The REAL Reason Rey Mysterio Returned To WWE
Family matters drove Mysterio's decision to return to the big time.
Having appeared in both the Royal Rumble and Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, Rey Mysterio finally signed a new two-year WWE contract in September, putting an end to months of speculation over his wrestling future.
The former World Heavyweight Champion has since established himself as a solid upper-midcard player on SmackDown. Even at 43 years old, Mysterio remains a popular, pushable commodity, and his comeback is more than a mere farewell tour.
Per Konnan on his Keepin' It 100 podcast, part of the reason Rey decided to come back to WWE was to give his son Dominick a pathway into the wrestling business:-
"That's one of the reasons [Mysterio] went back to WWE, because he wants to open up the doors for Dominic."
Konnan said the following of Dominic's training:-
"He's incredible because he's not like your typical wrestler or son's wrestler. He didn't grow up wanting to be a wrestler. He was very disinterested and all of a sudden he told his dad, 'I think I want to try this.' There's going to be comparisons, but Rey wants to make sure his son is properly trained so he's got him going with Lance Storm. He's going to send him to Japan. I think he's going to send him down to Booker T. Fenix is going to train him a little bit. I'm going to train him. He's going to get real good training so when he goes in there, he looks good and he can take care of himself."
Dominic is already part of WWE canon, having "starred" in a custody battle between Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero at the heart of their 2005 feud. The 21-year-old appeared in a non-wrestling role for Lucha Underground last year and has spent 2018 training for what sounds like his new career, though a potential WWE deal is likely some distance away.
Whether or not Dominic makes it as a professional wrestler remains to be seen, but he could ask for a better influence than his legendary father.