Credit: WWE.comIn the second emotionally charged match of the night, Dominik Mysterio sought to repay the torment, physical and emotional agony dealt his family by Seth Rollins.
The Monday Night Messiah, always taunting, sported tights similar to the Phantom design worn by Rey Mysterio at the 1997 Halloween Havoc pay-per-view against Eddie Guerrero.
A spurt of lucha libre-style offense from Dominik gave way to a no-nonsense barrage by Rollins, who then introduced a kendo stick to the match. A dropkick by the second-generation star allowed Mysterio to grab the weapon but he failed to connect with it.
Rollins wrestled control of the match and continued to taunt Rey at ringside. Dominik capitalized on the lack of focus, sending The Messiah into a chair with a drop toehold. He followed with a buckle bomb and tornado DDT for a quality near-fall.
Dominik unleashed a kendo-stick attack, retaliating against Rollins for a similar assault two weeks ago by breaking the weapon over the former world champion's back. The fight spilled onto the ropes, where Rollins delivered a superplex, then followed up immediately with a Falcon Arrow for a near-fall as cameras caught a concerned look on the face of the babyface's mother, Angie.
The heel retrieved his own kendo stick and unloaded on Dominik, daring Rey to save his son. He set up a table, continued to smack the young competitor with the weapon and set him up on the ropes. Dominik crotched a trash-talking Rollins and brought him off the top and through the table with a White Russian Legsweep.
Dominik uncorked a frog splash in an ode to Guerrero, but he could only keep Rollins down for two.
The Messiah regained control, removed Dominik's shirt and continued his cane assault. He produced a pair of handcuffs but Angie appeared. The distraction allowed Dominik to score a roll-up for two. Murphy jumped into the match and leveled the rookie with a knee to the face. Rey also got involved, saving his son's eye from the heels, but he then found himself handcuffed to the top rope.
Rollins teased confronting Mrs. Mysterio when an incensed Dominik attacked. He backbody-dropped Murphy and delivered a modified 619 that sent Rollins into the guardrail. Another 619 left The Messiah stunned but a frog splash attempt ended with Dominik crashing into his rival's knees.
The heel again taunted Rey, delivering a stomp to Dominik just feet from the future Hall of Famer, and Rollins took the win to a chorus of boos.
Rollins defeated Dominik
Rollins is a great professional wrestler and showed why with his performance in this match.
He took a young man with no professional experience to date, and he made him look like an absolute star in this spectacular bit of business. The storytelling here was off the charts and The Monday Night Messiah did everything in his power to put Dominik in a position to succeed.
He sold like hell when the situation called for it and was the antagonistic ass when he needed to be. He was the glue that held the fight together and deserves a considerable amount of credit for the finished product.
With that said, Dominik was awesome in his first in-ring performance.
Faced with the weight of the world on his shoulders to deliver a performance that lived up to the story that accompanied it, the 23-year-old answered any skepticism around his inexperience with a performance that proved his future is as bright as he wants it to be.
There will be growing pains, but you could not have asked for a better performance out of him on his WWE debut.
This belongs on the short list of WWE Match of the Year candidates.
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