Of all the matches that have taken place on WWE’s grandest stage of them all, few have been more personal than a battle on this year’s card between a father and son that’s been 20-plus years in the making.
After months of verbal and physical altercations, Rey Mysterio will face Dominik Mysterio for the first time on Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium. The highly anticipated clash between the Mysterios in Los Angeles marks the second father-vs.-son matchup in WrestleMania history, with the first in 2001 when Shane McMahon defeated Vince McMahon in a chaotic street fight at WrestleMania 17.
Saturday’s match won’t have—and likely won’t need—the frills of a gimmick as it is sure to add plenty of emotion to what will be a bittersweet weekend for Rey Mysterio and his family, with the second-generation luchador also set to be enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday night. As one of the most decorated lucha libre stars of all time, the elder Mysterio has faced countless foes, from Eddie Guerrero to John Cena, in venues all over the world. But, for the 48-year-old icon, no opponent has ever compared to his 25-year-old son and former tag partner, Dominik, who bucked decades of tradition forged by the Mysterio name to go down his own path at the expense of the legacies of his father and his greatest WWE rival.
