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There's an old saying that goes 'you don't get to choose your family', and never is that truer than in the world of professional wrestling. For some young aspiring trainees, the journey to becoming a pro wrestler will mean leaving their families behind as they put all their focus into making it to the big leagues.
With that said, though, there have been some families that have been united by wrestling, with children going into the business much like their parents, and their own children doing the same as well. Instead of being separated, these families were bonded by the passion for pro wrestling they share, with each family having various members enjoying varying degrees of success as part of the WWE.
Here are the five most influential wrestling families in all of WWE history.
#5: The Rhodes family
For decades, the Rhodes family was a staple of WWE, with each member involved repping the group across different eras. In the Hulkamania era, it was the polka-dot clad Dusty Rhodes, who had wowed fans with his charisma on the way to three NWA Heavyweight title wins.
After the American Dream gave way, it was the turn for his eldest son, Dustin, who pushed the envelope as Goldust, becoming one of the most popular mid-card stars of all time, as well as capturing various championships in the process.
In more recent years, it was Cody Rhodes who represented the family, capturing the Intercontinental and Tag Team titles as part of WWE. Cody has, though, become a much bigger deal outside of the McMahon-led promotion, recently founding AEW - where his brother also competes.
#4: The Flairs
The Flair wrestling family may only be small, but there has been plenty accomplished by the first family of Charlotte, North Carolina. Of course at the top is Ric, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer, who not only boasts 16 World Championships but is considered by many fans as the greatest wrestler of all time.
Though Ric's sons, David and Reid would try their hand at the wrestling game, it would be Flair's daughter Charlotte who has had the most success, joining the WWE in 2013. Since then, Charlotte has become arguably the most successful female Superstar of all time, winning the Divas title, as well as the RAW, SmackDown and NXT Women's Championships.
With the Queen repping the family to this day, the Flair family legacy continues to grow under her watch.
#3: The Hart Foundation
Stu Hart was already an accomplished wrestler before he became the father of a total of 12 children, so it come as no surprise that many of his children followed in their father's footsteps. The most successful of these offsprings is Bret 'Hitman' Hart, who would capture the WWF title on five occasions and two inductions into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Though he may never have held the WWF title like his brother, Owen Hart is similarly held in high regard, putting on entertaining matches throughout his entire career, before his tragic death in May 1999. Even those who did not start off as Harts would eventually enter the family, with Jim Neidhart and The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith having great success both as individuals and as a tag team.
#2: The McMahons
It'll come as no surprise to anyone, that Vince McMahon and his family have quite a lot of influence in the world of WWE. After all, without Vince himself, there would be no WWE today. McMahon went on to buy his father Vince Sr's own promotion, turning it from just one of several promotions to the biggest Sports Entertainment juggernaut ever.
Today, it is the Vince McMahon's own children that rule the roost, with both Shane and Stephanie having considerable clout backstage. This dichotomy has also bled over into on-screen storylines, perhaps never so evidently than at WrestleMania 2000, which had a McMahon in each corner (Vince, Steph, Shane and Linda), in the main event.
And with Vince's son-in-law Triple H rising to more power each year, expect the power of the McMahon family to be around for years to come.
#1: The Anoa'i family
If there is one family that can lay claim to being bigger influencers in WWE over the McMahons, it's the Anoa'i group. In terms of sheer number, the Anoa’i family has produced more wrestling stars than any other, with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson being the clear MVP of the family with both a great wrestling and acting career.
Second to him would probably be current WWE Superstar Roman Reigns, who has enjoyed a plethora of success in his career on the main roster, including the WWE's Grand Slam, Universal title and a Royal Rumble win. Another huge part of the family - literally - would be Yokozuna, who much like his relatives, also enjoyed reigns as World Champion, proving that no matter what era of wrestling they appeared in, Anoa’i wrestling family have always been rulers of the ring.
