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While he's quick to remind you, WWE Superstar Dominik Mysterio, son of Rey Mysterio, has been around the business for a long time. So, his upcoming SummerSlam match against AJ Styles should be a walk in the park.
Five years into his proper in-ring career, Mysterio is walking into WWE's second-biggest show of the year, SummerSlam, holding championship gold. He won the Intercontinental Championship, which he was proudly nuzzling up with during our chat, at WrestleMania 41 from Bron Breakker in a fatal four-way bout.
There may have been questions regarding the legitimacy of Mysterio's case to be on the main roster. He didn't go through the indies or NXT, WWE's developmental brand. Instead, he debuted on the main roster alongside his dad as a literal babyfaced, vanilla, run-of-the-mill face character. Now, he is one of WWE's top heels, thanks to his part in Judgment Day.
So, what gives? How did Dominik Mysterio go from the son of the WWE legend Rey Mysterio to a top heel?
“Honestly, it was kind of accepting the nepotism,” he revealed, “because hell yeah, I'm a nepo baby. Who cares, right?”
He knows fans, for as much as they may not like it, cannot do anything about it.
“What are you gonna do? Take it away from me? Good luck; I'm already in it. Once you get your foot in the door, it's too late,” he fired back to his critics.
At first, it appeared that heel Dominik Mysterio could only feud with his father. However, over the years, the 28-year-old has had programs with Breakker and Cody Rhodes (among others) since developing his heel persona. He has also been a crucial part of Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan's feud, betraying the former at SummerSlam last year.
You may not like him, but Mysterio had to do something to stand out. In Karrion Kross' upcoming memoir, he discusses developing a character unique to wrestling fans. Inevitably, you will draw inspiration from others when making your own character, but you have to carve your own niche as Kross and Mysterio have done.
Bringing this up to Mysterio, he agreed with Kross, whom he called a “sicko.” In-ring skills are not the only thing that matters. Mysterio has all the talent in the world, but who would care if he didn't craft his character? And yet, there are wrestlers who have gotten away with it despite not being great in-ring workers.
“I don't want to throw any names out there, but so many come to mind that weren't great in the ring, but had great characters — you know, me being one of them — who knows,” Mysterio said, shading members of the WWE roster. “At the end of the day, I'm just going out there, having fun, and turning up the ‘Dirty' Dom character as much as possible when it comes to trying to relate to fans or things that I experienced, but just turning it up 10 times.”
ClutchPoints spoke to Mysterio days before SummerSlam, thanks to Chase Freedom. Mysterio was promoting the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. How would he spend it? Not at the SummerSlam store WWE opened in the American Dream Mall, near MetLife Stadium, where the first two-night SummerSlam takes place
“Absolutely not,” Mysterio said of going to the SummerSlam SuperStore. “Way too many fans, and I don't like people. Who knows? We'll see if they've got some Liv Morgan stuff. I might go use my card there.”
He seemed eager to spend some money. Upon being approached with the partnership, his mind immediately went to Louis Vuitton.
“Chase told me they wanted me to do some shopping, and I was not against that,” he quipped. “I'm pretty sure I was one of the Superstars [who] actually used their Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. I was like, ‘Ah, you guys want me to shop around? I know a couple of [Louis Vuitton] stores around the area.”
Is WWE's Dominik Mysterio Mr. SummerSlam?
Most of Dominik Mysterio's accomplishments in WWE have come at SummerSlam, the biggest party of the summer. He was present for his father's battle against Eddie Guerrero for his custody at the 2005 SummerSlam event.
Over a decade later, he would make his in-ring debut at the 2020 SummerSlam PLE. Mysterio took on Seth Rollins in a “Street Fight.” Earning this type of marquee match may have put a target on Mysterio's back, but he has since earned his keep. He and his dad would win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in May 2021, becoming the first father-son duo to do so.
Now, he is heading into a match against the “Phenomenal” AJ Styles. It is one of the biggest singles matches of his career, but Dominik Mysterio isn't sweating it since his WWE SummerSlam resume speaks for itself.
However, don't dub him “Mr. SummerSlam.” He has already heard the statistics, so he is just trying to go out there and put on a classic.
“I've only been wrestling for five years, but I've been in this business for damn near 20 years. If you want to count my WCW days, 25 [years],” Mysterio reflected. “Honestly, I don't want to call myself ‘Mr. SummerSlam,' — you're already telling me I'm ‘Mr. SummerSlam,' I don't need to go and call myself ‘Mr. SummerSlam.'”
He then took aim at his longtime rival CM Punk, who famously calls himself the “Best in the World.” Mysterio thinks it's lame, declaring, “I don't need to go calling myself the ‘Best in the World.'”
Gearing up for AJ Styles
Facing Styles will be tough, but Mysterio has an age advantage. Mysterio, 28, is not sweating Styles, 48, due to all the tape available of the “Phenomenal One.”
“Well, you know, AJ's almost 60 years old, I'm in my late 20s, I'm 28, his wheels are falling off just trying to catch up to me,” joked Mysterio. “It's kind of crazy, but I don't really prepare for someone like AJ Styles 'cause I'm the best at what I do. I'm the greatest Mysterio of all time, like I've said, I've only been doing this for five short years, and I've surpassed legends in this business who have [had] 3o+ year careers.”
Mysterio also feels he has a home-field advantage, being a homegrown WWE talent. Styles cut his teeth in TNA, NJPW, Ring of Honor, and more.
“He didn't start in WWE — I've been in WWE my whole life,” he said. “I do this for a living. So the fact that people ask me, ‘What do you do to prepare for AJ Styles? I won't do anything to prepare for AJ Styles! AJ Styles has to prepare for me.
“He's been doing this for 20+ [years]. There [are] years of film [of] him, and there's the date [it was recorded], [and it says] BC because of how long AJ's been doing this.”
Meanwhile, Mysterio only has five years of film on him. Plus, he has more up his sleeve that fans haven't seen yet. Perhaps Aug. 3 will be the day.
“I have so many things still in my back pocket that people have never seen me do,” he teased. “So, you're just gonna have to wait and see.”
The iconic Rhea Ripley-Liv Morgan betrayal
Dominik Mysterio didn't compete at the 2024 WWE SummerSlam event. However, he made his presence known during Rhea Ripley's return from injury against Liv Morgan.
Ripley, who had been out several months with a shoulder injury, faced Morgan for the Women's World Championship. Mysterio and Ripley had been on-screen partners for nearly two years. However, WWE decided to shake things up, having Mysterio turn on Ripley and align himself with Morgan.
WWE: Unreal, the recent all-access behind-the-scenes series, didn't get to capture that. So, ClutchPoints asked Mysterio about that day and pulling off one of the biggest turns in recent years.
“I don't think anyone was expecting it — I don't think Liv was expecting it,” Mysterio said, praising himself. “I had to keep it very tight-lipped, if you catch my drift, because Rhea was very close by, [and] we had that situation with Damian [Priest] going on, so Finn [and I] had to keep our little secret.”
He then praised Bálor, with whom he is very tight.
“We've always been together, even before Judgment Day,” he revealed. “So, being able to hold that secret with him and knowing what was gonna go down before anyone else was definitely super surreal, especially if you hear that reaction. People were not expecting that.”
Getting married as a professional wrestler
The summer is one of the busiest times of the year. Yours truly was on their honeymoon while talking to Mysterio, which amused the young star. “Where's the wife? Is she in timeout?” he quipped. When I revealed that she was sitting poolside, he was quick to turn the tables, joking, “You're in timeout.”
In March 2024, Mysterio was in my shoes, having married his longtime girlfriend, Marie Juliette. Being a WWE Superstar means you're on the road 52 weeks a year. So, how did he go on a honeymoon?
“You wanna know how to get on a honeymoon?” he asked. “You fake an injury and you get some time off. [smiles]
“Honestly, you've just gotta hope that there's a free weekend, or, luckily for me, I got Judgment Day. So if I do ask Finn or JD [McDonagh], or even Raquel [Rodriguez] or Roxanne [Perez] to step up for me and be like, ‘Hey guys, if I have a match this weekend and I pitch you guys to have a match, are you guys down?' Usually, if I offer up some food or take 'em out shopping or something, they'll accept.”
You may be wondering — what types of food does Mysterio bribe them with? One would figure chicken tenders, given Mysterio's famed affinity for them, but he customizes the offer based on who the offer is extended to. Rodriguez is a “sandwich” gal, and Mysterio would offer Perez chicken nuggets since she gets them for him.
Bálor and McDonagh, the European men of the group, are easy enough: “Anything Irish [for Bálor and McDonagh] — get 'em a Guinness, they'll be alright.”
WWE Dom vs. real-life Dom
The aforementioned betrayal of Ripley culminated with Mysterio and Morgan having a full-on make-out session. Mysterio, who was recently married at the time, has previously discussed the real-life Dominik Mysterio versus the one WWE fans see on TV. He knows his character is a player, adding, “allegedly,” with his tongue-in-cheek when I said it. His wife does, too.
It comes down to his commitment to the character. Mysterio is not here to waste the audience's time with a half-assed performance. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say.
“Honestly, when it is time to be ‘Dirty' Dom, I'm ‘Dirty' Dom. I gotta go all in,” explained the reigning Intercontinental Champion. “You can't really half-ass it 'cause the fans are gonna know if you don't go all in. The fans are gonna know if you do something that you're not supposed to, or [if] you feel some type of worry about it. It's just the way you carry yourself in the ring and your emotions and your actions and how you do certain things.”
Granted, Mysterio's fans may be an especially observant bunch.
“People are so crazy that they know when I've gotten a new tattoo,” he revealed. “[Fans] study what I look like — [when] they see me, they're like, ‘Where'd he get his new tattoo?' People study my movements and how I'm doing things, so the fact that I have to go in there and give it a hundred percent, people are gonna know. [They] would be like, ‘Ooh, Dom did not want to kiss her. Dom didn't wanna do that.
“So, you've just gotta go all in, man. There's no going back.”
