Dominik Mysterio Reveals Why He Pursued WWE Career

"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio has quickly become one of WWE's most popular stars, but his success in the business almost never came to be.

Mysterio is set to face John Cena at this Saturday's WWE Survivor Series Premium Live Event for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The bout will be Cena's final PLE match ever, and will be taking place in Mysterio's hometown of San Diego, Calif., at Petco Park.

The 28-year-old AAA Mega Champion recently sat down with WWE cameras to talk about his journey in WWE so far, and admitted there was once a period of time where he wasn't sure if he would ever even step foot in a ring. That's when he got some encouragement along the way.

“I was around 260 lbs., just lost," Mysterio said. "My wife now, girlfriend at the time, she knew it, and I told her there was this opportunity, ‘I might go train in Tampa for six months, but I don’t really want to do it. I don’t want to leave.’ I just remember crying, bawling up. She looked at me and went, ‘You have to go. You gotta do this,'” Mysterio said.

He would go on to train, but skipped WWE NXT altogether, debuting on the main roster in 2020 under his Hall of Fame father Rey Mysterio's tutelage.

Mysterio's Path to WWE Glory

John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio will go down at Survivor Series. | WWE

While the beginning of his WWE run may have been relatively tame, the 28-year-old Mysterio has quickly become a top name in WWE.

"Dirty Dom" would turn on his father in 2022, joining the Judgment Day and aligning with Rhea Ripley in particular. Their partnership kick-started a run that saw him begin to embody more of a persona similar to that of Eddie Guerrero's, something Rey even recently commented on in a letter to Guerrero on the 20th anniversary of his passing.

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Dominik would go on to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 41 in a four-way, holding the title throughout the summer and becoming AAA Mega Champion along the way. He would confront Cena during the latter's final show in Boston ahead of retirement, dropping the belt in an impromptu match and giving Cena the career Grand Slam in the process.

He would go on to have one more match with Cena en route to their battle in San Diego, losing alongside his Judgment Day teammates against the team of Cena, Sheamus, and Rey Mysterio on Raw at Madison Square Garden.

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