20 years ago, Rey Mysterio made his debut in the WWE, defeating Chavo Guerrero on an episode of SmackDown. Dropping the Jr. from his moniker but regaining the mask he ditched at the end of his tenure in WCW, Mysterio rapidly became a fan favorite with WWE fans who weren't typically used to seeing his speedy brand of Lucha Libre in-ring work, and it wasn't long before he started stacking up championships both in tag teams alongside everyone from Edge to Rob Van Dam, and even Batista, to runs as the Cruiserweight Champion, the Intercontinental Champion, the United States Champion, and even WWE Heavyweight Champion.
Whether working with or against his long-time friend Eddie Guerrero – including a very weird angle where the duo fought over who gets custody of Rey's son Dominik – feuding with Chavo, CM Punk, and John Cena or his late run teaming with Sin Cara, Rey was a fixture of the WWE Universe from 2002-15, before his contract came to an end via a release.
From there, Rey bounced around the independent wrestling world, performing for Lucha Libre AAA, NJPW, and even Lucha Underground, where he won the Trios Championships with Dragon Azteca Jr. – aka Ring of Honor's Rey Horus, who broke into the industry as El Hijo de Rey Misterio – and Prince Puma, aka WWE's Ricochet, and even wrestled at All In the pre-AEW Pay-Per-View that saw the diminutive Dad of Dom don a Wolverine costume in a trios match versus the Golden Elite – Kota Ibushi and The Young Bucks – alongside Bandido and Rey Fenix.
Though Mysterio ultimately re-signed with WWE before AEW became a thing, re-debuting at the Royal Rumble in January of 2018, Mysterio's contract was set to expire just after his eye-for-an-eye match with Seth Rollins and Tony Khan again came calling. If AEW had the infrastructure to usher along Dominik's career into the future, who knows, maybe the Mysterios would be the first father-son AEW champions in the promotion's history instead of the history of the WWE.
Get ready to celebrate 20 years of @reymysterio at @TheGarden!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/66CVa0lgac
— WWE (@WWE) July 26, 2022
Mysterio's 20-year WWE anniversary almost didn't happen thanks to Tony Khan.
Rey Mysterio is a family man.
Granted, he's also a fantastic wrestler, arguably the best Luchador to ever forge a career north of the border, as well as an author and a musician too, but at his core, Mysterio's biggest goal in life is to make sure his children have everything they want in life, especially if they want to follow in the family business. This dedication was on full display in 2021, when Mysterio gave the following quote to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated – as curated by Sportskeeda – about his time away from the WWE in 2015.
“I am so happy to see my son Dominik doing so well, and it means so much to me to be with him in WWE. When I left WWE [in 2015], I was tired, I was beat and I was going through a phase in my life where I just needed some time off. That time away recharged my batteries.”
“During that period, I was given time to think about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I sat down with my wife and my kids, and we ultimately made the decision together that it was time for me to come back to WWE. I am thankful for that opportunity because I knew my son wanted to be part of this industry, and I wanted to reopen the door for Dominik to eventually get a foot in the business. WWE has treated me like I had never left, and I am so grateful and truly blessed for that. I’m under WWE’s wings once again, and they’ve seen such potential in Dominik and such a bright future for him.”
You see, in late 2020/early 2021 and even now, AEW didn't have what you would call a proven developmental system. Sure, they had Dark and could point to a few performers who saw their status elevated by wrestling in the company like, say, Jungleboy, MJF, and even lesser known performers like Alan Angels, but they didn't have a Performance Center renowned for its ability to build up stars. While Dom could have continued to work on his craft at the Nightmare Factory, wrestling Dark matches against local talents before he was ready for the main event, that clearly wasn't the path the older Mysterio wanted to take with his son's development, not when he had a storyline with Seth Rollins already going on RAW.
Already halfway through his 40s with no guarantee his body would hold up for another decade, Mysterio saw a clear path to parlay his legacy into establishing one for his son and ultimately rejected an AEW contract that, according to Dave Meltzer, was on par with WWE's offer, though for fewer dates.
Had Mysterio left The Fed for AEW, he could have added dream matches, new stipulations, and probably a new World Championship to his resume, but in the end, what truly mattered to Rey was Dominik's future, and with that in mind, there wasn't another destination for the father-son duo than the WWE.
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