Former WWE Champion Rey Mysterio has opened up about whether or not his son Dominik will follow in the family tradition and wear a mask while competing.
Sporting a mask while between the ropes and in front of the camera is an age-old tradition for Mexican professional wrestlers with Mysterio and his uncle, Rey Misterio Sr., both famous for their coverings during their respective careers.
Invoking the images of animals, gods and ancient heroes, the vizard is often seen as a symbol of Mexican culture with the mask often serving as a storyline device to end a rivalry with a performer putting their hood on the line in a feud-ending collision. To lose a mask is seen to be humiliating and disrespectful.
Now, arguably the world’s most famous luchador has joined the Not About Wrestling podcast in order to talk about his son Dominik shunning family tradition and wrestling sans concealer:
“As a matter of fact there was [a conversation about masking him]. The only issue was that he was getting so much promotion without the mask, prior to him starting to wrestle. When I did my storyline with Samoa Joe with Brock and we just felt maybe it might be a little too late to mask him now.
We’ve talked about it. We would love to incorporate the mask somehow someway, so the legacy continues. Even if they know his face already. We can start a trend where Dominik is outside the ring and Dominik Mysterio is inside the ring.”
One of the most famous instances of a Mexican wrestler losing his mask and being forced to compete without it came at WCW SuperBrawl IX, when Mysterio himself lost a Hair vs. Mask Match – alongside Konnan – against Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and was forced to shed the famous cloth.
While Dominik searches for that breakout moment in his own career, he has been teaming with his father since the beginning of 2021 in wars with Seth Rollins and most recently in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match on the February 12 edition of the blue brand, which they lost to to Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn.
Credit for the interview: Not About Wrestling
h/t for the transcription: Wrestling Inc.