Dominik Mysteriocaptured the biggest victory of his young career atWrestleMania 41, when the 28-year-old star won theWWEIntercontinental Championship. It’s the first singles title for Dom in the “main roster” (he won the NXT North American Championship before), and it likely won’t be his last. Dom has experienced great success and exposure as part of Judgment Day, and it seems that the son of Rey Mysterio has finally broken out as a singles star.
But perhaps the biggest story to come out of the match is thatDominik was cheered on by the WWE Universe. After years of nearly booing him out of the building every time he even touched a microphone, he suddenly has the crowd on his side. When he eventually gained the pinfall, they applauded his efforts.
While Dom hasn’t officially ‘turned babyface’ yet, he has won over the fans just by being tenacious. He’s shown no fear as a villain, and the WWE Universe respects that. He’s fully embraced his character, and because of that, has gained affinity among the people who actually ‘get it’ when it comes to sports entertainment. However, if Dom fully turns babyface, WWE will lose one of its best heels, at a time when the company already does not have many reliable “bad guys” to further its storylines.
Dominik Mysterio Got a Career-Changing Win at WrestleMania
The WWE Universe Surprisingly Cheered Dominik Mysterio on to Victory
While his last name might be Mysterio, Dom’s character has evolved into a modern-day version of his kayfabe ‘father’, Eddie Guerrero. From his mullet to his bad mustache, Dominik takes a lot from the great late Hall of Famer, Eddie. And much like Latino Heat, the new Intercontinental champ has captured the audience’s hearts by showing thathe can Lie, Cheat, and Steal with the best of them.
The organic following that Eddie gained in WWE is very similar to the trajectory of Dominik’s career. He’s so good at being bad that people eat it up, enjoying the entertainment factor Dom provides. Every remark in a promo and action in the ring had the fans ready to rip their hair out months ago. But suddenly, they have found a lot of reasons to like the kid, and he didn’t have to change his persona a lot to secure their backing.
Dominik Works Best As A Heel
His Babyface Turn May Be Happening a Little Too Soon
The major downfall to Dominik becoming a babyface is thatWWE then loses one of the best heels in years. The massive heat that he generated helped save the Judgment Day angle when many thought it was destined to be a flop. In the beginning, he was a peripheral character, but his ability to turn the crowd made him a star.
Dom was, for all intents and purposes, the promotion’s top heel for much of the past two years. And because of that, all of his segments were money. He didn’t even have to do much, and the crowd still showed their disdain for him, even before he got the chance to open his mouth. He was able to create a character that was perceived as a joke into so much more, and all because he took his role seriously, even in its most ridiculous bits (such as his “prison time”).
His eventual babyface turn will no doubt draw cheers, butWWE will have killed a golden gooseby switching up one of its baddest bad guys.At this time, the roster lacks heels who are 100% committed to playing the part of the bad guy. Drew McIntyre comes to mind, along with Kevin Owens, but they both have their supporters among the fandom, and the latter had to take an extensive time out due to injury.Paul Heyman’s new factionseems to be poised to do dastardly things, but all members are also really popular with fans. John Cena may have turned heel, but he’s still John Cena. The only performer who is reliably drowned in boos is Logan Paul, but he’s not there every week.
This is an issue because, without real heels, WWE can’t build babyfaces who can get reliably over with the audience. It may be a basic storytelling strategy, but it works. The best example is Jey Uso. WWE made a great call deciding tohave Jey challenge for Gunther’s title, because the latter is a believable, committed heel, who, despite having his supporters, was able to play the part perfectly, helping Jey transition to his first run as a World Champion.
Dominik Will Likely Have a Long Intercontinental Title Reign
He’s Being Transitioned to a Higher Level in WWE Now
Since the beginning of the Triple H Era in WWE creative, we have seen most titleholders have long reigns. Gunther is a classic example of a heel champion who has dominated every championship he’s ever had. Given that World Wrestling Entertainment has invested so much time in Dominik Mysterio, there’s no reason to believe they will ‘hotshot’ the belt off of him.
Dom has already had a successful title defense against Penta, who is a major newcomer earmarked for big things in WWE. But that didn’t matter, because it’s Domink’s time now. This is his major singles championship on the main roster, and it’s likely the company is testing the waters with him to see how he will perform at an even higher level.
It also doesn’t hurt that he’s a legacy - born to WWE Hall of Famer, Rey Mysterio, who is considered the greatest high-flyer of all-time and was a groundbreaking performer. Dominik has learned from the best, and he has honed his craft to the point that he’s carved out his own niche.And as great Dominik is right now, will he actually take it to the next level playing the good guy? Only time will tell, but it seems that WWE may have pulled the trigger on this switch much too early.
