You might not know WWE star Dominik by his first name, but his last name is as famous as it comes: Mysterio.
The son of the great luchador Rey Mysterio, Dominik began his WWE career by defending his father’s name and even won a tag-team title alongside Rey – only to make a stunning heel turn that culminated in the father-son duo fighting at WrestleMania this year.
Now, the younger Mysterio – under the ‘Dirty Dominik’ moniker – has joined The Judgment Day crew and is a rising star in the WWE under the tutelage of Australia’s iconic Rhea Ripley.
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Speaking to Fox Sports ahead of Perth’s Elimination Chamber event in February, the WWE’s first in Australia since 2018, Dominik opened up on the ‘surreal’ fight with his father and working with the ‘awesome’ Ripley.
It’s hard to imagine what it is like to grow up with a globally renowned father. Dominik was constantly around the WWE as a youngster and was even regularly included in storylines – including, memorably, a fight between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio for the custody of Dominik.
“I had all the action figures,” he laughs, dropping a who’s-who of wrestling legends as his idols including Guerrero – whose shirt he is wearing as we speak.
“I grew up watching all that stuff. And action figures, man I had all of them. You name them, I had them – whether it was the flexible ones, the giant ones, the normal action figures, I had them all.”
Did Dominik look up to his iconic luchador father?
“I did when I was a kid. But even when I was a kid, believe it or not, I was more of a Jeff Hardy fan than a Rey Mysterio fan.
“But just growing up with him and realising what a legend he is in this business, and then now being able to take over that and telling him that I’m gonna be the legend in this business, to carry the Mysterio name on, it’s pretty crazy to see.”
Having played soccer and American football growing up, it took until Dominik finished high school that he says “I got the itch.”
From the moment he began his career – in a huge Street Fight with the superstar Seth Collins no less – there was plenty of expectation on Dominik’s shoulders.
But the 26-year-old says he’s focusing on enjoying himself and not getting caught up in the pressure that comes with carrying on the Mysterio legacy.
“I think when I got into it, everyone else would tell me: ‘You have big shoes to fill’, or ‘Man, you’re never going to fill those shoes’ or just the name Rey Mysterio and the Mysterio name, what my dad has already done for that name.
“So when it comes to the pressure, I don’t know. I feel like I just thrive in it. I’m out there just having fun doing my own thing. And just kind of enjoying it.
“You know, the pressure’s there. And I try not to think about it too much, because if I sit there and think about it, I feel like it’s just gonna eat me up.
“So I try not to think about it too much because I try to have a good head on my shoulders… and just keep the crew rolling.”
That crew – Judgment Day – is headed by Australia’s own Rhea Ripley, the Adelaide superstar who has become the face of women’s WWE.
Asked about Ripley, Mysterio’s face lights up.
“Oh man, she’s awesome! I say it all the time, I’m very grateful for her. I don’t know if I’d be in the same position that I am now without her.
“And just what she’s done to help me out in my career, and even helped me out backstage with matches or even promos and stuff. She’s just so helpful for me and all the boys as well.
“Even when me and Damian (Priest) would do tag matches, she would bring us bananas because she’s like ‘I know you boys haven’t eaten today!’
“Just little things like that that she does for us, it’s really cool to see.”
Mysterio, still a relative newcomer to the sport, is embracing the opportunity to learn from the Australian megastar, who is also currently in Perth to promote the February event.
“Even though we’re a couple months apart in age, she has years of experience on me in this business. I’m three and a half years in and she’s been in this for 10-plus years now and already got every championship in WWE possible, she’s on top of the game.
“So it’s like being able to just sit back and learn from her as well. Things like being patient, waiting for the right moment, taking my time in certain situations. (She’s) going out there with promos helping me, like she’ll literally adjust me to camera angles and move me so I can be in front of the camera more. She’s just super helpful.”
Asked how far he believes Ripley can go, Mysterio replies: “I couldn’t tell you, like honestly there’s no limit for her at this point. I feel like she’s accomplished basically everything. She’s 27!
“The sky’s the limit for her and it’s just exciting to be a part of it. And I can’t wait to see what she does next because I mean, at the end of the day she is the woman’s division of WWE.”
Ripley is already a bona-fide megastar, but Dominik is well on his way to stardom himself. So meteoric has his rise been that Mysterio can hardly believe it.
“Honestly no, this kind of just all happened so fast for me. Even with the match with Seth for my debut, they didn’t even ask me, they asked my dad: ‘Do you think he’s ready to wrestle?’
“And my dad was like, ‘no, I don’t think so’, but he’s like, ‘let me ask him’ – and when he asked me I was like ‘Yeah I’m ready, like throw me in there!’
“So I think it’s just so crazy, being a part of it all and it’s a huge blessing man… It’s crazy.”
Mysterio says he never expected the ugly family split that saw him go from fighting alongside his father (and winning a tag team title to boot) to facing Rey in the ring.
But it’s clear he’s enjoying embracing his darker side after making the heel turn.
“Oh man,” he says. “I thought because of the Mysterio name and being with my dad and even winning the tag titles, I thought we were just gonna be together all the time. But it just wasn’t the case.
“And then I figured out that I did have a little bit of a darker side, and I knew I had that a little bit because (his sister) Aalyah would bring it out of me every now and then.”
At Wrestlemania 39 this year, the younger Mysterio arrived for that historic father-son showdown in one of the organisation’s all-time entrances: arriving handcuffed in the back of a prison van, flanked by cops on motorcycles.
“I can’t take any credit for that! I don’t know how to give credit to, but the one who approached me about it was Triple H,” he says.
“When I got there, I’m not gonna lie I was a bit bummed out! Because I thought I’m gonna get that WrestleMania picture going down the ramp … But then in the other side of my mind I was like everyone does that and not everyone gets their own entrance to WrestleMania so that just makes it so much more special for me. It gives me goosebumps!”
What about fighting his father?
“It was really cool to be able to do something that we had talked about possibly doing years and years ago. It’s not even like an idea that we had sort of stone, it was just kind of like a food for thought type of deal when I first started training four or five years ago… it’s definitely a surreal moment.”
And as for getting out of his father’s long shadow?
Dominik laughs: “I mean, I’ve accomplished more in three years than he ever did in his first three years.”
It’s his first time in Australia, and he already can’t wait to be back for February’s event at Optus Stadium.
“We took off to see the stadium and we did the ziplining down there, a lot of fun! We’re going to go see some, I believe, quokkas later.
“I’m just pumped to be here, the food’s been delicious. Other than the people that I’ve met in person that have booed me, everything’s been great.”
Being booed on holiday? That’s part and parcel of being a wrestling heel.
“It was on the radio shows, on the intros I did. It was all boos but I get it, I get it. They love to hate me!”
But Dominik can’t get enough.
“Oh man, I love it! For us, as long as you’re hearing something it’s a good thing, right?
“In our case, you don’t hear anything (else) when I’m out there because the boos are so loud!… But it’s just such a blessing, it’s really cool to see how the fans react.”
Mysterio has “no idea” how he can top that WrestleMania entrance when he takes to the stage in Perth. But he promises that he and Rhea Ripley will cook up something ‘special’ for Aussie fans.
“I hope so. You know, We always try to match our gear and do some specials… I’ll see if we have any cool ideas.”