The 2024 WWE Elimination Chamber event held in Perth, Australia featured several memorable moments, but none more controversial than an incident involving emerging villain Dominik Mysterio. The son of the legendary Rey Mysterio has recently undergone a dramatic character transformation, embracing a dark new persona that has made him one of WWE’s most hated heels.
During the tag team championship match between champions Finn Balor and Damian Priest of The Judgment Day and challengers Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate of New Catch Republic, Dominik attempted multiple times to interfere on behalf of his stablemates. The raucous Perth crowd loudly booed and jeered the young Mysterio, who seemed to relish playing the antagonist.
Late in the thrilling back-and-forth match, Dunne hit his trademark Bitter End finisher on Balor and seemed poised to capture the titles. But the crafty Dominik pulled Balor under the bottom rope to the floor, breaking the pinfall. The referee eventually caught Mysterio’s interference and ejected him from ringside.
The unruly crowd continued directing vulgar chants and hand gestures at Dominik as he departed, forcing WWE to briefly cut the live television feed. The controversial “blackout” moment quickly went viral on social media, with fans buzzing about what WWE may have been trying to shield from viewers at home.
Despite Dominik’s ejection, his Judgment Day teammates Balor and Priest managed to retain the tag team gold following a hard-fought battle. But the post-match discussion largely centered around the salacious crowd reaction to Mysterio’s latest dastardly act.
With his recent transformation into one of WWE’s top villains, the young Mysterio has begun garnering intense heat from the WWE Universe. And the Perth crowd’s volcanic response shows that Dominik’s character work is successfully generating the type of strong fan reactions that performers crave.
While cutting away from vulgar crowd signs or chants is not unprecedented in WWE’s PG programming, the brief blackout moment has sparked wider debate among wrestling commentators. Some argue Dominik’s vile actions crossed a line, while others say eliciting such animosity is precisely what makes a great heel.
Either way, the controversial incident has shot Dominik Mysterio’s rising heel persona into the spotlight. And WWE will likely continue featuring him prominently given the visceral reactions he provokes from modern crowds. As the son of one of wrestling’s all-time fan favorites, Dominik’s ability to draw genuine disdain from audiences should cement his villainous status in WWE for years to come.
