5 Father-son duos that teamed up on WWE programming

The concept of family in professional wrestling and WWE can often be a tricky affair. While brothers have teamed up with each other to take on their rivals inside the ring, they have also broken up due to jealousy.

Also, it is very common for WWE Superstars to follow in their father's footsteps and become a second or third-generation wrestler. There have been instances where they even teamed up together as a united front to face their rivals. Sometimes, we have also seen Superstars surpass the legacies of their fathers and even grandfathers.

Just recently, Rey Mysterio's son Dominik Mysterio made his in-ring debut at WWE SummerSlam 2020 against Seth Rollins. Although Dominik lost the match, he received praise for going the distance with a veteran like The Monday Night Messiah.

Also, on the August 24 episode of Monday Night RAW, Rey and Dominik teamed up together to face Seth Rollins and Murphy. Just like Rey and Dominik, we will take a look at five such father-son duos that teamed up in WWE to take on their opponents in a match and lived up to the popular proverbial remark - 'Like father, like son'.

Please note, that we will only be discussing biological father and son duos and not the kayfabe ones, such as Finlay and Hornswoggle or Kane and Paul Bearer.

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#5 Vince and Shane McMahon

Shane and Vince McMahon ganging-up on Shawn Michaels

No one in WWE has had quite the complex relationship that company chairman Vince McMahon and his son, Shane McMahon have had. While Shane has spent more time inside a WWE ring and has been a former Hardcore Champion, European Champion and a SmackDown Tag Team Champion with The Miz, his father Vince has been the one to hold the WWE Championship once. Over the years, the McMahons have often waged war with one another but have also quickly put their differences aside and aligned when it came to defending the McMahon family name.

In 2006, Shane O'Mac teamed up with his father Vince McMahon to assist him in his feud against Shawn Michaels. At WWE Backlash, Shane and Vince squared off against The Heartbreak Kid and "God" (yes, you read that right) in a No-Holds barred match. Given that Michaels was a born-again Christian post-2000, Vince decided to incorporate this into a storyline. Evidently, "God" did not show up and Michaels was left to fend for himself in a match which turned into a two-on-one handicap situation. Shawn Michaels was easily defeated by the diabolical father and son duo after getting a beatdown from The Spirit Squad.

#4 "Cowboy" Bob and Randy Orton

Randy Orton with his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton

Randy Orton is regarded as one of the best Superstars of his generation and is currently a major heel in WWE as of this writing. In 2005, Randy's father "Cowboy' Bob Orton was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. At the same time, Randy was busy establishing his moniker as 'The Legend Killer' (a gimmick which he has recently brought back again) in WWE by attacking and taking out legends.

Randy Orton then set his sights on The Undertaker with the hopes of breaking his Streak. The elder Orton aligned with his son in the bitter rivalry against The Deadman when he unsuccessfully interfered in Randy's match against Taker at WrestleMania 21.

Later that year, a rematch for the two Superstars was made at SummerSlam and this time around, the WWE Hall of Famer was able to help his son defeat The Undertaker. This led to both the Ortons drawing the fury of The Phenom and at WWE No Mercy 2005, the father-son duo took on The Undertaker in a Handicap Casket match and defeated him.

#3 Dusty and Dustin Rhodes

Dusty and Dustin Rhodes making their way to the ring at Clash of the Champions XXVIII

WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes teamed up with his son Dustin Rhodes on more than one occasion inside the squared circle. Dustin Rhodes who is currently signed to AEW as a wrestler is also better known for his time in WWE as the face-painted Superstar - Goldust.

Before he came to be known as Goldust, Dustin teamed up with the legendary Dusty Rhodes during his early years in WWE. They squared off against fellow second-generation Superstar, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Virgil at Royal Rumble 1991 in a tag-team match. However, the father-son duo of Dustin and Dusty was unsuccessful in defeating DiBiase and his partner. Both of them soon left WWE and joined the now-defunct WCW.

In WCW, the Rhodes father-son duo secured a victory when they took on Terry Funk and Bunkhouse Buck at Clash of the Champions XXVIII. They joined forces once again when they took on the team of Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett in 2001 at WCW Greed and were successful in defeating their respected rivals.

#2 Rey and Dominik Mysterio

Rey and Dominik hitting a double 619 on Murphy

This entry comes as no surprise as they are the newest father and son duo in WWE. At Survivor Series 2019, we got a glimpse of how good Dominik can be inside a ring when he helped out his father Rey Mysterio in his WWE Championship match against Brock Lesnar.

Dominik would later get involved in Rey Mysterio's feud with Seth Rollins after the latter defeated Rey by removing the eye from his socket in an Eye for an Eye match at WWE Extreme Rules 2020. After that Dominik challenged Rollins to a Street Fight match at SummerSlam which marked his in-ring debut as a WWE Superstar. Although he was unsuccessful in getting his revenge on The Monday Night Messiah, Dominik earned the praises of critics and the WWE Universe.

On the August 24 episode of WWE RAW, Dominik made his in-ring debut on the Red brand by teaming up with his father to take on Seth Rollins and Murphy in the main event.

When it looked almost certain that The Master of the 619 and Dominik would pick up a victory over Rollins and his disciple, they were surrounded by members of RETRIBUTION. Rollins and Murphy quickly fled from the area and watched gleefully from the ramp as RETRIBUTION decimated the Mysterio father-son duo.

Even though Dominik and Rey were once again unsuccessful in getting revenge over Rollins, the match ended in a draw and we can hope to see Dominik triumph over evil sometime soon.

#1 Bruno and David Sammartino

David and Bruno Sammartino

It will be an injustice not to mention one of the oldest father-son duos without mentioning Bruno and David Sammartino. WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino, who passed away on April 18, 2018, was one of the most successful Superstars of his generation during the formative years of WWE. Bruno was a two-time WWE Champion and his first reign as World Champion for 2,803 days is still the longest reign in the title's history. This helped him to achieve superstardom and become a legend in WWE and the professional wrestling industry.

In the 1980s, Bruno's son, David Sammartino decided to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a professional wrestler even though The Living Legend was against the idea. Eventually, David joined WWE in September 1984 and had his father Bruno accompany him to the ring as his manager.

At WrestleMania 1, David Sammartino had a match with Brutus Beefcake which ended in a double-DQ after David was thrown out of the ring by Beefcake and assaulted by Beefacke's manager, Johnny Valiant. Bruno, who was at ringside, rushed to his son's rescue and assaulted Valiant and Beefcake. After that, Bruno came out of retirement to team up with his son and faced Brutus Beefcake and Johnny Valiant at a house show at Madison Square Garden on May 20, 1985. The father and son team defeated their opponents and were able to get their revenge.