5 AEW stars and their parents' professions

While wrestling families in AEW aren't rare by any means - Cody and Dustin Rhodes, for example, are the sons of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes - most stars' parents have never competed inside the squared circle.

These parents have ordinary jobs and work in different fields, including teaching and music production. Although their children are now famous pro wrestling stars, they remain little-known to fans.

Many of these AEW stars' parents have never even been wrestling fans. Despite this, they have significantly helped their children fulfill their dreams of becoming pro wrestlers.

Here are five AEW stars and their parents' professions.

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#5. AEW World Champion Kenny Omega

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega was born and raised in Winnepeg, Canada in 1983. His mother works in family services, while his father is a transport officer for the Canadian government.

Omega's love for pro wrestling started at a young age. While his mother was not a wrestling fan, his father enjoyed watching the current AEW World Champion's favorite WWE show with his son.

"When they had Saturday Night’s Main Event, it was my favorite show. It was on too late for me, so my dad would always tape them and it would be ready for me to watch at six in the morning," Omega told Sports Illustrated.

The 38-year-old's fascination with pro wrestling led him to pursue a career in the business. He made his debut inside the squared circle in 2000 at the age of 17. He competed in a few promotions before signing a developmental contract with WWE. Omega spent two years in WWE before leaving the company to compete on the independent circuit.

In 2019, the Canadian wrestler signed a four-year contract with All Elite Wrestling. Omega has been very successful so far in Tony Khan's company. He won the AEW World Tag Team Titles in January 2020, alongside Adam Page. Although they lost their titles in September, the 38-year-old quickly became champion again, winning the AEW World Title last December. He has been holding the AEW World Championship ever since.

#4. AEW star Matt Sydal

AEW star Matt Sydal was only 17 when he made his wrestling debut over two decades ago. His parents, however, were school teachers. Nonetheless, they supported him as he pursued his dream wrestling career.

"Our (Matt and his brother Mike Sydal) parents let us build a wrestling ring in our backyard when we were kids, so I’d say they are pretty supportive," the AEW star said in an interview with Slam Wrestling.

Five years after his wrestling debut, Sydal would follow in his parents' footsteps by enrolling at their alma mater, the University of Missouri. In 2005, the AEW star graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing. While in college, the now 38-year-old continued wrestling on the independent circuit with the help of his mother.

"I did not have any money, and I had to have my mom make my gear for me. I just wanted to get my name out there," he told The Columbia Missourian.

In the past few years, Sydal has competed in a number of different promotions, including WWE. The former Evan Bourne won the WWE Tag Team Titles once, alongside Kofi Kingston, before leaving Vince McMahon's company in 2014. Last year, he joined AEW. He recently wrestled against CM Punk on an episode of AEW Rampage.

#3. AEW star Nyla Rose

AEW star Nyla Rose is certainly one of the most interesting figures in pro wrestling today. Her parents, on the other hand, are about as far from the business as you can get in regards to their careers.

Her father is an engineer, and her mother is an early education teacher. The 39-year-old's parents were not wrestling fans. It was actually her grandmother who was the one who first introduced her to WWE, regularly watching shows with her granddaughter.

Rose enrolled at a local wrestling school while studying in college. In 2019, Rose signed with AEW.

The 39-year-old has had a lot of success so far in Tony Khan's company. In February 2020, she defeated Riho on Dynamite to capture the AEW Women's World Championship. Rose also has the proud distinction of being the first openly transgender wrestler to win a title in a major American promotion.

The Native Beast held the AEW Women's World Title for nearly three months before losing it to Hikaru Shida at the 2020 Double or Nothing pay-per-view. Since then, she has tried twice to recapture the title. Rose faced Shida at Full Gear 2020, but came up short. The past July, she went one-on-one with the current champion Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D but lost again.

#2. AEW star Lee Johnson

Lee Johnson is one of AEW's hottest young talents. The 23-year-old kicked off his career nearly four years ago in the World Wrestling Alliance. He later enrolled in Cody Rhodes' Nightmare Factory school, where he trained and graduated.

Johnson, as you no doubt gathered, does not come from a wrestling family. Nonetheless, his father does work in the entertainment industry. The 23-year-old recently revealed his dad's profession during his appearance on Brandi Rhodes' YouTube show A Shot Of Brandi.

"My dad is in the music industry. He is a music producer. He used to work alongside guys like T.I," Johnson said.

Johnson made his AEW debut in early 2020. However, he had to wait until February 2021 to score his first victory. He teamed up with Cody Rhodes to defeat Cezar Bononi and Peter Avalon. Since then, the 23-year-old has won 19 other matches. Johnson also attempted to capture the AEW TNT Championship from Miro this August. While giving a solid performance, Johnson came up short.

Johnson has also been enjoying his time outside the squared circle. The AEW star recently revealed on Rhodes to the Top that he is dating his colleague Julia Hart.

#1. AEW star Big Swole

Like all previous entries on this list, the 32-year-old AEW star Big Swole does not come from a wrestling family.

Swole's father works as a pastor. Nonetheless, he was not the one who introduced her to pro wrestling. Instead, it was her former step-father.

"My former step dad, Larry, he introduced me to wrestling when I was younger. He was like, 'hey, have you ever seen wrestling before?' Here I am. I’m four years old, and I’m like, ‘uh, no. What are you talking about?’ He puts on WCW. I think it was Glacier match. I was like, ‘this is awesome. This is great. I can yell at the TV. I get to fight a little bit inside the house and practice my moves on my step brother Deron," she said on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.

Swole's mother has also influenced her daughter's career. Before Big Swole became a pro wrestling star, she joined the United States Air Force to fulfill her mom's lost dream.

"I remembered promising her when I was younger, because she wanted to go to the air force. But she didn't have anybody to push her to follow her dreams. And so I was like, mommy I'll go to the air force for you," The 32-year-old explained.

After leaving service, Big Swole started wrestling. She wrestled a few times in WWE before officially joining AEW in December 2019. The U.S. military veteran has not competed inside the squared circle for nearly a month. In her last match, she defeated Allie Katch on AEW Dark.