Dominic Mysterio has had a unique path to becoming a WWE Superstar since his in-ring debut in 2020. Seth Rollins. Before the match, the son of the WWE Hall of Famer thought he was quickly earning the respect of the locker room.
Unlike most wrestling prospects in the WWE, Dominique did not go through the developmental system. He trained under various wrestlers such as Lance Storm, Konnan and others Jay Lethalbefore going down to the main list.
His first feud was against Rollins in a Street Fight at SummerSlam 2020. In the build-up to their match, The Visionary, along with Buddy Murphy, brutally beat Dominic with a kendo stick.
talking about No Contest Wrestling podcast, “Dirty” Dom talked about a segment where he took a ton of shots to his chest, stomach and back. He called it “Crucified Kendo” and believed he earned the boys' respect by getting beaten up, showing that he belonged.
“I like to call it Crucified Kendo when I was tied up in the ropes and completely beaten. I think it was like I only took 37 Kendo throws. I remember that night, it was very similar to me. I got a lot of respect from the guys in the back and it was almost like, 'Welcome to work kid. ' kind of moment,” Dominic said. (11:23 – 11:51)
After surviving the Kendo stick attack, Dominic Mysterio He put on a valiant effort against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2020. However, Visionary was extremely smart in his game to win.
Dominic Mysterio believes his hard work in 2023 has earned him more respect
The biggest year of Dominic Mysterio's career thus far was in 2023, when he appeared on RAW, SmackDown and NXT. There was even a week that year where he was in the main event of every show.
In the same interview No Contest Wrestling podcast, “Dirty” Dom felt the guys in the locker room respected him more because they were grinding him down inside the ring. He played only 106 matches, which was seven less than him Cody Rhodes' total and the same as Seth Rollins.
Dominic said, “Man, the struggles back then were definitely real. I think that was another point where I was able to get a lot of respect from the guys behind me.” (From 20:06 to 20:21 of the video above)
Dominic Mysterio has come a long way in all aspects of being a WWE Superstar. He was so good that ESPN named him the best wrestler under 30 years old.
Edited by Sanchari Bhattacharya