Professional wrestler and World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Dominik Mysterio defeated the now-retired and 17-time world champion John Cena in his hometown to win back the WWE’s Intercontinental Championship at WWE’s premium live event, Survivor Series, at Petco Park on Nov. 29.
“It was honestly one of the greatest moments in my career, and I’ve only been doing this for six years,” Mysterio said. “I don’t have words to describe it because it’s such an insane moment in my career, in my life (and) just in general. Growing up in San Diego, going to Padres games to then, you know, being a part of the first-ever wrestling event at Petco Park in my hometown, like it was honestly just a dream come true for me.”
The San Diego native recently celebrated his 29th birthday, and this weekend, Mysterio will be battling against Finn Bálor, his former mentor and ex-leader of the WWE faction The Judgement Day, at WrestleMania 42.
“The importance of WrestleMania 42 is astronomical, you know,” Mysterio said. “WrestleMania being our Super Bowl, our World Series, we go absolutely all out to make sure that WrestleMania is the biggest and the best show of the year. You know you get the best matches, all of the superstars go all out with their outfits, the ring gear, their entrances. We try to really put on a spectacle and a show because that’s really what it is.”
Mysterio, born Dominik Óscar Gutiérrez, has been wrestling professionally since 2020, all with the WWE, and he comes from a deep wrestling family. His great uncle, Rey Misterio Sr. and his godfathers, Psicosis and Konnan, were all professional wrestlers. Plus, his dad, WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio Jr., is still currently wrestling.
“I mean, it’s safe to say I was kind of born into this business,” Mysterio said. “By the age of 1, I was already in a custom Rey Mysterio mask and outfit going on. For me, it was normal, you know, it was everyday stuff (like) going to wrestling shows (and) getting masks from the luchadors, you know, stuff like that. There was never any pressure. I just love being a part of it. To me, that was home. That was like second nature to me.”
The first time Mysterio was part of a WWE storyline was in 2005 when he was 8 years old. His dad, Rey Mysterio Jr., and professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero had a feud over who was his real father. Mysterio said he would appear a few more times at WWE events during his childhood with his dad.
As he got older, he played on his high school’s football team at Horizon Christian Academy and then attended Southwestern College for a short time but then decided to give professional wrestling a shot.
“I wanted to see if I had what it takes to make it in the family business, and sure enough, my dad was the first one to be like, ‘All right. I’ll see if you have what it takes, and I’ll let you know. If not, you’re not gonna tarnish my name,’” Mysterio said in his character’s voice of Dirty Dom, who currently has animosity towards his father in his storyline.
In 2018, he began to train to become a professional wrestler in Florida and Canada, and in 2020, he made his WWE in-ring wrestling debut versus Seth Rollins at the premium live event SummerSlam.
Since becoming a professional wrestler, he has teamed up with his dad to win WWE Tag Team Championships in 2021 and won the Intercontinental Championship twice in 2025.
Last year, Mysterio also made his first appearance on WWE’s subsidiary promotion company, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, and on Sept. 12, won the AAA Mega Championship.
“The mega championship from AAA means the absolute world to me,” Mysterio said. “You know it is my first world championship that I have won with the company, and I never expected to be a part of AAA or to even wrestle for AAA when I started training.”
He also said it’s been a dream come true to wrestle in Mexico and for AAA because so many of his family members wrestled for that company, including his great uncle and his dad.
“Neither of them became a world champion down there, so for me to be able to become the first Mysterio AAA Mega Campeon, it’s honestly a super surreal,” Mysterio said. “It’s a huge honor, and it’s unbelievable that I am the first Mysterio to have that accomplishment, (which) therefore makes me the greatest Mysterio of all time.”
When Mysterio is not in the ring and back home in San Diego, he is visiting his local favorite places. Here are a few.
Dominik Mysterio during a WWE Match at Petco Park on Saturday, November 29, 2025. The Survivor Series was the first Premium Live event in San Diego. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Q: Where is your favorite dining option?
A: Favorite dining spot is in Little Italy, downtown San Diego, a place called Barbusa. Super nice, amazing Italian food, and it’s a family-owned restaurant, shout out to the Busalacchi family.
Q: What is your favorite small retail business or pop-up vendor to support?
A: Supreme Card Shop in La Mesa is a super sweet card shop. The owner, Doug, is great people, and I love getting my trading cards from there.
Q: Where is your favorite open space?
A: I would say it definitely has to be the beaches, specifically for me, Pacific Beach. I grew up going down to P.B. with all of my buddies through middle school and high school, just going down there having fun. If you take the boardwalk all the way down, you actually connect to Mission Beach, so you get two different beaches there. The San Diego beaches are the best you can ask for.
Large murals on the outside wall of a local San Diego recycling business on Commercial Street of various Mexican wrestlers, including Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dominik Mysterio. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A man walks past a section of the large mural on the outside wall of a local San Diego recycling business on the corner of Commercial and 30th Street. The mural are of various Mexican wrestlers, including Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dominik Mysterio. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A woman walks past a section of the large mural on the outside wall of a local San Diego recycling business on the corner of Commercial and 30th Street. The mural are of various Mexican wrestlers, including Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dominik Mysterio. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A woman and her dog walk past a section of the large mural on the outside wall of a local San Diego recycling business on the corner of Commercial and 30th Street. The mural are of various Mexican wrestlers, including Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dominik Mysterio. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Large murals on the outside wall of a local San Diego recycling business on Commercial Street of various Mexican wrestlers, including Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dominik Mysterio. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Q: Where is the best piece of artwork?
A: Recently, there was a mural that was painted of my family. It had my great uncle Rey Misterio Sr., my … dad (Rey Mysterio), two of my godfathers, Psicosis and Konnan and then myself. I was included in that mural, so it’s really cool to be part of that. It’s near Commercial Street and 30th Street (near) Barrio Logan, so I think that’s really cool to be a part of San Diego history there and have a mural of myself painted in the city I grew up in, and shout out to the artist, Dentlok.
Q: Where is your favorite entertainment attraction or historic landmark?
A: My favorite attraction to go to is Petco Park in San Diego. I mean, there’s just so much to do inside of the park during, you know, Padre baseball games, and then not only that, but so much good food outside of the stadium, like around you have Tacos El Gordo in downtown, you have street vendors (selling) street corn and tacos and stuff. Also, if you go a little bit down to the water, there is a place called Seaport Village that’s absolutely beautiful. It has like a bunch of little shopping centers. My wife loves going down there and taking like strolls and walks and just eating good food. They have a bunch of good restaurants, local food, shops and local stores.