Dominik Mysterio makes no secret about his status in WWE.
The 27-year-old son of wrestling legend Rey Mysterio sees himself as more than just one of the company's top heels, as he is the central figure in some of WWE's hottest storylines.
“I of The most hated. I of “He's a bad guy,” Mysterio said in a Zoom interview.
Since turning heel and joining The Judgment Day faction in September 2022, WWE crowds have booed him relentlessly, to the point where he can't even lift a microphone without drowning out the voices of hatred that can be heard throughout the arena.
Mysterio made waves throughout the wrestling world at this year's SummerSlam when he was caught kissing Liv Morgan, a rival of his former on-screen girlfriend Rhea Ripley, as the pair continue to feud over the Women's World Championship, the culmination of a months-long storyline aimed at revamping the Judgment Day faction.
“I think I’m one of the few people, maybe the only person, who turned heel while already being a heel. of “Being a heel,” Mysterio said, “it's just adding fuel to the fire at that point. It's really cool. I just have all the opportunities I've had and I'm grateful for them. I just do my thing. People hate on me because I'm cute.”
The story will reach its next chapter on Saturday (1 p.m., Peacock) at the Bash at Berlin's Wooster Arena, when Mysterio and Morgan face off against Ripley and former Judgment Day member Damian Priest.
A win for him and Morgan would send the ultimate message to Mysterio's mind.
Ripley's last two pinfall losses came to Morgan, and he'd like bragging rights against former World Heavyweight Champion Priest.
“I know Liv can beat Leah and I know I can beat Damien, so if I beat Damien and Leah, it's just a matter of when and how I win,” Mysterio said. “But there's no reason to give them a second thought anymore. If I win on Saturday, they can shut up and move on with their lives. It's over.”
The story depicts a wealth of history between the players leading up to and including Judgment Day.
The animosity between Finn Balor and Priest dates back to a match at NXT Premium live event “In Your House” in 2020. Ripley betrayed Morgan while they were a tag team in 2022 and attacked her in July 2023, which became the storyline reason for her absence due to injury.
Mysterio is happy to see all of this history pay off, including the feud between Ripley and Priest for the Judgment Day leadership.
“Then everyone realized that Damien and Leah had gotten ahead of themselves and we had to take the trash out,” he said. “There's a lot of history between all of us and I think it's really cool to see it all come together.”
The storyline pushed the boundaries in WWE's recent move away from a strict PG rating and towards edgier fare.
Morgan and Ripley aren't shy about donning revealing outfits from time to time: At one point in the story, Morgan invites Mysterio back to her hotel room (but nothing more), where she straddles him on the ground a number of times for some flirty fun.
But the company has yet to dive into the more mature look that fans saw during the Attitude Era of the late '90s, and Mysterio believes that restraint will only pique fans' interest further.
“People still want something edgy like we had in the Attitude Era, but we've had enough of the innuendo and the little things (we're doing) because people want to come back to the show to see if we ever surpass that level and if we do,” Mysterio said. “Maybe we will, maybe we won't. Something could still happen. We'll see what happens in the future.”
Along the way, Mysterio has had fun with a very different on-screen dynamic with Ripley, who plays a much more overbearing, protective, yet appreciative partner he calls “Mami,” and who he describes as what we saw as a “one-sided” and “abusive” relationship.
Meanwhile, Morgan was a rather placating, doting girlfriend in the storyline, bringing his favorite foods, chicken tenders and a PlayStation 5, to the locker room on Judgment Day.
“With Lea, I think I needed permission to do this, to do that. If I wanted Mami to hold me, I had to ask permission. But with Liv, I don't have to do that. We are very free and comfortable with each other. We know each other's history and we just clicked straight away. Our connection was organic and we'll just have to see where it goes. We're still new together so we're gauging, but it's feeling really good,” Mysterio said.
The relationship between Ripley and Mysterio as depicted on television drew parallels to the romantic relationship between Chyna and Eddie Guerrero in 2000.
Guerrero, who died in 2005, was a close friend of Rey Mysterio, with whom Dominik was in the midst of a paternity dispute in 2005.
Some were unintentional, but others, like Mysterio giving Ripley a black rose in an attempt to reconcile with her after she returned from injury in July, are exact replicas of what Chyna and Guerrero did on screen.
“It's really cool, especially with Eddie and Chyna, there are so many similarities without us even realizing we were doing it,” Mysterio said. “Obviously, I grew my mullet out to pay tribute to Eddie. I didn't expect it to turn out like this, and I didn't expect it to end up looking even more like Eddie when I grew it all out and cut it off.”
“Leah's attitude is also very similar to my attitude towards Chyna and Eddie, so it's really cool to see them side by side and in photos.”
While Mysterio tries to stay as true to his character and storyline as possible, he revealed on Logan Paul's podcast two weeks ago that his wife, Marie Juliette, successfully separates their work and real lives. The couple, who have known each other since they were 14 years old, married in March.
When asked by The Washington Post about their relationship, Mysterio praised her for embracing all that comes with being a professional wrestler, including training days in Calgary and spending “months apart” while they lived in Florida. “This is really no problem” for them.
“We understand each other and our communication is perfect,” Mysterio said, while also thanking his fellow WWE stars for their professionalism: “If something is going to happen or if I sense something, she always lets me know in advance and I'm always fully aware.”
“When I get home, we don't sit down and talk about work. It's like, 'Hey, how was work?' 'Oh it was great,' and that's it. We have lives to live, so we just forget about it and move on. She's obviously the best and her being okay with it all makes my life a lot easier.”
It's a side of Mysterio that we don't see as much of on screen these days due to the vitriol he receives from WWE audiences.
That's why he said he was “really surprised” when he received a Make-A-Wish request from a young fan last Monday, and was happy to oblige.
“When someone said to me, 'Hey, there's Make-A-Wish,' I was like, 'Did someone ask for it for me?'” Mysterio said. “It's kind of special, and it's not something you get to do very often.”
One thing he'd never accomplished was beating his father in a match, but with Morgan's help he's managed to do so twice. Dominik now considers himself the greatest Mysterio of all time.
After his first victory, Ray issued a challenge. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Dominic is willing to accept the bet that his son will have a mustache or mullet on his mask at the match.
Dominic isn't so sure his “lazy dad” will make it to the end now that he's beaten him.
“Everybody says their whole career, 'I want to beat Rey Mysterio,' and if there's one guy I have to beat, it's Rey Mysterio,” he said. “They work their whole career to reach this one goal, and I did it in less than my whole career, so it feels pretty accomplished. And the fact that I did it all by myself makes me feel a little bit better.”
He's hoping to get another shot at bragging rights after he and Morgan face Ripley and Priest in Berlin on Saturday, which he says will “send the ultimate message.”
“If he loses to me, he won't have a say,” Mysterio said. “If I beat Damien, I never want to hear a word from him again. That's it.”
