Matt Hardy believes Dominik Mysterio has accomplished one of the most difficult things for any second-generation wrestler: establishing an identity that does not depend on being a younger version of his famous father.
Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy during a discussion about nepotism in professional wrestling, Hardy singled out Dominik as an example of how wrestlers from famous families can use their name to get through the door without allowing it to define their entire career. “I’ve got to really commend Dom, because his dad will probably go down as the greatest luchador of all time. For him to come in and start as he started, but to get into his own thing and to choose a character and go definitively in a direction like, no, you’re my bum dad, my real dad is Eddie Guerrero, playing off an old storyline that was going, and kind of mold himself after Eddie and play into that.”
Dominik initially entered WWE alongside Rey Mysterio as a babyface, which Hardy believes made his eventual transformation into one of the company’s most disliked heels particularly effective. “Especially, you think Dominik Mysterio, oh, he’s this cute little babyface, he’s going to be such a sweetheart and a great underdog. To turn into a real s***heel like he is, is amazing, and I can’t tell you how much I love it.”
Hardy believes Dominik has now reached the point where his character and crowd reactions protect him regardless of wins and losses. “Dom has built a rep for himself where he’s so over he can get beat, he can be put in a sh*ty situation, but he’s still going to be okay, because he has heat and people are emotionally invested in him. Most people want to see him get his a** kicked.”
Hardy also credited Dominik’s storylines with Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan with helping establish the character. “The whole thing with him and Liv has been fantastic, and especially how he was with Rhea, and then he cheated, and he was with Liv. All that stuff’s been great, and that has really accentuated his character and built it up so much.”
For Hardy, Dominik’s success illustrates the challenge facing almost every wrestler who follows a famous parent into the business. “He has done a great job at picking a different lane and a different direction from his father, to go in with a different identity and establish himself and get himself over.”
Hardy acknowledged that having a famous wrestling surname will inevitably influence how someone is initially perceived, but believes the key is eventually finding something that belongs exclusively to them. “You have to find a way to make yourself authentic on your own. You have to find your original identity and roll with it in that lane. You have to be a little different than what preceded you.”
Hardy contrasted Dominik’s success with David Flair, who faced the enormous task of following Ric Flair. “One thing that really stands out was just David Flair, because his dad is just so legendary, and he was iconic as far as being one of the greatest workers of all time.”
Hardy believes the comparisons were particularly difficult because David did not possess the same natural qualities that made Ric Flair famous. “When he came up, it was hard for him to follow up because he wasn’t very smooth. He didn’t have the crisp flow and the athleticism that his dad did, so that was challenging on him.”
Eric Watts was another example Hardy mentioned. Watts followed his father, “Cowboy” Bill Watts, into wrestling at a time when the elder Watts had already established himself as both a major wrestler and promoter. “I think Eric Watts had a pretty tough time, because his dad was so legendary too, not only as a worker, Cowboy Bill Watts, but also as a promoter. I think it was kind of hard for him to find a way to live up to him.”
Hardy believes Brian Pillman Jr. provides a more recent example of someone deliberately attempting to escape those comparisons.
Pillman now performs as Lexis King, and Hardy thinks WWE moving him away from his father’s name was beneficial. “I think it was a good thing that he changed his name to Lexis King, because it was so much pressure. When people hear Brian Pillman, you think about the Loose Cannon, you think about all the crazy stuff he did, and the unique standout character he was. It’s hard to fill those shoes in many ways.”
Dominik has now built a résumé increasingly separate from Rey’s. He has held the Intercontinental Championship twice and has been AAA Mega Champion since September 2025.
He is scheduled to defend that championship against El Grande Americano at Triplemanía 34 next month. Most recently, Dominik lost to Danhausen in the Human Monies on a Pole match on night two of SummerSlam, concluding their months-long storyline over the $100,000 Danhausen took from Judgment Day.
For Hardy, however, the championships are only part of what makes Dominik’s development notable. The bigger achievement is that when fans see Dominik Mysterio now, they increasingly see his character rather than simply Rey Mysterio’s son.
