Rey Mysterio admits he and his son Dominik have talked about the possibility of facing one another in WWE but he has gone sour on the idea of them squaring off.
The 24-year-old followed in the footsteps of his legendary dad in becoming a WWE wrestler and the two made history in May at WrestleMania Backlash by becoming the first father and son tag team champions.
Teaming with his son has given the Master of the 619 a new lease of life and he has no interest in the pair transitioning into rivals anytime soon.
Speaking to SPORTbible while on WWE's first UK tour for nearly two years, Mysterio said: "We actually talked about it when he started training, like, ‘Oh wow imagine when we can wrestle together’ and that has happened just so fast.
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“In the blink of an eye he was in the ring and two weeks after he debuted, we’re wrestling together.
“It kind of didn’t even give us time to live the moments. We talked about it before he stepped into the ring, ‘Imagine if we could wrestle against each other’.
“It was such a big idea for us in the beginning but after seeing his growth and evolution inside the ring, the last thing I want to do is wrestle my son.
“I’m enjoying every moment of it right now and if somebody’s going to keep the legacy alive, it will be him.
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“From my end definitely no possibilities of wrestling him. It might work in a story but I would much rather stay on his side.”
Mysterio started training to be a wrestler as a seven-year-old and now has more than 30 years of experience in multiple companies across the world.
Dominik, meanwhile, started his training at 19 and his first ever match was against Seth Rollins in a street fight at the SummerSlam pay-per-view last year.
Although surrounded by wrestling since he was born, he's even surprised his old man with how quickly he has grasped the key skills in the business.
The 46-year-old added: “One thousand per cent, he has. He has learned so fast, so many things, that took me years - and that other people still haven’t gotten.
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“I can nitpick on a bunch of those topics but overall his growth, I believe, has been because it’s part of his life.
“He’s been around wrestling since he was born. The fact he didn’t start training until the age of 19 doesn’t mean he hasn’t been surrounded by wrestling his whole life.
“A lot of things just come naturally. A lot of things he does for the first time in the ring and they just come natural.
“I tell him, ‘Ooh that looked cool man, did you practice that?’ He’ll be like, ‘No, it just came’.
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“Most of us take years to learn and for him in the matter of a year he’s picked up and he’s moving along with the current, he’s not staying behind.”
Dominik's debut came 15 years after his dad and Eddie Guerrero battled in a ladder match for his custody.
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He had made appearances on screen and even got physical with Brock Lesnar, but he was in disbelief when informed he would be competing.
“I thought it was a joke the whole time," the third-generation wrestler admitted during his first ever visit to the UK.
"When he told me, ‘Hey they want you and Seth at SummerSlam,’ I said, ‘Get outta here!’
“I didn’t believe it was true.”
However, his famous father, a triple crown and grand slam champion in WWE, wasn't so sure on the idea at first.
“I gave him the choice to say yes or no. It was brought up to me and I passed on the message to Dominik. I thought they were kidding.
“When I said, ‘Dom, they want to see if you can step in the ring for SummerSlam’ I told them I didn’t think you were ready but I said it was your choice.
“I can tell you as a father I don’t think you’re ready and the last thing I want to do is for him to step in there and have a bad first impression.
“As a parent it’s like pushing your kid to play baseball and he strikes out every time he goes to the mount on his first game.
“But he decided to take the opportunity and I’m actually happy for that because he did incredible.”
Fearless as ever, Dominik felt he simply had to step inside the ring in an event that has a huge significance for his family.
I said yes and next thing you know we hit the ground running with everything.
“I was pumped for the match, especially at SummerSlam. It has such a history for our family, he [Rey] had his first pay-per-view in WWE at SummerSlam against Kurt Angle in 2002.
“And then 2005, I’m in there with Eddie and my dad for my custody. It just made sense to have my debut at SummerSlam.”
As of yet, Dominik has not followed Rey in donning the iconic luchador mask that is so important to wrestling culture in Mexico.
But there is still time for that day to come.
“I think in a perfect world, I would love to step out of the ring and I’m pass the torch to my son," Mysterio Sr continued.
"A lot of people talk about the possible turn and father vs son but for me it would mean much more to take my mask off and say, ‘Here, it’s your time’.
“Hopefully one day his kids, God willing, they decide they want to part of this industry – or even my daughter’s kids."
Rumoured to have been preparing a switch to 'Prince Mysterio' in the future, Rey's eldest child is also keen to continue his father's outstanding legacy inside the squared circle.
"Of course, lineage-wise and culturally, with me being third generation, Rey Mysterio Jr – I want it.”
Topics: WWE, Rey Mysterio, Wrestling
