For months and months, Rey Mysterio refused to mix it up in the ring with his son Dominik Mysterio, sticking to his moral code that a father should never hit their child… at least until he didn't.

That's right, after Mysterio got particularly rude with his mother and sister in the lead-up to WrestleMania 39, the WWE Hall of Famer snapped and decked his son to the supportive cheers of thousands. This parlayed into a father-son match at the “Showcase of the Immortals” and ultimately one of the funniest images of the year, with Rey literally spanking his son with a wrestling belt as the crowd went wild.

So, with “Dirty” Dominik now at the top of the NXT card as the new North American Champion, Mysterio has to be proud of his son's accomplishments, right? The problem child has made good, and now he's come into his own as a mature young 26-year-old?

… nope, Dom is just as bad as ever, and if Rey ever has an opportunity to get in the ring with him again, he would have no problem giving him a second spanking, as he noted to Titus O'Neil, Matt Camp, and company on The Bump.

“Titus, you’re a father, and you know how it is,” Rey Mysterio said via Fightful. “Sometimes, when you fight with your kids, or your kids do the wrong things, and you gotta put them in place. That’s happened for the past year with Dom and myself, and not just myself but my wife as well. Despite the issues that we might have in our family, you can’t even imagine the amount of pride and joy that I feel every time he accomplishes.”

Mysterio was then asked about Dom Dom's title run and if he has an opinion of the North American Championship. While Rey is proud of his son's efforts, he also wouldn't mind taking the title if given the opportunity.

“The fact that he’s succeeding and becoming his own person, he’s already his own person,” Mysterio said. “You don’t know how many times I would have loved to call him up and say, ‘Congratulations, son, you’re really killing it.’ But it hurts. Unfortunately, I can’t do it, and that really hurts. I wish things would be different. But as a father, despite our differences. I’m extremely proud of what he’s doing and what he’s conquering. He just better not step in the ring with me because I will take that North American Title.”

While Rey Mysterio has been incredibly successful over his professional wrestling career, winning 20 different titles, including three in WCW, he never actually won the North American Championship in any of the promotions it's been defended in, making Dom Dom the first member of the family to hold the title. After a 34-year professional wrestling career, including 20 years in WWE, adding a 21st title reign to his career, especially via a win over his son, would be an incredible cherry on top of a Hall of Fame career.

Wes Lee is impressed with “Dirty” Dom's growth away from Rey Mysterio.

If there's one person who is even more disappointed with Dominik Mysterio than his father Rey, it's Wes Lee, who fell victim to a four-on-one screw job in Orlando – the Orlando Screw Job? – to end his North American Championship run at a record-breaking 269 days.

And yet, while discussing what he's seen from Mysterio in the ring in an appearance on Under the Ring, Lee was actually fairly complimentary, as he appreciates the growth he's seen from the second-generation WWE Superstar.

“For him to be able to grow the way that he did is amazing,” Wes Lee said. “To be in the crucible that he was under, the stress, the pressure, he’s lived up to it. He has not faltered, he has continued to push on, and just like any other person that starts out as something, they’re gonna make mistakes, they’re gonna slip up, and they’re going to have shortcomings in regards to how they’re gonna get to their end goal.”

Frankly, good on Lee for complementing Mysterio, as it takes a big person to compliment someone you don't like. Still, much like Rey, Lee wouldn't mind getting into the ring with “Dirty” Dom once more, as he wants that title back around his waist.

“Right now, his end goal is that he’s become a champion,” Lee said. “It just so happened to be with the help of the entire Judgment Day, but he’s still champion. I have to tip my hat to him because he is carrying the championship right now. Am I happy about it? No. But, I gotta give him his credit. I gotta give him his kudos because he was able to grow to a point that he was able to take my championship from me.”

Will Lee get back in the winner's circle at The Great American Bash, when he gets another crack at Mysterio in a match that also features Mustafa Ali? Maybe yes, maybe no, but considering the success WWE has had from a viewership standpoint on the NXT brand, this seems like Mysterio's match to win moving forward.