It is hard to believe that 20 years ago this summer, an eight-year-old Dominik Mysterio would make his debut for WWE, in the midst of a highly contentious, deeply personal storyline involving his custody between his kayfabe biological father, Eddie Guerrero and kayfabe adopted, real-life biological father Rey Mysterio.
It’s not easy carrying the legacy of two lucha libre family names but since that debut in 2005, Dominik Mysterio has done just that. He’s won titles, wrestled on WrestleMania cards, and has been an integral part in the success of WWE’s all-gold faction, the Judgment Day. Over his 20 years, he’s become a highly decorated veteran of the business, quick to share two decades of wisdom with some of his lesser-experienced colleagues.
As Mysterio celebrates his 20 years in the business, WWE is looking back on this Future Hall of Famer’s career all week long with a livestream marathon of all of his matches. In addition, today, WWE launched a special tribute to Mysterio, asking his colleagues to share the advice the Intercontinental Champion has shared with him over his lengthy career. The results were…pretty insightful. Here are some of the highlights.
20 Years of Dominik Mysterio
Dominik Mysterio…isn’t very memorable. Over the course of the short interview, Rhea Ripley couldn’t place the guy saying she hadn’t heard the name and couldn’t believe he had worked there for 20 years. When Ripley was told it was Dominik Mysterio not Rey Mysterio, she still said she had never heard of him so he couldn’t be that good. Ripley continued to play off not knowing Mysterio saying he’s not someone she’s known in her past, present, or even future. All the while, clips play of Ripley hitting Mysterio with a kendo stick or kicking him between the legs. Classic.
Dominik Mysterio…doesn’t share his nuggets…of wisdom. One of the few people in WWE today who’s wrestling career is longer than Mysterio’s is CM Punk. When asked what advice the younger Mysterio had given him Punk said Mysterio was stingy with sharing his nuggests of wisdom (as a clip of him eating his favorite chicken nuggets was shown) and that Punk more liked to watch how Mysterio moved. Calling him a leader who leads by example, Punk noted that Mysterio also learns from his mistakes such as wearing chest gear to cover up tattoos that are misspelled because Mysterio can’t actually read (cue a clip of Mysterio ripping pages out of the WWE rule book in 2023).
Dominik Mysterio…has a lot of insight and is a well of knowledge from 20 years in the business. Whether its teaching JD McDonagh all of the buttons on WWE 2K25, teaching Chad Gable never to trust a luchador, or teaching CM Punk about life, Mysterio has shared his insight with many in the locker room. As Raquel Rodriguez put it, it’s been such a honor getting to learn under someone with so much experience and who represents all of WWE so well.
Dominik Mysterio…has immense technical ability that is often unseen. Leave it to Finn Balor, a WWE veteran of a mere 10 years to Mysterio’s 20, to acknowledge that he hasn’t always been on the IC champ’s level. Despite his extensive training in Europe, Japan, and NXT prior to his decade in WWE, Balor acknowledged that perhaps his “fundamentals weren’t up to scratch.” But being able to work so closely with Mysterio, an “incredible talent and true leader” has helped Balor feed of Mysterio’s technical ability (cue footage of Mysterio at eight trying to push a ladder down with Eddie Guerrero on top), the kind that only comes with having 20 years of experience in WWE.
At just 28 and already with 20 years in the business behind him, Mysterio’s WWE future is incredibly bright. And while this summer doesn’t mark 20 consecutive years of Mysterio in wrestling, it does mark five as he made his in-ring debut at SummerSlam 2020 against Seth Rollins. Since then, Mysterio has grown as a performer and a wrestler, capturing the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, NXT North American Championship (2x) and is the current Intercontinental Champion. Above all, Mysterio excels in his character work whether it was his WrestleMania prison entrance and gimmick of doing “hard time,” his Latino Heat tributes to the man in kayfabe he acknowledges as a father and his real father a “deadbeat”, his love angles with both Ripley and Liv Morgan, or his reactions to the crowd not letting him get a word in. He’s masterful at making the crowd boo him. But, then again, it shouldn’t be a surprise he carries himself like a veteran in the ring as I suppose that kind of savvy only comes with having been in the business for 20 years…
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