Dominik Mysterio talks John Cena Survivor Series Showdown and Evolution of ‘Dirty Dom’

Dominik Mysterio knows how big of a deal his Survivor Series WarGames match is with John Cena. He spoke exclusively to Pundit Arena ahead of Saturday.

The 28-year-old former Intercontinental Champion is looking to regain his title against the 17-time World Champ in one of Cena’s two last matches in the WWE. The 48-year-old will call it a career during Saturday Night’s Main Event on Dec. 13.

Dominik Mysterio: It’s A Huge Deal Facing Cena At Survivor Series

Mysterio will look to do so in his hometown of San Diego, California, which is hosting Survivor Series at Petco Park on Saturday.

“I grew up in San Diego, born and raised in San Diego, California, it’s almost like my whole life,” says Mysterio in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Lids. “I grew up going to the San Diego Sports arena, now Pechanga, or whatever it’s called. Now it’s gone through so many different name changes, but I grew up going to watch my deadbeat dad (Rey Mysterio) there, and doing live events and TVs. Being able to go back myself a couple years ago to perform there at the Pechanga arena. That was a full-circle moment.”

Mysterio says it’s the first PLE (premium live event) that WWE has held in San Diego since 2008. The last one the city hosted was One Night Stand back in 2008.

“Because I grew up going and watching my dad there and now me wrestling there, but having Survivor Series at Petco Park — it’s the first, the first PLE WWE has had in San Diego since 2008,” says Mysterio. “Not only that, it’s a Survivor Series in a Baseball Stadium. That’s different. The first-ever wrestling event that Petco Park is going to be holding, and I’m going to be a part of it. It’s surreal, man. It’s definitely a huge blessing.”

When Mysterio takes the ring to face Cena, that means he will have faced what some consider to be the G.O.A.T. in three out of his four final matches. He says it’s a “huge deal” to face Cena at Survivor Series. 

Although he’s wrestling Cena in his hometown, he’s not entirely sure if the crowd will be behind him. He says that if the crowd cheers for Cena, that’ll make him beat the (expletive) out of him even more.

“I don’t feel like I have a message,” says Mysterio if he has a message for Cena. “He’s the champ. I want some, so I’m gonna come and get some. That’s just plain and simple.”

I’m ‘Forever Grateful’ For Judgment Day Stable

Mysterio is known as “Dirty Dom” which was a major character development when he broke away and turned heel on his dad, Rey Mysterio, and joined the Judgment Day stable.

It’s clear that he’s one of the hottest acts in the company right now, which is why he’s pitted against Cena — the greatest wrestler of his generation — as part of his final feud. The character (as Mysterio describes it) has a big influence from Eddie Guerrero’s character in the WWE during the 2000’s.

While Mysterio looks like he’s at the top of his game right now, he says he doesn’t feel like he’s totally “in sync” just yet with the character.

“I still don’t necessarily feel like I’m totally in sync with the character,” says Mysterio. “I feel like I’m just getting more and more comfortable with it. As much as I hate to give anybody other than myself credit, the Judgment Day from the very beginning, Finn (Balor) Damian (Priest), Voldemort (Rhea Ripley), JD (McDonagh) and Carlito. Everyone just coming together. But like those first couple of months where it was just Finn, Rhea and Damian, they helped me so much, getting comfortable and just being confident in what I was doing.” 

Mysterio especially credits McDonagh, who joined the stable shortly before Survivor Series: WarGames in 2023.

“You throw JD into the mix, and you got another guy blowing my head,” says Mysterio of McDonagh. “He already has a big head. He’s coming in, blowing my head up, getting my head big. I can’t say enough nice things about him. I can’t be thankful enough for him. They all basically held me by my hand and guided me to where I needed to be. I’m forever grateful for ’em.”

We’ll See How Big ‘Dirty Dom’ Character Gets 

Mysterio only made his debut in a WWE ring just five years ago at Summerslam 2020 in a match against a big-time opponent, multi-time World Champion Seth Rollins, who Mysterio calls one of the best in the business.

For a couple of years, Mysterio showed off his athletic ability in the ring — including his father’s signature 619 move — but didn’t really have a character. He was really just known as Rey Mysterio’s son.

It was when he joined Judgment Day and formed a relationship with Rhea Ripley that he became the “Dirty Dom” character that you see today.

“No dude, I had no idea,” says Mysterio if he ever foresaw the “Dirty Dom” character years ago. “I didn’t know what character development was. I didn’t know anything, right? I was just happy to be there, I was just doing me, doing my thing. But I knew that as soon as I kicked Edge in the nuts and I clotheslined my deadbeat dad, I was like, ‘Something about this feels different.’ I have to embrace it. You just have to go all in with it. I was like, ‘I enjoy this. I’m gonna do what I can the best that I can here.'”

Mysterio says the “Dirty Dom” character gave him an identity rather than just being known as Rey Mysterio’s son.

“I really sunk my teeth into that and I think it was just more of getting into a character,” Mysterio details. “Because I’ve said it before in other interviews when I was tagging with my deadbeat dad, I didn’t really have that character or something  — I was just Rey Mysterio’s son. There wasn’t anything to it. 

“Once we started slowly building a story for Dirty Dom, deadbeat, prison, you know how I grew up, adding Rhea and Liv into the mix. Just everything helped it. I feel like you just gotta keep growing with it. Dirty Dom has become this snowball monstrous effect that it’s gonna keep going, and we’ll see how big it gets, and we’ll see how it goes.”

As far as his message for Survivor Series, he has just one for the San Diego crowd — he wants everyone to wear a Padres hat from Lids when he’s on his way to the ring to face Cena.

“The only thing I need to see is everyone going to a Lids store in San Diego and be rocking a San Diego Padres hat when I’m on my way to the ring,” says Mysterio. “It’s Survivor Series — that’s all that matters right now.”