"I thought my dad was kidding" - RAW Superstar was surprised when WWE booked him to face Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins will go down as one of the greats of his generation. Many consider him to be the second-most pushed full-time superstar in WWE, only behind Roman Reigns. For an up-and-coming 24-year-old star, the prospect of having a debut match against Rollins would seem like a dream - but that's exactly what happened to Dominik Mysterio in 2020.
When WWE had to do without Reigns for a seemingly indefinite period between late 2018 and early 2019 (his return date was still unknown then), The Architect was chosen as a replacement.
Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, Dominik Mysterio revealed his reaction when his father Rey Mysterio informed him that his debut match would take place at SummerSlam against Seth Rollins:
“Oh, most definitely. I was excited, I thought it was a joke at first. When he told me I thought my dad was kidding but they were serious and it ended up becoming one of my favorite matches, and I’ve only had a year [laughs]” said Dominik Mysterio.
Dominik felt that the timing was right and that he couldn't skip such a big opportunity:
“When he asked me he’s like, ‘No, it’s serious.’ I told him, ‘Alright, let’s do it.’ I thought I was ready. I had been training already for a little over two years. So, if there was gonna be a time, now is the time. I wasn’t gonna skip on this opportunity,” added Dominik Mysterio. (H/T SEScoops.com)
August 23th, 2020. 1 year ago today @DomMysterio35 made his professional wrestling debut in a match against @WWERollins #SummerSlam https://t.co/w4GWIPJp8S
In the end, it turned out to be the highlight of SummerSlam 2020, with even Vince McMahon being seen backstage giving praise to Dominik Mysterio and telling him that few superstars can get the reaction that he did.
Seth Rollins, meanwhile, seemed to be honored at the fact that a legend like Rey Mysterio chose him to be his son's first opponent in WWE. He won in what turned out to be a match that exceeded expectations.
Is the Seth Rollins match the height of Dominik Mysterio's WWE career so far?
Another clip from @btsportwwe's Instagram #SethRollins
@WWERollins talking about his match with @DomMysterio35 at last year's #SummerSlam
- "That was a special one. I'll cherish that one forever." https://t.co/RkRQveg2IM
Dominik Mysterio hasn't been able to have the same type of match that he did with Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2020. This isn't to knock him as a performer, but the company hasn't invested as much in him as they did initially during the ThunderDome era.
With that said, there seems to be no rush whatsoever to get Dominik to the top. He is currently rumored to be involved in a break-up angle with his father - one that seems set for sooner rather than later.
It will be interesting to see if he can gain a level of heat parallel to his popularity level last year before his match against Seth Rollins.