Dominik Mysterio’s WWE journey has unfolded under an unusually bright spotlight. Long before he became a full-time competitor, audiences knew him as the son of Rey Mysterio and as the child at the center of the unforgettable “Custody of Dominik” ladder match at SummerSlam 2005. Years later, he returned to WWE television not as a storyline figure around his father, but as an in-ring performer facing the difficult challenge of building a career in front of the same audience that had watched him grow up.
One of the most influential people in that transition, Mysterio says, was Seth Rollins.
Speaking on Six Feet Under, Mysterio reflected on working with Rollins during the earliest stage of his own WWE career. Mysterio’s first match took place during WWE’s pandemic-era ThunderDome period, when he met Rollins in a Street Fight. The rivalry gave the newcomer a major platform immediately, and Mysterio has made clear that the experience became a foundation for much more than his first night in the ring.
“I really enjoyed working Seth,” Mysterio said on Six Feet Under. “I think just coming up, like having my first match with him and seeing how he works and how his mind works with the whole business and with wrestling and how he puts a match together, he’s on another level when it comes to stuff like that.”
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The assessment is significant considering how closely their careers were intertwined during Mysterio’s introduction as a wrestler. A first match can be a defining moment for any WWE prospect, but Mysterio’s situation carried additional pressure. He was not entering through a lengthy developmental run that fans could follow over time. Instead, he stepped into a featured program with one of WWE’s most established main-event performers, in a match type that demanded urgency, timing and confidence.
Rollins’ role, in Mysterio’s view, went beyond simply being an opponent across the ring. Mysterio described watching how Rollins approaches the wider structure of a match, from the way he thinks through wrestling to how he assembles ideas into a complete story. That kind of exposure can be particularly valuable for a newcomer learning not only individual moves, but also the pacing and purpose required to make a WWE match connect.
A formative partnership in the ThunderDome era
The ThunderDome period was unlike a conventional WWE environment. With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the presentation of live wrestling, performers were working without the usual arena crowd and its immediate reactions. For a developing wrestler, that setting could remove one familiar guidepost: the audience response that often helps dictate a match’s rhythm and emotional peaks.
Mysterio said that he and Rollins worked extensively together during that time. He recalled that approximately his first 15 to 20 matches were with Rollins, with the pandemic-era schedule allowing Rollins to guide him through that initial stretch. The repetition gave Mysterio an opportunity to work beside the same experienced opponent while learning the demands of WWE television in real time.
“Honestly, my first 15, 20 matches were all with Seth, because it was all during the pandemic, so he kind of just like guided me through this whole thing,” Mysterio said on Six Feet Under.
That early consistency helps explain why Mysterio speaks about Rollins with such respect. Wrestlers can develop through training, coaching and work with a wide range of opponents, but repeatedly sharing the ring with someone who understands a performer’s strengths can accelerate the process. Mysterio believes Rollins saw those strengths early and learned how to position him effectively within their matches.
“I think that’s why he knows what to do and how to maneuver me around and he’s the man,” Mysterio added.
For Mysterio, Rollins also represented a different type of in-ring influence. Mysterio said that working with him helped bring out more of a technical side in his own style. That is notable because Dominik’s WWE presentation has often been associated with his family legacy, high-profile storylines and the athletic influence of Rey Mysterio. Yet learning to work with Rollins pushed him to focus on the mechanics behind a match and the details required to keep pace with a highly experienced opponent.
Learning to contribute creatively
Mysterio did not describe the relationship as one-sided instruction. He said he felt compelled to try to get to Rollins’ level, and being able to offer ideas alongside him sparked his own creative thinking. In an industry where performers are expected to understand character, physical storytelling and match construction, being encouraged to participate in that process can be as important as mastering the physical side of the craft.
“I knew I had to get on his level, or at least try to,” was the mindset Mysterio conveyed when discussing the experience. He said the opportunity to contribute ideas with Rollins got his brain moving and his “creative juice flowing.”
That framing illustrates why Mysterio places such weight on his early program with Rollins. The rivalry was not merely a high-profile debut opportunity; it was a working education. Rollins was already an accomplished WWE performer with extensive experience in major singles matches, tag team bouts and long-form rivalries. Mysterio, meanwhile, was learning how to turn athletic ability and family familiarity into a sustainable identity as a wrestler in his own right.
The lessons from that period have carried into Mysterio’s subsequent evolution. He has become a prominent WWE personality in his own right, with a career that has moved far beyond being presented solely as Rey Mysterio’s son. His time as Intercontinental Champion marked another major chapter, while his work in prominent stories has demonstrated increasing comfort as both a character and performer.
Still, Mysterio’s comments make clear that he sees the Rollins rivalry as a key starting point. The value was not simply in receiving a prominent first match. It was in having a veteran opponent who recognized where Mysterio could succeed and who could help guide him through the often difficult adjustment from training and preparation into televised WWE competition.
Why the Rollins connection still matters
Rollins has long been regarded as one of WWE’s most versatile in-ring performers, capable of shifting between styles, opponents and match structures. Mysterio’s remarks point to the aspect of Rollins’ reputation that mattered most to him: the ability to understand a partner’s strengths and build around them.
For a young performer, that can make the difference between merely surviving an early assignment and beginning to understand how wrestling works at a deeper level. Mysterio said Rollins knows his strong points, suggesting that their extensive early work gave Rollins a detailed read on what Mysterio did best and how to place those qualities within a match.
That familiarity is especially meaningful because Mysterio’s first WWE bouts came in such an unconventional period. There was no ordinary live-event rhythm, no traditional arena atmosphere and no slow introduction outside of a major television spotlight. Instead, Mysterio’s earliest experiences were built around repeated work with Rollins, allowing him to learn through direct collaboration with someone he considers to be on another level in terms of match construction.
Mysterio’s WWE career continues to develop, and his identity has changed dramatically since that first Street Fight in the ThunderDome. Yet his reflections show that he has not lost sight of the person who helped him take those first steps. From the SummerSlam 2005 storyline that made him a memorable part of WWE history as a child to becoming an established competitor himself, Mysterio’s path has been unusual. In his view, Rollins was a central figure in turning that path into a real in-ring career.
The respect is straightforward: Rollins gave Mysterio a demanding standard, a creative collaborator and a guide through the first 15 to 20 matches of his professional WWE run. For Dominik Mysterio, that early education remains one of the most important building blocks of everything that followed.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.