Even if you don't know anything about pro-wrestling, the one thing you will know for certain is that sports entertainment, as the WWE likes to call it, is scripted. Sure, it requires a lot of skill to perform in the ring, and a lot of the injuries sustained are very much real, but at the end of the day, pro-wrestling is scripted.
This allows wrestling promotions such as the WWE to take advantage of the fact to alter storylines and characters to fit the narrative direction in which they want to take certain storylines. After all, when everything is scripted, you can take all the liberties you want with facts.
One such popular direction that WWE takes is with wrestling families. I mean, sure, there are the legit ones such as The Hardy Boyz, The McMahon family, The Hart Foundation, etc. but there are also many popular wrestling families which are entirely and utterly fake.
So, without any further ado, here are five fake WWE families:
#5 The Smoking Gunns
Kicking off our list are The Smoking Gunns. Comprised of kayfabe brothers, Billy Gunn and Bart Gunn, the Smoking Gunns operated under the gimmick of being a couple of cowboy brothers who were part of the WWE's tag team division.
Performing as a team between 1993 and 1996, Billy and Bart won the WWF Tag Team Championships on three occasions during this period and enjoyed quite a bit of success. In fact, they were so well known as brothers that both of them kept the Gunn last name even after they split.
Bart Gunn would go on to have mediocre singles run, but Billy, on the other hand, would join up Triple H's Degeneration X and form one of the most popular tag teams of all time – The New Age Outlaws – with Road Dogg.
#4 The Hollys
When racecar driver and pro-wrestler, Sparky Plugg, failed to spark any interest amongst the WWE Universe – pun fully intended – he was repackaged as the no-nonsense Hardcore Holly. It was with the Hardcore gimmick that he would gain a lot of popularity during the Attitude Era.
In fact, it was this very popularity that led the WWE to create a fake family around Holly by introducing Crash Holly and later on, Molly Holly. Both Crash and Molly were supposed to be his cousins.
All three enjoyed decent mid-card success throughout their run. The male Hollys even won the WWF Tag Team Championships in addition to their staple Hardcore adventures while Molly Holly was a top performer in the Women's Division.
All the success in the world did not make them a real family, though.
#3 The Dudley Boyz
Arguably the greatest tag team to ever step foot inside a pro-wrestling ring, The Dudley Boyz enjoyed success no matter where they went. ECW, WWE, TNA, it didn't matter to the Dudleyz.
D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley were portrayed as on-screen brothers despite being on the opposite ends of the racial spectrum, and the fans ate it up because they were just that damn good inside the squared circle.
Also read: These five Superstars could be World Champion in the near future
Things got even more complicated when they introduced their cousin, Spike Dudley. Spike added his own pint-sized flavour to the Dudley Boyz but was in no way shape or form related to either of the other two.
Overall, the three were magnificent performers who were never related.
#2 Edge and Christian
Today, it is a well-known fact that Edge and Christian are two best friends who grew up wanting to be part of the WWE. It was their ultimate dream and they managed to achieve that dream – together.
Except, when the pair first debuted, they were cast as brothers. Over the years, with their time with the Brood as well as on their own, they became one of the top tag teams of the Attitude Era along with the Dudleyz and the Hardyz.
After they split to embark on their singles careers, the WWE soon abandoned the whole brothers' angle and went with the truth of the matter – that they were best friends from Canada who had made it to the WWE.
It's hilarious to look back at their brotherly segments and the two aren't afraid to poke fun at it themselves, as we saw during Edge's Hall of Fame induction.
#1 The Brothers of Destruction
The one that everyone knows is fake. Kane and The Undertaker are in no way shape or form related, but that doesn't stop the WWE Universe from accepting the kayfabe story that they are.
This is because of the sheer impact the two men have had on the wrestling business as a whole, and the WWE, in particular. There is no doubt that The Undertaker will go down as one of the greatest to ever step foot inside the ring, and Kane isn't too far behind on that list.
Ever since debuting as The Undertaker's brother nearly two decades ago, Kane and The Deadman have been friends and foes and everything in between.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
