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The WWE usually loves wrestlers that have a pedigree, and we're not speaking of the Triple H variety.
No, instead we're talking about the legacies of the great wrestling families, such as the Hart's, or the Anoa'i family mentioned by the WWE. Charlotte will never be anything but a Flair following in her dad Ric's enormous footsteps. Randy Orton has always been associated with both his father and grandfather, despite completely eclipsing both in terms of in-ring achievements. Names like Brian Christopher, Ted DiBiase, Curtis Axel all got to where they are with a little help from their famous wrestling families.
WWE aren't the only ones to believe in the power of the family name in wrestling. Smaller promotions like TNA, AEW, RoH, CMLL, Triple-A, and MLW all believe heavily in bringing in 2nd and 3rd generation superstars. Some of the names leading those companies include members of the Blanchard family, the Rhodes family, and members of the Anoa'i family. All of whom have family legacies in the business.
However, most of the big family names are either heavily contracted to WWE, such as Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and Natalya Neidhart, or have wrestled on WWE TV at some point, from Cody and Dustin Rhodes to Tessa Blanchard's appearances at the Mae Young Classic. Even Teddy Hart and David Hart Smith appeared in WWE- and both were released after failing to live up to their families standards. Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes both made their names with the WWE before they established themselves at the top of the card for All Elite Wrestling.
Some of the names on this list include sons of WWE Hall of Famers, wrestling legends and famous surnames like Von Erich, Hall, and Gunn. Considering that some in this list are third-generation talents, it's a little surprising that they haven't been spotted on WWE TV as of yet.
# 5 Austin Gunn
Austin Gunn is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn, and only started wrestling in 2017. Austin has used his father's name heavily, both taking his father's surname as well as borrowing inspiration for his ring attire and finisher. He has also been helped by his father in getting his foot in the door, as the young Gunn appeared in the All In Pre-Show Battle Royal. Austin was trained by his father and the Dudley Boys at their academy, the Team 3D Wrestling Academy in Florida.
Despite his relative inexperience in the business, Austin has wrestled for several independent promotions, like Pro Wrestling 2.0, down in Florida and WWE's old developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling. On June 29, 2019, the second generation Gunn announced at an event for River City Wrestling that he had signed a deal with Ring of Honor.
At ROH, Austin will once again be under the watchful eye of Bully Ray and it may only be a matter of time before we see one of the newest legacy wrestlers at WWE or at AEW, given his father's position with the company.
# 4 Cody Hall
Cody Hall, the son of NWO co-founder Scott Hall, is another recent second-generation superstar trying to make his mark on the landscape of professional wrestling. Despite getting a generous leg up, working in tag team matches with his father's old running buddies in Kevin Nash and X-Pac, Hall was never able to establish himself in American wrestling promotion. So he headed to Japan. where he trained for 4 years with both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah.
Since leaving Japan in early 2019, Hall has mainly been working the independent scene in England and Germany. Though he did appear on a World Association of Wrestling card, which included the likes of NWA Champion Nick Aldis, Billy Gunn, Rene Dupree, Hardcore Holly, and various members of the Knight family.
Despite still being only 28 years old, it's unlikely that Cody ever makes it to the WWE, even with his famous father's last name.
# 3 Ross and Marshall Von Erich
Sons of WWE Hall of Famer, Kevin Von Erich, and grandsons to the Von Erich patriarch Fritz Von Erich, Ross and Marshall were trained by their father, Harley Race and the NOAH Dojo in Japan. After completing their training back in Japan, Ross and Marshall returned to wrestle in North America. One of their first matches back in America was at TNA's Slammiversary XII which was in the Von Erich's home territory of Texas.
After wrestling a few more matches with TNA, the Von Erichs returned to the independent scene, again wrestling predominantly in Texas and Oklahoma, for the World Class Revolution promotion. It was announced on May 7th, 2019 that Ross and Marshall had signed multi-year deals with Major League Wrestling. The pair made their MLW debut with then-MLW World Heavyweight Champion Tom Lawlor against Contra Unit on an episode of MLW Fusion.
With their new deals, and MLW's status as one of the fastest-growing independent promotions, the Von Erichs are sure to help with the promotion's name recognition. Especially in Texas, where the Von Erich name is still currency. Both have spoken about turning down offers to sign with the WWE due to touring schedules and how long it would take them away from their families.
# 2 Brian Pillman Jr
Son of the Loose Cannon and carrying his name and likeness with him into the ring, Brian Pillman, Jr. began his training with former WWE Superstar Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy. Pillman took to wrestling quickly and within a year of starting to train at the academy, he would make his in-ring debut. Within a year of his debut, he had wrestled for a multitude of wrestling promotions and signed a deal with Major League Wrestling. When he came to MLW, he aligned with his father's former rival in WCW Kevin Sullivan.
Pillman would eventually turn on Sullivan and align himself with Teddy Hart and David Hart Smith, two fellow legacy wrestlers, to form the New Era Hart Foundation. Pillman was made an MLW Tag Team Champion by virtue of the Freebird rule, but only defended it once as a part of the team that lost the title to Dynasty.
Pillman also participated in the AEW Double or Nothing Casino Battle Royale, in which he was eliminated by Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen.
# 1 Jacob Fatu
Perhaps the only member of the Anoa'i family to not make it to the WWE, considering that Jacob is cousins with the Usos, was trained by their father Rikishi and his father was a member of the Islanders tag-team. Fatu first started wrestling in 2012 for Rikishi's KnokX Pro Academy promotion. He wrestled in the academy for four years before making appearances at other independent promotions in California.
However, the Samoan Werewolf would eventually make his way to Major League Wrestling, participating in the 39-man Battle Riot. He would then become a part of the Contra Unit stable alongside Josef Samuel, and former WWE Superstar Simon Gotch. Fatu would make a massive impact at MLW after he defeated then-reigning Matt Lawlor for the MLW Heavyweight title at the promotions Kings of the Colosseum PPV.
Given his family name and his growing mark on the industry, it's probably only a matter of time before Jacob Fatu joins WWE and becomes another member of the infamous Anoa'i clan who has made it to the promotion.
What do you think? Will any of these stars with famous families eventually work in a WWE ring? What other wrestlers with famous lineages have yet to work with the company? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
