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Professional wrestling has seen brothers compete since the advent of the art form. We have often seen promoters put brothers into a tag-team when they are starting off and gaining experience and some even break away from the tag-team, like Scott Steiner and Jeff Hardy, to find success and gold as a singles star.
Sometimes we have even seen bookers put two wrestlers into a tag-team and treat them as brothers such as Edge and Christian and The Dudleyz. Today, let's take a look at 5 pairs of real brothers and the separate directions their careers took.
#5 Stevie Ray and Booker T
Booker T had a difficult childhood, losing both his parents early. He then spent time in prison for taking part in the armed robbery of a Wendy's restaurant. After being released from his sentence early, Booker T got into pro wrestling with his brother Stevie Ray. They formed the legendary Harlem Heat tag-team and are 10-time WCW Tag-Team Champions.
However, after WWE bought out WCW, Booker T went onto a big star but Stevie Ray's contract never got picked up. Booker was always the more talented wrestler and much better as a singles wrestler. Booker T had a hall of fame career, winning 6 world championships in total as well as being a former United States Champion, IC Champion as well as a former King of the Ring winner.
Coincidentally, Harlem Heat will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame later this year, the night before WrestleMania 35. Speaking about the honour, Stevie Ray said:
“I was speechless for a couple of seconds. The last thing I was thinking about was the Hall of Fame. I’m going to be honest with you, I hadn’t really thought about it. You know, I get the fans hitting me all the time with different things about Harlem Heat needs to be in the Hall of Fame, so on and so forth.
#4 Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt
Bo Dallas' career was going great until he joined the main roster. The former NXT Champion's push lost steam soon after his debut and his "Bo-lieve" gimmick just did not get over with fans on the main roster.
Since his initial push on the main roster, Dallas has gone on to become more on an enhancement talent which is sad because he's great inside the ring. His run as part of The Miztourage and The B-Team saw him get a brief push last year.
His brother Bray Wyatt, on the other hand, has been a top star since making his debut on the main roster. Despite being booked in strange storylines sometimes, Bray has always been treated as a singles star. He's also a former WWE Champion but is currently off WWE programming as he waits for a new direction from creative.
#3 Primo and Carlito
Carlito won the WWE United States Championship on his WWE debut, spitting the apple he was chewing into John Cena's face before attacking him. During his time with WWE, Carlito won the US Championship, Intercontinental Championship and also the WWE Tag titles twice with his brother Primo.
Speaking of Primo Colon, he's still on WWE's roster but rarely appears. Despite being a former Tag-team Champion, he isn't as liked by the WWE Universe as his brother Carlito. Fans from the Ruthless Aggression Era all remember Carlito and his legendary vignettes fondly.
In 2017, when asked about a possible return to WWE, Carlito said:
“We’ve had talks. I haven’t spoken to them in a while, but it’s all about economics. For the right price, I’d love to come back, but it’s got to be something that works for them and something that works for me. The last time I was there was the Hall of Fame for my dad. That was a lot of fun."
#2 John Laurinaitis and Road Warrior Animal
John Laurinaitis is a legendary figure in pro wrestling but he did not find the same level of success inside the ring as his brother, the legendary Road Warrior Animal. A tag-team specialist like his brother, Johnny Ace found most of his in-ring success over in Japan. However, he has been a key backstage figure in WWE since retiring from the ring.
Johnny Ace's brother was one half of the legendary Road Warriors/Legion of Doom along with his late partner Hawk. The Road Warriors are one of the greatest tag-teams of all time and dominated pro-wrestling in the late '80s and the '90s.
Road Warrior Animal is a 2-time WWE Tag-Team Champion as well as a 4-time Champion in Jim Crockett Promotions which later became WCW. The Road Warriors were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.
#1 Rosey and Roman Reigns
Some WWE fans may not be aware of the fact that Roman Reigns' real-life brother was the late Rosey. Rosey made his WWE debut along with Jamal (who later became Umaga) as 3-minute Warning, then RAW GM Eric Bischoff's heavys. After turning babyface, Rosey formed a popular tag-team with The Hurricane as his Superhero In Training. The former tag-team champion was released from WWE in 2006. Sadly, Rosey passed away in 2017 aged 47.
Rosey's brother Roman Reigns recently came back from a health scare and is one of the most heavily pushed stars in WWE today. Reigns is one of the faces of modern WWE as is a former 4-time world champion, a former Royal Rumble winner as well as a triple crown winner. Reigns has eclipsed the success of his later brother and there are a lot more titles left for him to win in the future.
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