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2023 has arguably been one of the best years in WWE history, with many top babyfaces like Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn reaching the top of the card.
However, every hero needs a great villain, and while there are many heels in the company, none have shone brighter this year than Dominik Mysterio.
The son of Rey Mysterio has become his own man in The Judgment Day faction. Therefore, we are going to take a look at four ways Dirty Dom has exceeded WWE's expectations in 2023.
#4. The most despised man in WWE
A common trope that has become a staple of a Dominik Mysterio promo is the fans completely booing him out of the building whenever he tries to get a word out during one of his promos.
As a full-time performer, Dom has gone from town to town and show to show this year, being heckled and booed by all who come across him.
While he is on the RAW roster, Dominik has also made many appearances on both NXT and SmackDown as well.
During a recent interview on the Cheap Heat podcast, two-time WWE Hall of Famer and current NXT head of creative Shawn Michaels hailed Mysterio as the company's MVP of the year.
"To me, Dominik Mysterio - MVP of the WWE this year. Every time he comes here, I look at him and I say, 'Hardest working man in show business'. He has just been an iron man for us. And again, I can't speak to what he does on the main roster, but he has just done everything we have asked of him. He's done it professionally. He's done it admirably. Done it to the best of his ability." [H/T Cultaholic]
#3. Facing two top returning stars
Last month at Survivor Series: WarGames, both Randy Orton and CM Punk made their triumphant returns to World Wrestling Entertainment, leading many to question who their first singles matches will be against.
Fans did not have to wait long as Dom battled The Viper the following Monday on RAW, and although he lost to Orton, Mysterio more than held his own against the former WWE Champion.
Speaking on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, Randy Orton praised all the hard work that Dominik has been putting in over the last year:
"I am so proud of Dom as well. When he first started coming up, Rey brought him around and it was like, ‘Ohhh, this kid needs another f****ng ten years. He needs to go fight in a war or something and come back grizzled.’ The tattoos help. He’s got it now." [H/T Wrestling Headlines]
It was also recently announced that CM Punk's first match in WWE in just under a decade will take place at an upcoming house show on December 26, 2023, with his opponent being none other than Dominik Mysterio.
#2. Adding singles gold to his trophy cabinet
As a part of The Judgment Day faction alongside Rhea Ripley, Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and JD McDonagh, Dom's confidence as a performer has skyrocketed.
This year saw him continue to make history as he would go on to win his first singles championship, with him capturing the NXT North American Championship on two separate occasions.
While he recently lost the belt to Dragon Lee, Dominik more than held his own when holding the championship, as he added top-quality star power to NXT on Tuesday nights.
#1. Stepping out of his father's shadow
The main reason Dominik chose to turn heel last year was due to him being unhappy that his father was grabbing all the attention whenever they would share the ring.
Fast forward a year later, and Dominik is very much now his own man, with his own legacy in the WWE.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Chavo Guerrero, who certainly knows the Mysterios well, praised Dominik for being far above where he should be.
"Dominik Mysterio is killing it. He’s doing so good. He’s far beyond where he should be. As far as being good as well. It’s pretty cool to see them doing all this stuff. And we talked about that before. You get a lot of people especially because of Eddie and how monumental and like cult following he has and how many people see how really great he is and was." [H/T Wrestling Headlines]
This year, Dominik achieved a unique feat as he became the first superstar to main event RAW, NXT, and SmackDown in the same week, making him a truly reliable and established star.
