Dominik Mysterio Chops It Up About 'Mami' Rhea Ripley, Eddie Guerrero Vs Rey Mysterio Custody Match, Being A Gen Z Star & More! - Exclusive
This past Saturday night during the men's WWE Royal Rumble match, as the clock ticked down for Entry No. 17, the fans cheered in anticipation of who would appear next. When the buzzer sounded, they burst into excitement for Rey Mysterio with his music blasting throughout the Alamodome. However, that enthusiasm quickly morphed into confusion as the legendary luchador failed to come through the curtain to take his spot in the match.
90 seconds later though, No. 18 would reveal himself to be Dominik Mysterio, who was quickly showered by boos. He was carrying one of his father's masks in hand, tearing it to shreds while making his way to the ring. Whether or not Dominik had anything to do with Rey's absence remains a mystery for now.
In this exclusive interview from the WWE Royal Rumble press junket in San Antonio with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, Dominik Mysterio discussed Konnan's influence on his presentation, transitioning away from working with his father, chemistry with Rhea Ripley, Eddie Guerrero's Ladder Match custody loss, and more!
Chopping It Up About His New Look
Nick Hausman: So I got to talk to your godfather last week-
Dominik Mysterio: Which one?
Konnan.
Okay.
I talked to K-dog last week for Wrestling Inc.
Love him.
I asked him what he thought of you looking so much like NWO Wolfpac K-Dog these days. How much influence are you pulling from Konnan with the current look?
So when it first started, it was very organic, because I had no idea what was going to go down. I had a flannel and we made it work. And after that, I saw on the internet that I was just getting tagged in all the — like you said — NWO Konnan stuff and Wolfpac and Filthy Animals Konnan. And he reached out to me. He's like, "Did you do that on purpose?" I was like, "No, but now I will." I was like, "Because who better than to pay homage to than one of my six godfathers, Konnan?" And he's the man, too, so nothing but the best.
Yeah, dude. It'd be cool to see you down there in AAA at some time. I know WWE's got the door open to people working with other promotions and things like that. It'd be nice to see you mix it up.
I mean, that'd be awesome for me. I know that's where my dad started and he got his start, so that'd be real cool for me and a dream come true for sure.
Chemistry With Rhea Ripley
Well, talk about your dad here. I was actually at that Survivor Series — your first appearance with your dad — and I think it was you guys double-teamed Brock Lesnar or something like that.
Correct. Yeah. I debuted in August of 2020. So this August will be my third year officially.
Three years. Dude, time has flown for you. How has it felt after being so tied to your dad for that first couple of years there to finally break out and finally be finding success on your own, standing on your own?
It feels great. I definitely was getting used to being with my dad and learning the ropes from him and him just guiding me, but I switched that out for someone who's taken over New Japan and all over the world in Finn Balor. Someone who's taken over their independence and Ring of Honor in Damian Priest. Someone who's been the youngest women's champion and just a year older than me and has a ton of experience in Mami Rhea. So it's like I have a pool of knowledge that I can go to with my new family and it's just been great.
Man, your dynamic with Rhea is something else, man. I mean, you guys are the subject of a million memes, a million Reddit threads at this point. I think there's the name Sub Mysterio.
Is it really?
I was asked by my team to ask you to address that particular nickname.
That's great. I had no idea that was a thing — but I mean — hey, man. Whatever Mami Rhea wants, I'm game.
Damn, dude. And so, it's been nice with The Judgment Day, too, because she's getting in the ring with the guys now, getting to do a little inter-gender wrestling. Do you feel like the style of WWE is changing a little bit right now?
I feel like it definitely has been. And like you said, with Rhea being able to step in with the guys and bodyslamming Luke Gallows and getting in Solo's face and beating Tozawa. When's the last time that's happened in WWE where a woman went in there and beat another male wrestler? It's been a while. And how cool for it to have been my Mami, Rhea Ripley? That's badass, man.
Being A Gen Z WWE Superstar
Well, one of the things I was talking about with Austin Theory when he was over here is that you guys are ... Oh, he's right there. Look at that.
Yeah, there he is.
You guys are representatives of Gen Z. You guys are the two youngest main roster stars, I think. Do you ever think about that? How there's a whole bunch of younger fans out there that were younger than millennials that are trying to get into the business right now and they see guys like you that are so young taking off on the main roster right now?
Honestly, it's pretty crazy. We're both 25. I'm a couple months older than him. I think I'm April; he's August. It's pretty crazy watching two 25-year-olds take over and if I'm opening the show, he's main eventing and if I'm main eventing, he's opening it. And it's honestly a wild ride, and for all the Gen Zs out there and all the millennials watching us: Man, we're here to take over, and we're going to be here for a while, man. So it's going to be fun to watch.
Angelo Dawkins yells "WE GOING TO MANIA!" during an interview going on near Nick and Dominick
Sorry, the Street Profits keep yelling.
They keep yelling,, and I'll tell you why.
Yeah, why's that?
They keep yelling because they saw me and Damian Priest walk in here.
I saw that.
And they were like, "Oh, last time we wrestled them, we lost. So let's yell for every single one of their interviews." So I think they're just salty that they lost.
Yeah, dude. You guys were getting in a little scuffle over there. I mean-
Yeah, I'm telling you. They're upset that they lost to us.
Is that potential ... We got the Chamber on the horizon, WrestleMania's on the horizon. Are the Street Profits, is that another bout you'd like to revisit as we go into these big shows?
I mean, yes and no. Yes, because they've been doing all this yelling. No, because we already beat them.
Eddie Guerrero's Influence
Back to Konnan, when he was saying you were really trying to find your edge, he was telling you to think about the great bad guys that had influenced you and all that type stuff. And everybody's seen just a little bit more Eddie Guerrero, I think, in you — between the Frog Splash and some of the different mannerisms and stuff. How much do you feel like you're drawing on Eddie right now as you're developing your style in the ring?
I feel like I've always been drawn to Eddie, whether it's early 90s Eddie, WCW Eddie, or it's "I'm your papi" Eddie.
Sure.
And to me, any Eddie is the best Eddie and he's just the top of the top to me and anything I do is in his honor, man — the mullet, everything. So for me, yeah. He's the man.
Well, do you ever look back on the infamous Custody Ladder Match? I mean, considering how you feel about your dad these days, do you kind of wish Eddie had won custody of you?
Yeah, 100%.
Yeah?
And I mean, WWE storyline, he is my dad.
Right.
So, man. I would've loved to have gone home with Uncle Eddie at this point, right? I feel like we would've had a really good dynamic at home.
Man, but your father Rey would've been a mess if he'd have lost you there, I would think, right?
I mean, he lost me now and he seems fine, right?
I guess that's true, man.
So...
You calling your dad maybe a little sociopath or something like that?
You know what? What is it? If the shoe fits.
Oh, man. Okay. I gotcha. All right. And just kind of reflecting on that, Dom, I'm sure you get asked about it all the time, but looking back when you were a little kid and you're involved in this crazy storyline, did you ever really think that you were going to go on to become what you are now or were you at that point not interested in staying in the wrestling business?
Never in a million years did I think that this would happen. I always tell people, I feel like Eddie and my dad slowly planted that seed of me becoming a wrestler without me even knowing when I was eight in that storyline. And I'm just very happy and very blessed and fortunate to be in the position that I'm in and I'm very thankful, man. It's been a wild ride.