Magazine Archives: Into The Fire: Dominik Mysterio's Unique Firsts In WWE (Patreon)

By Sean Ross Sapp, FightfulMag.com Issue 5

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At just 24 years of age, Dominik Mysterio has already accomplished a lot with WWE. He’s one-half of the former SmackDown! Tag Team Champions alongside his father Rey Mysterio, and he has shared the ring in main event matches with the likes of Roman Reigns and John Cena. Sean Ross Sapp sits down with Dominik for this exclusive interview with Fightful Magazine.

SEAN ROSS SAPP: Dominik, how are you?

DOMINIK MYSTERIO: Very good. Thank you for having me.

SRS: Do you remember the first time you were told you were going to be on WWE TV?

DM: Yes. I remember we were in a car and my dad had sat me down and he told me —this is when he broke down the Eddie angle for me —and told me what we had planned and what the idea was. I was just, ‘Alright, man. Am I gonna get paid?’

SRS: Did you get paid?

DM: I did. I got paid. I don’t know how much. ‘Cause I bought a bike and apparently all the money was gone, Mom said. But, yeah, I remember we were in the car, they broke it down to me and I was excited to not have to be in school and getting paid, traveling the road with Dad. So it was a win-win situation for me.

SRS: Did you have nerves? Or were you too young to have nerves?

DM: I was a pretty shy kid. I still kind of am. I’m not the “going out and introducing” and being, ‘Oh, hi!’ I’m very to myself. I’m very quiet. I have my small group of friends, like four guys, since eighth grade. So me, being out there, was very out of the ordinary. I was so nervous and kind of shocked with everything that it seems so natural of a reaction to them, that they were loving it. ‘Cause I was genuinely scared to go with Eddie, which I was. I was scared to be out there in the crowd ‘cause it was just so new to me. It was just a crazy world I was being introduced to.

SRS: Do you remember the first time you had to address the storylines in real life?

DM: Yeah. Not only my age, but even people older than me. At the time my teachers were very concerned about my home life. They had no clue. They thought I was actually in this custody battle. They thought I had issues at home. But Mom and Dad had to go into school and talk to them and let them know it’s all good, it’s all part of a storyline. Then I had to do my explaining to all my friends and the other kids that, ‘Rey Mysterio, I think he was my dad.’ ‘Cause everyone asked me who my real dad was. Still to this day I get asked who my real dad is.

SRS: Do you remember the first time you said, ‘Okay, I want to be a pro wrestler. This is where my career and my life is going?

DM: I had just graduated from high school. I sat my dad down and told him I wanted to give it a shot. At this point, I was kind of lost because I had finished high school. I didn’t have the grades to go out and do sports. So I asked him if I could give it a shot. He’s the one who said, ‘If you have what it takes, I’ll know.’ Him and my godfather, Konnan, were the first ones to step in the ring with me and they were like, ‘You know, there might be something there.’ ‘Cause they freakin’ beat me up. The first day I was there, I remember I just rolled for hours.

SRS: I would assume you’re doing the various types of rolls before they have you do anything.

DM: Yeah. I actually only front rolled for about an hour and a half before I did anything else. Very lucha style.

SRS: Do you remember your first practice match?

DM: “It wasn’t even with them. My first practice match that I ever had was in Tampa, Florida when I was training with Jay Lethal. I remember we had been training and Jay told me the day before, ‘Hey, I’m gonna have some matches set up for you tomorrow just to see where you’re at. First one’s gonna be with me,’ and then he brought in two other of his students to be there for me as well to wrestle them. So I had three matches the first day I had a practice match. My goodness, man. I remember after that first match, I went into the bathroom and I laid down because I thought I was going to pass out or have a panic attack or something. It was just freakin’ brutal. I couldn’t breathe. I told Jay he had to give me a couple minutes. ‘Cause I finished the match and he was like, ‘Alright, onto the next one.’ I was like, ‘Whoa. Can I go to the bathroom right quick?’ I literally had to lay on the ground on Jay Lethal’s bathroom floor for a couple of minutes just to catch my breath and I went on and we did the other two.”

SRS: How did your other two matches go? Did you catch your wind?

DM: It was definitely a struggle. I was lost at every point. They were guiding me through the whole thing. I was as green as could be. They did such a good job of helping me and guiding me and telling me what I needed to know and how to adjust myself to help my breathing and my conditioning, and just to be overall better in the ring.

SRS: What was it like to meet Brock Lesnar for the first time?

DM: So I do remember meeting him as a kid because I was mesmerized by him. All the big guys —Big Show, ‘Taker, Brock —I have pictures with all of them as a kid.  So I do remember meeting Brock as a kid and I just remember, ‘Man, that guy is one scary dude.’ But he was awesome, man. He was so fun. But then as I got older and Survivor Series came along, once I reintroduced myself there, it was more, ‘Hello, sir. Thank you for allowing me to do this,’ things of that nature. He was a straight, stand-up dude. Very nice and I just tried to be as polite as possible.

SRS: Did you get any feedback from Brock on how that went?

DM: He was all business, man. The only thing he asked me was if I knew how to swing a chair. I told him, ‘Yes, sir.’ We moved on with that and I guess he was happy because I heard good things.

SRS: What about your father? Did he approve of how it went?

DM: Yeah. He was pumped. Everything that I did that night was a first for me as far as jumping off the top rope doing a frog splash, hitting him with a chair, the double 619. All that was a first for me. So the fact I was able to perform like that under pressure, I think my dad was pretty happy with the outcome.”

SRS: How has your relationship with Vince McMahon evolved and do you work directly with a guy like Kevin Dunn as you’re learning on the job?

DM: Kevin Dunn, it’s very rare when I see him ‘cause he’s usually working in the truck. But Vince, I’ve posted the picture of him holding me. I’ve seen Vince millions of times and the family as well. Stephanie used to take my little sister Aalyah shopping back in the day.  So we’ve just always been around. But now as an adult and working for him, he’s now not only my dad’s boss but he’s my boss now. So it’s different. I think the way I see it now, it’s a ‘thank you for the opportunities’. He gives you input on what he would like or what he expects or whatever he can do to help or guide me through that. Nothing much. It’s always very professional. ‘Hello, sir.’ ‘Goodbye, sir.’ ‘Thank you.”

SRS: How did it feel to sign your first WWE contract?

DM: It was honestly a blessing, man. It all happened so fast. What I was told was after SummerSlam I would make my way back to Orlando, I’d do developmental and NXT, but none of that happened. After SummerSlam, we just kinda ran with it. My deal is pretty crazy. The fact that I’m signed to WWE now is just a dream come true. I’m very fortunate and blessed to be here.

SRS: How was it preparing for your first match in front of fans and then your first live event that wasn’t televised?

DM: Honestly, you telling me all of that, that’s crazy. I shouldn’t be in this position. I’m so fortunate and so blessed. It’s so crazy ‘cause my first match in front of a live crowd was next to Edge, my dad against Roman and the Usos. I don’t know how I got there, but my goodness was that a scary moment for me. But I was so stoked. I was so excited. I just remember Edge just kept hyping me up, telling me he was so pumped for me. He couldn’t wait. Then that match happened and it was a different energy, man. A different vibe. Then we start doing these live events and I no longer have Edge in my corner, but I have John Cena now. I have Cena and my dad in one ear and then the next night I have Edge and my dad. I’m just getting so much good advice and opportunities and I’m learning so much from all these top guys that have been in this industry for years now. I’m very blessed to be in this position that I’m in.

SRS: Do you ever have people that are hesitant to give you advice because you’re Rey Mysterio’s son? Or are they more comfortable because you’ve been around them for years?

DM: I think it’s a little different, man. Everyone tries to give me their input because I’m new there. So as much input as I can get from anybody there, I’ll take. No matter what. Anything helps at this point. But I think everyone sees that everyone tends to pull me aside and talk to me and give me advice here and there. So there’s certain guys that tell me, ‘I see everyone’s talking to you, man. Just keep doing your thing.’ They see that I’m constantly getting so much information that they’re like, ‘Just try to take it all in, man. I know it’s a lot, but try to take it all in.

SRS: How were you approached about and how did you prepare for the kendo stick spot and the Roman Reigns powerbomb spot [on SmackDown]?

DM: So you don’t really have time to prepare ’cause you’re told what you’re doing when you get there. The kendo sticks, man, I had been whipping Seth and Buddy for a long time so I knew at some point it was going to come around and it was gonna come around heavy. That day showed up and I took my licks and I just remember them saying, ‘Alright, Dom. You’re gonna take a kendo beating today.’ I was like, ‘Alright, how are we gonna do it?’ They said, ‘We’re gonna kendo crucify you.’ I was like, ‘Alright.’ I had a couple of hours to mentally prepare. Like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna get my ass beat. It’s gonna be worth it, but it’s gonna be fun.’ Then the powerbomb, you just can’t say no to Roman, man. That dude’s a stud in every way, shape and form. I got thrown out by the Tribal Chief. He didn’t want me in his inner circle. It is what it is. I got tossed. That hurt, man. It wasn’t fun. Looking back at that picture and seeing me fly over the top rope, it’s like, ‘What was I thinking?

SRS: What kind of reactions do you get from friends and family over a situation like that?

DM: Family’s always the worst because they don’t know.  So they freak out immediately. Mom always needs the ‘I’m good’ text after every match. Same thing with my girlfriend. We’ve been together ten years, but she still needs that ‘Okay’ text after every match. But grandma freaks out. Everyone does it. ‘Hey, you okay? You can walk?’ ‘Yeah, I’m all good. It just hurt for a couple of days, but I’m alright.

SRS: How do you handle the criticism and jealousy, and what advice do you have for anyone dealing with that?

DM: At the end of the day, it is what it is. People are gonna talk. What can you do about it other than take it? If it’s good advice, you go with it. If it’s bad, you tell them ‘Thank you for letting me know.’ But I’ve always been told there’s always going to be haters, there’s always gonna be critics. At the end of the day, listen to the people who care about you, to the people closest to you. But it is what it is. I know people are going to hate. I know people are gonna talk. At the end of the day, it is what it is, man.

SRS: Has there been any moment where you’ve questioned if maybe this isn’t for you?

DM: No. I was born into this. This is awesome. I love every minute of it.

Sean Ross Sapp has been the Managing Editor of Fightful.com since its launch in 2016. He runs the day-to-day operations of Fightful, in addition to appearing onscreen and breaking pro wrestling news daily.

Twitter: @SeanRossSapp