The Custody Of Dominik Ladder Match Storyline, Explained (2024)

At No Way Out 2005, Eddie Guerrero teamed with long-time friend and rival Rey Mysterio to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. Thus started one of the strangest feuds in WWE history, which would end with Eddie and Rey having a violent and bitter feud, and with Rey's young son, Dominik, at the center of the storyline.

Rey Mysterio And Eddie Guerrero Have A Long History

WCW Saw The Beginning Of Rey Mysterio And Eddie Guerrero's Feud

• Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio were in ECW together.
• They were vital parts of the WCW cruiserweight division.
• Eddie and Rey were friends outside of the ring

Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero had a long history before they ever made it to WWE. The two were best friends in real life and worked in wrestling as friends and foes. They were in Mexico together. They both went to ECW around the same time. Rey and Eddie both moved on to WCW to help launch the cruiserweight division. Rey went to WWE and Eddie soon followed. Ironically, Rey was a child when he met Eddie for the first time.

In an interview with Complex, Rey Mysterio said:

"I remember the first time I met him, I wasn’t even in wrestling. I was just a fan and 13 years old, and he was wrestling with my uncle [Rey Misterio, Sr.]. They were teaming up, and I was just a kid. Deep down inside is a bond of brotherhood relationship that is unlike no other. I learned so much from Eddie inside the ring, outside the ring. He taught me how to pace myself."

Rey Mysterio And Eddie Guerrero Took Their Feud To WWE

Eddie Guerrero Turned Heel On Rey Mysterio

• Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero became tag team champions.
• Eddie and Rey faced each other at WrestleMania 21.
• An episode of SmackDown saw Eddie Guerrero attack Rey Mysterio.

After Rey and Eddie won the WWE Tag Team Championship in 2005, the two decided not to defend the Tag Titles at WrestleMania 21 and instead faced each other, so they could "bring the house down." Rey Mysterio won the match at WrestleMania and while Eddie looked visibly frustrated, he congratulated his partner.

After WrestleMania, tensions started rising between the best friends, with Eddie getting jealous of Rey, and this tension boiled over when they lost the Tag Titles to MNM. During the rematch to regain the titles, Eddie cost them the match as he abandoned Rey, leaving him to fight alone, despite calling Rey “his family” earlier in the show. On the May 5, 2005, episode of SmackDown, Eddie finally had enough and viciously attacked Rey Mysterio, delivering a brutal brainbuster on the steel steps. Eddie then adopted a new brooding character. He stopped driving his Lowrider to the ring, and he got a darker remix of his “Lie, Cheat, Steal” entrance music.

The Mysterio Family’s Dark Secret Was Revealed On SmackDown

Eddie Guerrero Aired A Shocking Revelation About Dominik Mysterio

• Eddie Guerrero took on Rey Mysterio at Great American Bash.
• Eddie Guerrero said he was the biological father of Dominik Mysterio.
• Rey Mysterio battled Eddie Guerrero at SummerSlam for custody of Dominik.

Following the attack, Eddie threatened to reveal a secret about the Mysterio family, and the storyline grew more and more personal with both Eddie’s and Rey’s families getting involved. Eddie’s family and Rey pleaded with Eddie not to reveal the secret and then set up a match at the Great American Bash: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, and if Eddie lost, he would not tell the secret.

Eddie lost that match, but the following week on SmackDown, he revealed the secret, anyway. Eddie told Rey Mysterio’s seven-year-old son Dominik that Rey wasn’t his dad and that Eddie himself was his biological father!

In the following weeks, Eddie revealed more details of the secret during a series of videos entitled “Eddie’s Bedtime Stories.” Eddie claimed that seven years ago his marriage was going through hard times, and so he had a child out of wedlock, Dominik. He then claimed, as Rey Mysterio and his wife were having trouble conceiving, that he left Dominik on their doorstep for them to raise.

In subsequent weeks, Eddie threatened to take back custody of Dominik, drawing up custody papers and having his lawyers present them to Rey. Eddie would also have uncomfortable segments with Dominik, claiming he would take Dominik home to the Guerrero family. This all led to a match at SummerSlam, a Ladder Match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, with Dominik’s custody papers hanging high above the ring.

The Custody Of Dominik Ladder Match Is A Crazy Part Of WWE History

Vickie Guerrero Got Involved In Their SummerSlam Match

During the match at SummerSlam, just as it looked like Eddie was about to win, Dominik entered the ring and tried to shake Eddie off the ladder. Eddie confronted the seven-year-old and even went to attack him before Rey fought him off. After that, Eddie hit Rey with the Three Amigos on the ladder and almost won again before Eddie’s own wife Vickie ran down and pushed the ladder over. Vickie would then hold Eddie down as Rey climbed the ladder, winning the match and gaining custody of Dominik. The storyline received mixed reviews, with many thinking it was incredibly over the top and cruel to subject a kid to this kind of emotional story. More pragmatic criticism was that Eddie lost every single match against Rey from WrestleMania to SummerSlam.

Dominik Mysterio gave his opinion on the feud during an interview on Out of Character with Ryan Satin. Dominik claimed he even thought he would have to go home with Eddie had he won the match at SummerSlam. He said:

WWE Continued To Reference The Custody Of Dominik Storyline

The Miz Questioned Who Dominik Mysterio's Father Was

• Dominik Mysterio became a WWE wrestler like his father.
• Dominik teamed with his Rey Mysterio in the tag team division.
• Dominik Mysterio began wrestling in 2020.

On an episode of Monday Night RAW a few years, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio feuded with The Miz and John Morrison. It was in this feud that Miz referenced to the Dominik storyline, asking if Rey was Eddie's son or Rey's. It was a fun callback, but also one that shows how far Dominik has come. Rey and Eddie fought for his custody when he was seven.

Dominik is now in his 20s and has been a WWE superstar since 2020, when he started off by feuding with Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy. Dominik won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year in 2020 and won the tag team titles with his dad Rey, beating Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode and holding them for 63 days.

The Storyline With Eddie Guerrero Helped To Influence Rey And Dominik Mysterio's 2023 Feud

Father And Son Did Battle In WWE At WrestleMania 39

• Dominik Mysterio turned heel and attacked his father in 2022.
• Rey Mysterio beat Dominik at WrestleMania 39.
• Dominik has always made reference to Rey being a "deadbeat dad".

After Dominik Mysterio turned heel on Rey Mysterio back at Clash at the Castle 2022, WWE expertly crafted their feud to culminate at WrestleMania 39 in a massive father vs. son match. Littered throughout their rivalry were references to the ladder match between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. For instance, Dominik has plenty of times utilized Eddie Guerrero’s moves, mannerisms, and more, with his fellow Judgment Day faction partner Rhea Ripley taking up the nickname of ‘Mami’, in clear reference to Guerrero being ‘Papi’.

Additionally, Dominik and Rey’s feud has been about parenthood and being a father, with Dominik on more than one occasion stating that he wished Eddie Guerrero was his father. This, of course, calls back to the ladder match, nearly a whole two decades later. Fans should expect more references when Dominik and Rey no doubt come face-to-face again, this time with perhaps a mask on the line. A ladder match between these two for something other than a title would be the natural progression of their story within WWE together.