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[[Professional Wrestling]] is very much a family business. There have been many, many families involved with the pseudo-sport; generally, it begins with a successful patriarch, whose children all follow him into the business. If you're part of a wrestling family, you have an in-built character; you're a second-generation (or, less likely, third-generation) wrestler trying to live up to the legacy of your forefathers. You also have in-built allies when things get rough; namely, your brothers. Sometimes however, family members are portrayed as antagonistic towards each other, especially if they are brothers.
A
A subtrope of [[Real Life Relative]].
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{{examples}}
* The most obvious and well-known example of this is the McMahon family, who own and operate the WWE.
** Patriarch [[Vince McMahon]] is the behind-the-scenes AND onscreen chairman and CEO of the company, and wrestles on a semi-regular basis, having held both the WWE and revived ECW World Championships.
** Wife Linda was the offscreen and onscreen CEO (leaving the offscreen role to run for Senate in Connecticut), and a member of the board of directors (it gets confusing because onscreen, Vince supposedly owns a quarter of the company, yet he's constantly being thwarted by the rest of the board of directors, usually in the guise of Linda).
*** Vince owning a "quarter" of the company is something of an anachronism, as the shares were flipped around during the Invasion storyline. In short: each of the McMahons owned 1/4 of the stock of the company. Shane sold his to a mystery investor to buy WCW. Stephanie sold hers to a mystery investor to buy ECW (Vince didn't apparently think through the fact that this made WCW and ECW, which in reality Vince bought with essentially pocket change, look as though they were worth 25% of whatever the WWF was at the time). Vince somehow got control of Linda's shares, but after the Invasion it was revealed that the two "mystery investors" were the same person: Ric Flair. Vince eventually beat Flair to unify all the stock, and it's never been re-split.
** Son [[Shane McMahon|Shane]] has been, in order, part of the ring crew, a referee (under the name "Shane Stevens"), a "backstage official", a color commentator, a member of the Corporation (a Heel faction), a wrestler (European and Hardcore Champion), "owner" of WCW and leader of the WCW-ECW Alliance, and tag-team partners with his father. Offscreen, he was the Vice President of Global Media for WWE until his departure in 2009, leaving to become the CEO of a technology company dedicated to bringing widespread internet access to Chinese citizens. Shane's wife Marissa Mazzola-McMahon co-hosted ''WWF Livewire'' for a time, and worked for the WWF's PR department. Their older son, Declan James McMahon, was born in 2004 and appeared in the opening video package of WrestleMania XX, and their younger son, Kenyon Jess, was born in 2006.
** Daughter [[Stephanie McMahon|Stephanie]] got her first company gig in the mid 80's as a teenager when she modeled t-shirts and other merchandise in the WWF catalog. She was first introduced on screen in the late 90's by being almost "sacrificed" by the Undertaker. She later married [[Triple H]], divorced him, faked a pregnancy to get him back, and has been Women's Champion. Offscreen, she's Executive Vice President, Talent and Creative Writing, and married to [[Triple H]] for real. The two have three daughters, Aurora Rose (who has "appeared" in a hilariously disturbing sketch at Wrestlemania), Murphy Claire, born in 2008, and Vaughn Evelyn, born in 2010.
** Even Vince represents the third generation of wrestling-promoting-McMahons. His grandfather, "Jess" McMahon founded the original Capitol Wrestling Corporation in the 40's. His father, Vincent J. McMahon, took over after Jess' death in 1954 and changed the company name to the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1963. He shortened it to the World Wrestling Federation in 1980, 3 years before Vince Jr. and Linda bought the company from him.
A comprehensive list of
* The most tragic would be the Adkissons, better known as Texas' favorite sons, the Von Erichs. Not counting the "illegitimate" Waldo and Lance, the family consisted of father Jack (Fritz Von Erich), and sons Jack Jr., David, Kerry, Chris, Mike, and Kevin. Jack Jr. was electrocuted in childhood, while David died under mysterious circumstances in Japan in 1984 (either enteritis or drugs, depending on who you ask), and Kerry, Chris, and Mike all committed suicide in the years before Jack's death. Kerry's daughter, Lacey, wrestled for [[TNA]].
** Kevin, the barefoot "high-flyer" Jimmy Snuka clone, is the only survivor. He has four children, and does real estate as well as controls old WCCW footage.
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** And let's not forget that it was confirmed in Roddy Piper's biography that he is a "distant relative" of the Hart family.
* Another legendary Canadian wrestling family are the Rougeaus of St. Sulpice, Quebec, who have been actively involved in wrestling for almost 70 years. The first wrestler in the family was Eddie Auger, who debuted in the 1940s, and worked as a trainer after his ring career ended. Auger's nephews, the brothers Jean (Johnny) Rougeau and Jacques Rougeau, Sr. had lengthy careers as wrestlers and promoters in and around Quebec. Four of Jacques' five children also entered the wrestling business. Sons Raymond, Jacques, Jr., and Armand all became wrestlers, while daughter Joanne worked backstage for the WWF from 1985-1999 and also married a wrestler (Denis Gauthier, Sr.). Jacques, Jr. currently runs a wrestling school and promotes shows in the Montreal area, and his son Jean-Jacques (J.J.) Rougeau has begun wrestling on the independent circuit, making him the fourth generation of the family to compete in the wrestling ring.
* As noted, the Anoa'i family of Samoa has any number of relations. The actual family tree starts with the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika Anoa'i). All three of Afa's sons are wrestlers (Samu, Afa Jr. (currently known as Manu), and Lloyd (who wrestles as L.A. Smooth)). Afa's daughter, Monica, was married to Gary Albright before Albright's death. Sika's son Matt is also a wrestler, and was best known as The Hurricane's sidekick, Rosey. Afa and Sika's two other siblings sired
** James "Jimmy Snuka" Reiher is related to the Anoa'i family through marriage, as is his son Jimmy Snuka Jr. (formerly "Deuce" of the "Duece N' Domino" tag-team, then a Legacy hopeful as Sim Snuka, before being released). And his daughter Sarona, who goes by the name Tamina in WWE and started out managing her cousins the Usos.
** Closely related to the Anoa'is by friendship, but not blood, is the Maivia family. Father Peter considered Afa and Sika's father his blood brother, and the friendship has extended through the generations. Peter's wife Lia has been promoting wrestling in Hawai'i for years, while Peter and Lia's daughter Ata married Rocky Johnson. [[Dwayne Johnson|You may have heard of Rocky and Ata's son]]...
** The Anoa'i clan is actually so pervasive that from the formation of the WWF/E until mid 2009, there has always been at least one member in the promotion. And then, later that year, Rikishi's twin sons were signed to a developmental contract and became the Uso brothers. Sarona Snuka/Tamina followed soon after.
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* Dory Funk Sr. and sons Dory Jr. and Terry.
* The aforementioned "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka and son Jimmy Jr. (formerly WWE's Deuce/Sim Snuka).
* "Bullet" Bob Armstrong has four sons, who've all taken up wrestling: Brad, Steve, Scott, and Brian. Only the latter has gone on to any sort of real fame in wrestling (as "Road Dogg" Jesse James in [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]], and then B.G. James in [[TNA]]), although Scott is now one of WWE's top referees. The former three were subject to a storyline in [[WCW]] centering around the Armstrong Curse, which largely amounted to [[Lampshade Hanging]] for using them as [[Jobber
* Boris Malenko (Lawrence Simon) and sons Dean and Joe.
* Fuerza and Juventud Guerrera.
* [[Ric Flair]] his two sons, David and Reid. David Flair had a brief run in [[WCW]] as a manager/backstage type who trained part-time at WCW's Power Plant wrestling school as more of a hobby than out of any real desire to wrestle for a living. As WCW quickly plunged into it's early 2000's [[Dork Age]], he was pushed onto the card in actual matches long before he was ready to perform professionally. After WCW closed its doors, he had a mildly successful run in [[TNA]] and the independent circuit before retiring. Younger son Reid was a highly decorated amateur wrestler in high school and college before making his professional debut in 2008. He's since wrestled for a handful of [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA]] affiliates.
* Rey Mysterio Sr. and [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.|Jr.]], although they are uncle and nephew, rather than father and son. And, just to confuse matters, Rey Mysterio Sr.'s son also wrestles under the same mask as El Hijo de Rey Mysterio.
* Mexican icon [[El Santo]] ("The Saint") wrestled professionally for over forty years and starred in over fifty films in his career, becoming an icon to the people of Mexico ''(think of [[Bret Hart]] and his status in Canada, plus the street cred of being the closest thing there is to an honest-to-God [[The Cape (trope)|superhero]])''. His son, El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of the Saint"), made his debut shortly before his father's retirement in 1982 and has become almost as popular, still competing after nearly thirty years. He has even had popular matches with contemporary Mexican stars who've attained fame north of the border, including [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.]] and [[Eddie Guerrero]], and is probably one of the best wrestlers in the world who has never made an appearance in the WWE or other American promotions.
* Former wrestler/promoter Jerry Jarrett and his son [[Jeff Jarrett]], who he actually helped follow in his footsteps through the co-founding of one [[TNA]].
* Steve Corino, former ECW and NWA World Champion (after the glory days of both titles), and his teenaged son Colby. At 15, Colby holds titles in Japan and the Northeast (unsurprisingly, in areas where his father is heavily involved on the booking side).
* Ivan Putski, a WWF mainstay in the late 70s and 80s, had a son named Scott who wrestled for WWF and WCW.
* Brian Pillman had a stepdaughter named Lexi Pillman who got into wrestling. Sadly she was killed in a car crash in 2009 before she had a chance to even get noticed on the indy scene.
* Eric Bischoff's son, Garett is a much hated part of TNA in 2012, due to the undeserved amount of screen time he gets.
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* "Leaping" Lanny Poffo was overshadowed by his somewhat more famous brother, Randall Mario Poffo, better known as [[Randy Savage|Randy "Macho Man" Savage]].
* The Andersons of Minnesota, for the most part, aren't related at all. Gene Anderson was the only real Anderson. "Brothers" Lars (Larry Heinimi) and Ole (Alan Rogowski) were college friends. "Nephew" Arn (Marty Lunde) resembled the "family" and happened to arrive in the NWA Mid-Atlantic area when Ole needed a tag-team partner. "Cousin" [[Ric Flair]] wasn't related to any of them, but was billed as cousin to help get him over as a star. The only other legitimate Anderson is Gene's son Brad. The Carolina branch of the Anderson family (Pat, Rocky, and C.W.) all have a broad physical resemblance, but none are related. Clouding the issue somewhat is the fact that WWE's Ken Kennedy was actually born Ken Anderson; he was asked to change his name upon making the big time, so as to avoid confusion with the fictional family. When he was future endeavored by [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]], he joined [[TNA]] as "Ken Anderson", though nothing has been made of the name or possible Anderson family connections.
* Speaking of Kennedy, he nearly got into a second family (in part) because of it. Throughout much of 2007 and into 2008, the WWE ran a "Who Is Vince McMahon's Bastard Child?" storyline, where one of Vince's numerous flings had had a son and was now suing McMahon for owed child support while simultaneously keeping the identity of the child a secret to mess with his head (yes, it's very hard to assert paternity for a child you refuse to identify. It's wrestling writing, go with it). [[Smart Mark|Smarks]] immediately pointed at Ken Kennedy as the likely son; he had Irish heritage, like the McMahons, he was due for a push, and
* As noted above, the Grahams have an interesting history. The "real" Graham appears to be Dr. Jerry Graham. Jerry later "adopted" Grady Johnson as "Crazy" Luke Graham. The Grahams then added Eddie Gossett as brother Eddie Graham, who'd go on to be the most successful wrestler and promoter in the fictional family. Wayne Coleman, through Verne Gagne, later asked Eddie for permission to become "Superstar" Billy Graham. Various sons and nephews of the Grahams have wrestled, with the most successful being Eddie's son, Mike, who wrestled mostly in Florida, and then promoted there after his father's suicide.
* Another wrestling clan who blended real and fictional relations were the Garvins and their associates. The original Garvin tag team consisted of fictional brothers Ronnie (Roger Barnes) and Terry (Terry Joyal). Joining them a few years later was a third "brother", Jimmy Garvin (James Williams), who in real life was actually Roger Barnes' stepson. Since they were only seven years apart in age, though, it was possible to pass them off as brothers on the screen. Later in his career, Jimmy Garvin would be managed by his real-life cousin Sunshine (Valerie French), though their relationship was never revealed to the audience. Sunshine was later replaced as Jimmy's manager by Precious (Patti Williams), who is his real-life wife. If that isn't already tangled enough, Sunshine during her stint with WCCW was also given a fictional relative, her "aunt" Stella Mae French (Tanya West).
* Then, there are the Dudleys. Created as a running storyline gag in early
** The Dudleys that got the most ring time were the three aforementioned - Bubba, D-Von and [[Fun with Acronyms|Little Spike Dudley]]. The supporting cast, if you will, included Big Dick Dudley, Chubby Dudley, Dances With Dudley, Dudley Dudley, Little Snot Dudley, Psycho Sam Dudley, Schmuck Dudley, Sign Guy Dudley, and Studley Dudley, their manager. In the WWF, Stacy Keibler acted as the "Duchess of Dudleyville".
*** At one PPV, The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke) were revealed to be their long-lost cousins. Jenna Jameson also made an appearance as "Lady Dudley".
* Also noted above were two fictional Von Erichs. Jack Adkisson made Walter Sieber into Waldo Von Erich when he needed a tag-team partner, and later turned nondescript rookie Ricky Vaughn into Waldo's "son" Lance Von Erich when injuries and deaths depleted the real Adkisson family. What made Lance most notable ([[There Is No Such Thing as Notability|sorry!]]) was that when Lance later jumped Adkisson's World Class Championship Wrestling promotion, Adkisson made the then-rare move of breaking [[Kayfabe]] and admitting, on World Class' television show, that Vaughn wasn't related to the family.
* The McMahons, as their entry notes, play a fake wrestling family based somewhat on their reality. Vince plays himself up as much more [[Card-Carrying Villain|arrogant and evil]], constantly cheating on Linda with a string of divas. Shane and Stephanie play [[Rich Bitch|conniving rich brats]] who hate their father and [[Schemer|constantly scheme against him]] - except, of course, when they team back up with him. Linda rarely shows up, and if she does it's usually just to act disgusted with whatever Vince has done
** They're married in-storyline; Linda's just very... forgiving.
*** Which seems to have originated as a [[Take That]] aimed at [[Bill Clinton|the Clintons]].
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*** You seem to have missed a joke, according to logic in WWE, you're supposed to forget about anything that happened 3 months ago, unless you are specifically reminded about it on-air.
** During that long period of HHH being a member of the real McMahon family but not the fake version, he seemed to take a nearly unholy glee in bending [[Kayfabe]] nearly to the breaking point by [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall|teasing that fact]] whenever possible, mostly to have some fun with the [[Smart Mark|smarks]], who knew damn well what was up, and as the knowledge became commonplace, the entire audience.
*** When Stephanie was pregnant for the first
*** When the McMahons gathered in the ring for a family portrait, HHH came up too and demanded to be included. He didn't give a reason, merely saying that he "deserved" to be in any McMahon family portrait, and let the fans figure it out for themselves. Stephanie got into the act that time, kissing [[Triple H]] during the family portrait to supposedly "piss off [her] father". HHH, not to be one-upped, responded to the kiss with "Bye Steph, see ya at home!"
*** HHH even managed to pull this once when he wasn't there. When he had to miss an episode of RAW because Stephanie was giving birth to their second child, his DX partner [[Shawn Michaels]] (HBK) explained that HHH wasn't there because he was secretly following the McMahon's (whom DX was feuding with at the time) and added that he thought HHH had some inside information on this "baby business". He finished with a camera close-up during which he said that between him and the fans, he thought HHH knew who the father was.
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* The Briscoe Brothers aren't related to the Brisco Brothers but are legit brothers themselves.
* And of course, the Hardy Brothers. Although we can probably safely presume that Real Matt is ''not'' making constant attempts on Real Jeff's life.
* An odd example where a kayfabe
** They have in fact gone into detail about their real past history together several times since 2010, so it's safe to say the brotherhood has been retconned.
* The Legacy stable has been entirely composed of subsequent-generation wrestlers: [[Randy Orton]], Ted DiBiase Jr. (although the "Jr." is dropped in WWE as with Rey Mysterio), [[Cody Rhodes]], and former Legacy hopefules "Manu" (Afa Anoa'i, Jr.). and "Sim Snuka" (Jimmy Snuka, Jr.).
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** On the flip side, WWF referee Joey Marella was the real-life adopted son of wrestler-turned-commentator Gorilla Monsoon, but this was never stated on-screen, though Monsoon's broadcast partners indirectly alluded to it from time to time.
* The Great Muta (Keiji Mutoh) was initially introduced in the West as the son of the Great Kabuki. Monster Bono was introduced as Great Muta's son, though Bono is more like a monster he accidentally created instead of his biological offspring.
* On ''[[The Amanda Show]]'', there was a sketch involving a [[Nuclear Family]] all consisting of wrestlers.
** Fun fact: The father and son in this family were modeled after [[Goldust]] and [[Owen Hart|The Blue Blazer]], respectively.
* During [[Hulk Hogan]]'s AWA and NWA days, he regularly tag teamed with Ed Leslie. The two were promoted as brothers, sometimes using the names Terry & Ed Boulder, and sometimes Hulk & Dizzy Hogan.
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