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- The Custody of Dominik storyline was truly one of the most absurd, bizarre, yet memorable of all time in WWE, with fans still talking about it to this day. Even within today’s WWE programming, both Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio can’t escape the influence that this storyline had, and it has come to the forefront of their feud with one another, which has stretched through 2022 and 2023. It is interesting to look at what influences Eddie Guerrero has had on the father vs. son rivalry, so many years after the initial storyline took place. It is crazy in hindsight to see that sort of impact this has had.
At No Way Out 2005, Eddie Guerrero teamed with long-time friend and rival Rey Mysterio to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. Thus starts one of the strangest feuds in WWE history.
Updated on June 5, 2022, by Shawn S. Lealos: One of the most controversial storylines in WWE history came between two long-time friends and one of their seven-year-old sons. This was when Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio went from friends to enemies and fought for custody of Dominik Mysterio. Fans today know Dominik well, as he has grown up and become a WWE superstar of his own, teaming with his father Rey and even winning the tag titles with his dad. However, 17 years ago, Dominik was an object that Eddie and Rey were fighting for, and it was even stranger than that when all was said and done.
UPDATE: 2023/06/30 11:00 EST BY ANDREW KELLY
The Custody of Dominik storyline was truly one of the most absurd, bizarre, yet memorable of all time in WWE, with fans still talking about it to this day. Even within today’s WWE programming, both Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio can’t escape the influence that this storyline had, and it has come to the forefront of their feud with one another, which has stretched through 2022 and 2023. It is interesting to look at what influences Eddie Guerrero has had on the father vs. son rivalry, so many years after the initial storyline took place. It is crazy in hindsight to see that sort of impact this has had.
Rey Mysterio And Eddie Guerrero's History
Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero had a long history before they ever made it to WWE. The two were best friends in real life and worked in wrestling as friends and foes. They were in Mexico together. They both went to ECW around the same time. Rey and Eddie both moved on to WCW to help launch the cruiserweight division. Rey went to WWE and Eddie soon followed. Ironically. Rey was a child when he met Eddie for the first time.
"I remember the first time I met him, I wasn’t even in wrestling. I was just a fan and 13 years old, and he was wrestling with my uncle [Rey Misterio, Sr.]. They were teaming up, and I was just a kid," Rey said in an interview. "Deep down inside is a bond of brotherhood relationship that is unlike no other. I learned so much from Eddie inside the ring, outside the ring. He taught me how to pace myself."
Rey And Eddie Begin Their WWE Feud
After Rey and Eddie won the WWE Tag Team Championship in 2005, the two decided not to defend the Tag Titles at WrestleMania 21 and instead faced each other, so they could "bring the house down." Rey Mysterio won the match at WrestleMania and while Eddie looked visibly frustrated, he congratulated his partner.
After WrestleMania, tensions started rising between the best friends, with Eddie getting jealous of Rey, and this tension boiled over when they lost the Tag Titles to MNM. During the rematch to regain the titles, Eddie cost them the match as he abandoned Rey, leaving him to fight alone, despite calling Rey “his family” earlier in the show.
On the May 5, 2005, episode of SmackDown, Eddie finally had enough and viciously attacked Rey Mysterio, delivering a brutal brainbuster on the steel steps. Eddie then adopted a new brooding character. He stopped driving his Lowrider to the ring, and he got a darker remix of his “Lie, Cheat, Steal” entrance music.
The Mysterio Family’s Dark Secret
Following the attack, Eddie threatened to reveal a secret about the Mysterio family, and the storyline grew more and more personal with both Eddie’s and Rey’s families getting involved. Eddie’s family and Rey pleaded with Eddie not to reveal the secret and then set up a match at the Great American Bash: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, if Eddie lost, he would not tell the secret.
Eddie lost that match, but the following week on SmackDown he revealed the secret, anyway. Eddie told Rey Mysterio’s 7-year-old son Dominik that Rey wasn’t his dad and that Eddie himself was his biological father!
In the following weeks, Eddie revealed more details of the secret during a series of videos entitled “Eddie’s Bedtime Stories.” Eddie claimed that seven years ago his marriage was going through hard times, and so he had a child out of wedlock, Dominik. He then claimed as Rey Mysterio and his wife were having trouble conceiving that he left Dominik on their doorstep for them to raise.
In subsequent weeks, Eddie threatened to take back custody of Dominik, drawing up custody papers and having his lawyers present them to Rey. Eddie would also have uncomfortable segments with Dominik, claiming he would take Dominik home to the Guerrero family. This all led to a match at SummerSlam, a Ladder Match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, with Dominik’s custody papers hanging high above the ring.
Custody Of Dominik Ladder Match
During the match at SummerSlam, just as it looked like Eddie was about to win, 7-year-old Dominik entered the ring and tried to shake Eddie off the ladder. Eddie confronted the 7-year-old and even went to attack him before Rey fought him off. After that, Eddie hit Rey with the 3 Amigos on the ladder and almost won again before Eddie’s own wife Vickie ran down and pushed the ladder over. Vickie would then hold Eddie down as Rey climbed the ladder, winning the match and gaining custody of Dominik. The storyline received mixed reviews with many thinking it was incredibly over the top and cruel to subject a 7-year-old to this kind of emotional story. More pragmatic criticism was that Eddie lost every single match against Rey from WrestleMania to SummerSlam.
Dominik Mysterio gave his opinion on the feud during an interview on Out of Character with Ryan Satin. Dominik claimed he even thought he would have to go home with Eddie had he won the match at SummerSlam.
“I don’t think I thought about it, but I thought I would eventually go home with Eddie if he won. I genuinely thought I’d probably end up going home with him because I remember them telling me they wanted to do this storyline and my dad pitched it to me, and I was all on board with it, but I remember asking after like what’s going to happen afterwards. I remember thinking as a kid like what if my dad doesn’t win, and I have to go home with Eddie? I never actually asked that, but I thought about it. Personally, I would sit there and think about it.”
WWE References The Storyline Today
Recently on an episode of Monday Night Raw, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio feuded with The Miz and John Morrison. It was in this feud that Miz referenced to the Dominik storyline, asking if Rey was Eddie's son or Rey's. It was a fun callback, but also one that shows how far Dominik has come. Rey and Eddie fought for his custody when he was seven.
Dominik is now 25 and has been a WWE superstar since 2020 when he started off by feuding with Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy. Dominik won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year in 2020 and won the tag team titles with his dad Rey, beating Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode and holding them for 63 days.
The Storyline With Eddie Guerrero Helped To Influence Rey & Dominik's 2023 Feud
After Dominik Mysterio turned heel on Rey Mysterio back at Clash at the Castle 2022, WWE expertly crafted their feud to culminate at WrestleMania 39 in a massive father vs. son match. Littered throughout their rivalry was references to the ladder match between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. For instance, Dominik has plenty of times utilized Eddie Guerrero’s moves, mannerisms, and more, with his fellow Judgment Day faction partner Rhea Ripley taking up the nickname of ‘Mami’, in clear reference to Guerrero being ‘Papi’.
Additionally, Dominik and Rey’s feud has been about parenthood and being a father, with Dominik on more than one occasion stating that he wished Eddie Guerrero was his father. This of course calls back to the ladder match, nearly a whole two decades later. Fans should expect more references when Dominik and Rey no doubt come face-to-face again, this time with perhaps a mask on the line. A ladder match between these two for something other than a title would be the natural progression of their story within WWE together.