Dominik Mysterio said he wants to challenge Penta for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 42 and is willing to put his hair on the line to make it happen.
“I want my IC championship back. I don’t care what I have to do,” Mysterio said in an interview with Brad Gilmore on the Reality of Wrestling YouTube channel. “I know Penta is an ugly, ugly dude, so I’m willing to put my hair up on the line against his mask and the IC championship. Hell, I’ll even put up my mustache – whatever it takes to get my IC title back.”
Mysterio said his goal is to walk out of WrestleMania as a double champion, noting he first needs to retain his AAA Mega Championship this Saturday.
“I beat this dude probably seven or eight times already. He got lucky on this last one because of Finn Balor’s dumb ass,” Mysterio said of Penta. “I would like to walk out as a double champ at WrestleMania.”
Taking Over Judgment Day
Mysterio addressed the recent faction shakeup that saw Finn Balor removed from The Judgment Day. He said the group was not functioning as a cohesive unit under with Balor.
“There’s a lot of differences going on that we weren’t being a cohesive unit. At the end of the day, we played the Finn Balor playbook. He should have seen it coming,” Mysterio said.
He praised JD McDonagh for being the one to make the move. “I’m so happy for JD for finally being able to leave Finn’s shadow,” he said.
Mysterio admitted he did not initially see the Judgment Day lasting as long as it has. The faction originally launched with Edge, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley. When Edge departed, Mysterio said he had doubts.
“I fought it for a long time. It felt weird and hokey at the very beginning of it,” he said. “But then something happened where all four of us clicked, and I think that’s what made it work, because we all kind of clicked outside of the ring, and we were all riding together, so it all transitioned to inside of the ring.”
He called the group’s track record remarkable. “There’s not one time in the Judgment Day where we haven’t had a championship, or all of us covered in gold, or constantly kicking people out to bring people in,” he said.
WrestleMania Crowd Flipped on Him
Mysterio reflected on the unexpected crowd reaction at last year’s WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, where fans who had been booing him for months suddenly rallied behind him during the match.
“I remember leading up to WrestleMania, I was just getting booed out of the buildings, not being able to talk,” he said. “And then I show up – I don’t know if it was because of a heavy Latino crowd in Vegas, or we were a couple hours away from San Diego – but I was outside of the ring, and I was like, ‘Are they singing a song about me?’ I was like, ‘This s**t’s crazy.'”
He said the shift caught him off guard mid-match. “I’d get beat up, and they’d start booing, and then I’d start doing something, and they’d go crazy. And I’m like, this is not normal. They’re probably watching something else. Because this isn’t adding up.”
When asked if the unexpected reaction changed his psychology during the match, Mysterio said he deferred to Balor, who was calling the match at the time. “I gave seniority to my guy Finn. Whatever he wanted, we would go with,” he said. “But I wasn’t going to change anything of what I was currently doing. I’m still going to be the heel that I am. And if people like it, they like it. Sometimes you got to love a bad guy.”
AAA Debut Was the Wildest Moment of His Career
Mysterio said the loudest reaction he has ever received was not at WrestleMania or Survivor Series but at his surprise AAA debut in Mexico City at Arena Juan de la Barrera.
“Nobody knew I was coming. I showed up. The show was on a Saturday. I flew in Saturday. The show started at eight. I got to the arena at like 8:15, so no one knew I was coming,” he said.
He said the crowd response was so loud it caused technical problems. “I was told – this could all be bulls**t – but I was told that when they were recording, the speakers blew out. The cameras couldn’t capture the full audio of it, because it was just so loud,” he said. “It gave me goosebumps. For me, it was something that I always wanted to do – wrestling Mexico with AAA. And showing up with the IC championship too, of all things.”
Mysterio ranked the moment above beating John Cena at Survivor Series in his hometown of San Diego and above his WrestleMania wins, specifically because of the intimacy of the smaller venue compared to large open stadiums.
Beating John Cena at Petco Park
Mysterio also spoke about defeating John Cena in what was Cena’s last Survivor Series and the first wrestling event held at Petco Park in San Diego.
“I’m born and raised in San Diego. I’ve gone to Padre games my whole life. I did a bunch of s**t I shouldn’t have done in downtown San Diego as well – got some great stories I can’t tell,” Mysterio said. “Walking in the city where I’m from, walking out as a double champion, beating John Cena – that’s just insane. You can’t write it.”
WrestleMania 42 Predictions
Mysterio guaranteed that both he and Liv Morgan will leave WrestleMania 42 with championships. “No matter what happens with me, I’m not worried about myself, because I know I’m going to be okay. She is going to walk out as your new Women’s World Champion. She’s gonna destroy Stephanie,” he said.
WrestleMania 42 takes place April 18-19 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
When asked about his post-WrestleMania celebratory meal, Mysterio had a detailed plan. He said he would start at In-N-Out for a four-by-four burger with animal fries, then drive to Tacos El Gordo for three cabeza, three tripa, and three adobada tacos. “Nine tacos all together with the four-by-four. Salsa. In-N-Out,” he said.
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