Rey Mysterio on Seeing Eddie Guerrero in Dominik, Betrayals, WWE PLE in Mexico, More

As one of the elite few to remain active after being enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame, Rey Mysterio is a living legend in many ways.

The multi-time WWE world champion was a trailblazer for lucha libre wrestling in the United States throughout the '90s and had a seamless transition to WWE soon after. He has since ascended to astronomical heights as an incredibly popular fan favorite and highly decorated competitor.

It was Eddie Guerrero who played a part in putting him on the map with their stellar series of matches in WCW, and now Rey is paying it forward for his son Dominik—both as allies and as adversaries.

The former SmackDown Tag Team champions have shared the ring at the last three installments of WrestleMania and have been embroiled in a seemingly never-ending rivalry for the past two years. At this stage of his storied career, Rey wants nothing more than to see his son succeed, no matter how big of a headache he's been for his father on television.

Ahead of his upcoming clash with World Heavyweight champion Damian Priest on Raw, The Master of the 619 caught up with Bleacher Report to discuss Eddie's influence on Dom, why he's always being betrayed, wanting a WWE premium live event in Mexico, and more.

Check out the complete video of the interview on the next slide and read on for the highlights.

Almost two decades removed from his passing, Eddie's presence is still sorely missed in the wrestling world.

The WWE Hall of Famer was a one-of-a-kind competitor who excelled at every aspect of the game and still had so much more to offer the industry before his untimely death.

The recent return of Biography: WWE Legends on A&E profiled his iconic career and the legacy he left behind. Few knew him better than Rey, and even fewer miss him more.

"I've been a witness that his spirit has remained alive ever since he left us in 2005," Mysterio told B/R. "He had a really short time in WWE. I can't even imagine Eddie still being here and the growth he would've had over the last 20 years. Incredible. Overall, I love that his spirit is still alive and will stay alive forever."

Inside the squared circle, Mysterio and Guerrero are best known for their battles against each other in WCW and WWE, primarily their unforgettable encounter from Halloween Havoc 1998 that solidified Rey as a star on the rise.

If Eddie were around today, Rey is confident that he'd be a pivotal piece of his program with Dominik given their 2005 rivalry centered around who was Dom's biological father.

"For me, from the moment I saw Eddie for the first time as a fan was roughly early '90s in Tijuana wrestling by my uncle's side and had seen his growth from then to 2005 when he left us," he said. "Eddie, to me, was like a chameleon. He could adapt in every single way he needed to adapt. He just had that perfection in him to make it work as a good guy and as a bad guy, to play the role of Dominik's biological father.

"All these scenarios that were put in front of him and he knew how to work," he continued. "I think now, Eddie would definitely have adapted to this style and not only that, the knowledge he would've passed on to the Superstars of today. That's what I would really have loved."

In a relatively short of span, Dominik evolved from a bland babyface to one of the most hated heels in all of WWE.

He's come into his own as a member of The Judgment Day and has truly found his footing in the heel role. Eddie was also an exceptional heel at various points in his career, and Dom emulating Eddie is not lost on the former World Heavyweight champion.

"I see a lot of bits and pieces [of Eddie in Dominik], even if it's sudden movements that he does or pictures that I see," Rey told B/R. "I'll compare him to a picture that I have of Eddie and go, 'Wow.' I tell my wife, 'Did you really cheat on me with Eddie?' and say, 'Look at him there and look at him here.' She always says to me, 'Yeah, I did and I didn't tell you.' No, I always enjoy seeing that because Eddie represents so much, not only to me but my entire family and to Dominik."

Rey admitted to catching Dom watching videos of Eddie when he was first breaking into the business, doing everything he could to learn from one of the best ever and pay homage when possible.

"The frog splash, when he did it for the first time at Survivor Series 2019 when I faced Brock," he said. "That was the first time he did a frog splash. I remember when he was asked, 'Hey, can you do the frog splash?' 'Yeah, yeah, I can.' Afterward, I asked him, 'Have you done it before?' He goes, 'No.' Things like that and to see his growth now and how he does it nowadays, I truly enjoy it and I have a lot to thank Eddie for."

Betrayals are inevitable in wrestling, but it seems Rey gets blindsided by friends and family more than most.

Dominik, Santos Escobar and Carlito have all turned their backs on Rey in the last two years, leading fans to wonder whether Rey is actually the one to blame in storyline. He was infamously attacked by his best friend Batista back in 2009 as well.

The Master of the 619 chalks it up to being "too friendly," trusting too easily and never letting his frustration get the better of him.

"I'm too friendly with people and because I don't know how to get mad and I can't be the bad guy, even at home," Mysterio said. "My wife sometimes will tell me, 'You have to show them a little bit more attitude.' I'm just so chill. I'm so relaxed. I can't change that character I've been for so many years, my whole life. I always end up trusting the wrong people and that's my problem. Maybe one day I'll just snap and go crazy."

The odds of Mysterio ever turning heel in WWE are extremely slim, but he's bound to reach his breaking point someday.

Rey stressed that his involvement in Dominik's development has actually been fairly limited. Beyond getting him in the door at WWE and teaming with him early on in his run, Dominik is solely responsible for everything he's accomplished so far and the progression he's shown in that time.

"I helped my son to a certain degree, obviously because he's my son and I gave him his introduction into wrestling and the comparisons were made," Rey said. "I think the only thing I helped him with was his first match, where I was right there in his corner and becoming the first father-son tag team champions. After that, everything he's done has been on his own and has gotten advice from people that aren't his father.

"To me, as a father, that makes me feel a large amount of pride because he's carving his own path now," he continued. "He's not in my footsteps, he's doing his own thing. I've never been a heel my whole career. Probably the only time that was kind of heelish was Filthy Animals. Overall, he's done his own thing. I can't give him any advice on how to be a heel, so he's done that on his own and he's figured that out on his own, which makes me feel very proud."

Rey's entire family—Dom, his wife Angie and his daughter Aalyah—had a prominent presence on WWE TV during their extensive storyline with Seth Rollins in the latter half of 2020. Aalyah later slapped Dom while sitting at ringside during his WrestleMania match against Rey in 2023.

"She still says he's still a d-bag and he's always been that way," Rey laughed. "Sometimes she'll say, 'Dom takes his role too seriously. He thinks the same character that he's on TV he has to be at home. I'm just going to slap him.' You do what you got to do. Dom has always been that way around the house. Always spontaneous with his remarks, very gritty, but overall, he gets a lot of that from my wife because my wife is like that as well."

Being a lifelong Padres fan, Mysterio has many memories of attending games throughout the years, but his favorite remains meeting Mr. Padre himself Tony Gwynn while with his father.

"As a kid, my dad used to bring me to Padres games and I remember one time specifically that I was able to bring him because I was throwing the first pitch and we met Tony Gwynn, rest in peace," Mysterio said. "I was able to get a picture of my dad, Tony Gwynn and myself and that, to me, is legendary."

Of the countless athletes and celebrities who have crossed over into the WWE world, Logan Paul comes close to leading the list. He has fared better than anyone could have ever expected and his enjoying outing against Rey at Crown Jewel 2023—where Logan emerged the new United States champion—proved that.

All eyes will be on Jake Paul's upcoming boxing match against WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson on July 20, and Rey couldn't bring himself to side with one over the other.

"The Pauls have a lot of hungry desire to succeed and are very good athletes overall," Mysterio said. "Look at Logan's growth in wrestling. I don't think I've ever seen anyone pick this up as fast as Logan has. We've had a lot of celebrities and athletes from their sports come into our worlds and they might do one or two shots and do okay, but to see Logan succeed is amazing.

"To see Jake as well... You also have to put out there that they're putting all their time and effort into becoming great and I know Jake is very serious about what he's doing," he added. "As far as who I have winning that fight, that's a hard one. That's really hard. Tyson will always be Tyson."

Before he calls it quits, Mysterio wants a WWE premium live event in Mexico.

WWE has gone international with its PLEs in the last two years and every single one of them has had an electric atmosphere. It should be more a matter of when than if Mexico gets a PLE of their own given the rich history wrestling has in the country.

The specific timeframe he provided for wanting to see it happen was three years, indicating his in-ring retirement could be coming up quickly. One final war with his son Dominik in the main event of a Mexico PLE would be an outstanding way for him to cap off his unparalleled run.

"I'm hoping that it happens in the next three years," Mysterio said. "I think my people deserve something as good as a PLE. I'm truly hoping. We have a huge stadium over there, Estadio Azteca, which I believe is being remodeled this year. I think the fans would go crazy. Mexico has always been an incredible crowd for wrestling and what better than to pay it off with WWE coming over there and giving them something as special as a PLE?"

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.