When Dominik Mysterio officially decided to turn on his father and become his own man, or at least a Mami's boy as a member of the Judgment Day, the move was largely met with a meh reaction from fans across the WWE Universe.

Despite having the most prominent last name in Lucha Libre, Mysterio didn't have his father's size, his father's athleticism, or his father's charisma, leading fans to wonder if he would be able to survive without Rey as his certified safety blanket in the ring, as he only won the tag team titles with the Hall of Fame luchador father – at least in the eyes of many fans – because of his familia pedigree than his own in-ring talents. Suddenly tasked with being a set-up guy for a faction fresh off of dropping Edge as its leader, would Mysterio be able to prove he is the kind of in-ring talent capable of standing on his own? Or would fans continue to laugh at him instead of with him despite WWE's best intentions?

While the first few months of the Judgment Day Dom era didn't go off without a hitch, as fans were leery at best about his future, that all changed on Christmas Eve in 2022, when a single WWE Digital Exclusive segment changed the course of his career forever.

“Dirty” Dominik Mysterio was born in a jail cell on Christmas Eve.

After linking up with Rhea Ripley as a member of the Judgment Day, Dominik Mysterio and his Mami made it their mission to ruin every holiday the Mysterio family chose to celebrate, going so far as to show up unannounced at Thanksgiving to disrupt the familial celebration and beat up the diminutive luchador with a broomstick.

For the Judgment Day, this was a fantastic development, as the faction wanted nothing more than to not only ruin Mysterio's holiday but to break his babyface ways in order to engage in a one-on-one fight against his son. Breaking Mysterio's property and breaking up the jolly feeling of the holiday season is one thing, but ruining the integrity and, therefore, legacy of an all-time great like Rey would prove that the faction truly could run the WWE Universe as the top faction on RAW, which was something the group had been hinting at but wasn't yet their entire schtick.

So, fast forward a month to Christmas, and the dynamic duo of Ripley and Mysterio were ready to put another dent in the armor of Dom's legendary father, but what the faction didn't know was that Rey had plans of his own, and he was going to make sure his own son was the one who came out of the interaction with eggnog on his face.

Arriving at Mysterio's house in the 619 ahead of Christmas Eve celebrations, Ripley and Dom made it into the family house to start a fight, but neither Rey nor his wife Angie were feeling it, quickly expelling the duo from the house before calling the police to help settle their unwanted problem. Out on the front lawn, where the worst family problems are often hashed out, Angie Mysterio slapped Ripley in the face before a San Diego squad car rolled up into the driveway, and Dominik was carted off to spend his Christmas Eve in prison, all the while asking Mami to “call Finn, call Priest” in order to bail him out.

A jailhouse star was born in the WWE Universe.

So, with the score now even at 1-1, you'd think the Judgment Day would be looking for a way to get one over on Rey Mysterio for forcing his son to think about his action in jail, right? That certainly happened, but what few fans expected was to see the younger Mysterio so firmly embrace his jailhouse ways, coming to the ring with a teardrop tattoo next to his left eye and routinely discussing how his time in jail had “changed him.”

Soon, Mysterio would embrace this newfound badness in a way few saw coming, going so far as to show up for his match against Rey at WrestleMania in a paddy wagon and even being nicknamed “Dirty” by Cody Rhodes ahead of their short but sweet feud that began at Money in the Bank and has become a very popular house show match ever since.

Would Dominik have found his place in the WWE Universe without his prison gimmick? Maybe yes, maybe no, but in a sport where finding a strong character identity can define a performer forever, this one small segment set the groundwork for Mysterio's future in the WWE Universe; a future centered around his own actions, not his father's legacy.