Dominik Mysterio almost looked very different when he first stepped into a WWE ring. Long before “Dirty Dom” became one of WWE’s biggest heels, Dominik was actually preparing to debut wearing a lucha mask just like his legendary father, Rey Mysterio. The idea got far enough along that masks had already been made, but a sudden change in WWE’s plans scrapped the concept before fans ever got to see it.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Dominik Mysterio revealed that wearing a mask was the original plan when he first started training.
“Yeah, when I first started training, I had masks made.”
The plan never made it to television because everything changed once WWE fast-tracked him into the storyline with Seth Rollins. Instead of spending months developing his own presentation, Dominik said he was suddenly thrown onto WWE programming without getting much say over how his character would debut.
“It all happened so fast with the Seth Rollins storyline and me helping my dad, with me being a babyface. I didn’t have the chance to pick my name and music.”
Even then, Dominik didn’t completely abandon the idea. He admitted he wanted to debut wearing the mask, but eventually realized it didn’t make much sense because WWE fans had already watched him grow up on television without one. Rather than follow lucha tradition, he decided he’d rather flip it on its head.
“Like, I wanted to debut with the mask, but also people have seen me without a mask since I was 8, so it didn’t make a difference to me. So at that point, I figured let’s do the opposite of what the culture does. Everyone comes out with the mask and leaves it on. Let me come out with the mask and take it off, disrespect it.”
Dominik even revealed the masks didn’t go completely unused. Before making his WWE debut, he regularly trained while wearing one so he’d be comfortable wrestling in it if WWE decided to go that direction.
“Before I debuted, I trained with the mask on just so I’d get used to it.”
These days, though, Dominik can’t picture himself hiding his face at all. When Helwani asked whether it would feel strange to suddenly start wearing a mask now, the Judgment Day star had the perfect “Dirty Dom” response.
“Yeah, it would be weird. I’m too handsome.”
Looking back, it’s hard to imagine Dominik’s career unfolding any other way. The unmasked babyface eventually evolved into one of WWE’s most hated villains, and now the idea of “Dirty Dom” wrestling behind a mask feels almost as strange as the thought of Rey Mysterio wrestling without one.
Do you think Dominik Mysterio should ever wrestle in a mask, or is his current look too iconic to change? Let us know in the comments below.
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