in the wrestling industry, creating gear for Mysterio and even presenting him with a special mask during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. But his involvement in a nefarious incident has put a dark cloud over this momentous occasion.
On May 23, 2012, Iyo Sky and her boyfriend, Kazushige Nosawa, were arrested at Narita International Airport on drug charges after returning from Mexico. The couple denied the accusations, claiming that fans had given them two paintings, but the contraband was found hidden inside the artwork.
Eventually, the charges against them were dropped, and Iyo Sky later publicly apologized for the incident. She promised to regain the trust of her fans, employers, and co-workers.
However, on July 9, 2012, Mexican wrestler Takuya Sugi held a press conference where he admitted to hiding drugs in the paintings to frame Iyo Sky and Kazushige Nosawa. Sugi claimed that Masahiro Hayashi, who was a mask manufacturer and AAA representative, had commissioned the action and promised him a contract extension in exchange. Sugi also apologized for his actions.
It is unclear whether Rey Mysterio is aware of Masahiro Hayashi’s past involvement in the drug incident. However, this revelation is unlikely to affect Mysterio’s legacy as a legendary wrestler and his love for masks. At WrestleMania 39, Mysterio also won an emotional match against his son Dominik Mysterio. For now, that is what matters to him the most.
I think @DarkSideOfRing should do an episode on this scandal. When Masahiro Hayashi paid Sugi to plant drugs on Io Shirai and Nosawa to screw them out of AAA because Hayashi had a grudge with Nosawa pic.twitter.com/jJwQxVRcd4
— Handlebar-Orion X.ᴺᵉʳᵈʸ ᵖʳᵒᵍʳᵉˢˢᶦᵛᵉ ᵠᵘᵃᵈʳᵒᵒⁿ ʲᵉʷ (@HandlebarOXD) December 24, 2020
one of the weirdest wrestling scandals of all time involved io shirai, nosawa, and these paintings pic.twitter.com/DC6tdhJxpO
— cherry-coloured funk (@howtodresvvell) July 11, 2020
