10 superstar father-son duos in WWE

There have been many legendary families that made a big impact in the wrestling business. Over the course of history, a lot of father–son duos have grazed the squared circle from these same families and while many made their mark, some were restricted to bit parts here and there.Growing up as a child, most of these superstars would’ve been swept away by their towering inspirational fathers for sure. Also, whenever a second generation superstar came in, the wrestling world would expect things from him, with his father’s achievements used as the measuring scale.This sometimes gave rise to some great stories of triumph while some others fell flat due to the pressure. Irrespective of that, here is a look at some of the best father–son duos that the wrestling business has seen.

#1 Rikishi and Usos

This might not fall into the ‘duo’ criteria but we all know that there isn’t much difference between the Usos after all. Their father, Rikishi was one of the mainstays of WWE’s Attitude Era.

On the surface, you might expect Rikishi to be one of those giant wrestlers who barely move around but he had an impressive array of moves including splash of the top rope or steel cage for that matter.

Following their father’s footsteps the Usos came into WWE as part of the tag team division and is still delivers some consistent performances every week in and week out. But it would be interesting to see how the brothers would match up to their father’s success as singles wrestlers.

#2 Sika and Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is tearing up the current WWE roster with his talent and looks all set to be the next face of WWE by stepping into the boots of John Cena. Born into the Anoa’I family, Reigns was almost sure to make it into wrestling at one point or the other.

And when he did, it was nothing short of ground breaking. Reigns now has the chance of outclassing many of his family members and make it even bigger than the Rock.

Reigns’ father was Sika, who was one half of the Wild Samoans with the other half being Afa. The duo went on to collect tag championship from many promotions including WWE but Sika never had success as a singles wrestler like his son.

#3 Curtis Axel and Curt Hennig

Curtis Axel can be put into that category of superstars who are struggling to make it near their father’s success. He debuted in WWE as Michael McGillicutty and we all knew that he was going nowhere with a name like that.

WWE then made him a Paul Heyman guy which did give him a new name but not the push. His father, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig on the other hand was one of the best technicians that WWE saw in the 90s.

He was a two time Intercontinental champion, a US Champion and AWA World Champion with a resume that had wrestling experience in WWE, WCW and TNA. He also made it into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and that would be hard for Axel to replicate at this pace.

#4 Mike Rotunda and Bray Wyatt

Mike Rotunda will most probably known for his heel tax man gimmick back in 1991. He had the role of a former IRS tax collector from Washington and then went on to form a team with Million Dollar man Ted DiBiase.

Though he was not known for his in ring skills, Rotunda knew how to deliver a promo. Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt followed their father’s footsteps all the way to WWE and it was their mic skills as well that garnered attention.

Both Bray and Bo has all the ammunition they need to surpass their father’s achievement. There is a certain need of some good booking for that and hopefully the WWE creative won’t mess up.

#5 Carlos Colon and Carlito

Carlos Colon was a legendary Puerto Rican brawler who had a great career apart from one particular incident. Colon was present when José Huertas González stabbed Bruiser Brody to death. Though the stories suggested that Gonzalez was guilty, Colon testified against Brody due to political benefits in the wrestling business.

That is a clearly a black mark in Colon’s career but he was one of the inductees into this year’s Hall of Fame and deserved to be there for his contributions in making wrestling a success in Puerto Rico.

Colon’s two sons made it to WWE with the first being Carlito and the second one, Diego from the Los Matadores. It would be safe to say that Carlito has been more successful than Diego but both of them have a long way to go if they want to replicate their father’s success.

#6 Mark Henry and The Hand

No, this one isn’t actually on this list but it was too funny to skip. Back in the Attitude Era, Henry did some funny business with Mae Young and the off spring they had was a hand, literally, a hand.

#7 The Million Dollar man Ted DiBiase and Ted DiBiase Jr.

2008 saw the debut of Ted DiBiase Jr., a third generation superstar who had the looks and the skills to surpass his father’s achievement. He had a great run alongside Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton as part of the legacy but somewhere down the lane, life on the road caught up with him.

DiBiase Jr. took a long break from wrestling but did leave a good impression on the fans. His father was the The Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase Sr.

The Million Dollar man was a great addition to the WWE roster back in the 80s and 90s and even had his own customized title thanks to his excessive fortunes. And of course, who can forget his trademark obnoxious laugh?

#8 Dusty Rhodes, Goldust and Cody Rhodes

Okay this is another one of the exceptional cases as it would’ve been unfair to include just one from Cody Rhodes and Goldust alongside Dusty Rhodes.

Dusty broke into the wrestling scene without the perfect body and went on to become a hall of famer after an illustrious career. His elder son, Goldust is having some late career successful run right now while the initial part of his career helped him stamp his place as a unique persona in wrestling.

Cody, on the other hand, is considered to be ‘the’ underrated talent in the current WWE roster with a lot of potential to break out. Dusty’s sons haven’t reached his level yet but they still have a lot of time left to change that.

#9 Bob Orton and Randy Orton

Randy Orton is clearly one of the most recognizable names in modern wrestling. He is a 12- time world champion and had many success stories during the past decade which he spent with WWE. There is no need f any introduction about Randy Orton to wrestling fans and he did live up to his father’s legacy.

Randy’s father WWE Hall of Famer “Cowboy” Bob Orton never made it big in the company despite having the talent. His biggest moments came from his use of a cast which was with him thanks to an arm injury back in 1984.

This was one of those rare cases of the son surpassing his father’s achievements and Bob would be one proud father about he saw what Orton would go on to do in the WWE.

#10 Rocky Johnson and The Rock

There wouldn’t be many names in professional wrestling that have a better resume than the Brahma bull. He not only conquered the wrestling business in style, but also went on to do the same in Hollywood and became a big star there.

While Rock was a major player in the late 90s and early 00s, his father, Rocky Johnson was making huge waves in Sports Entertainment in the 70s and 80s.

Rocky had numerous legendary battles with the likes of Harley Race and Terry Funk back in the NWA and also was the first ever African American to win the World Tag Team Championships. Rock was clearly more successful among the two but it was two entirely different eras to be frank.

#11 Vincent James McMahon and Vince Kennedy McMahon

It would be hard to find a more powerful father- son duo in professional wrestling. McMahon Sr. was the wrestling promoter who set up the American World Wrestling Federation which later went on to become WWF.

The senior McMahon however was sticking to the old territory rules. He didn’t want to break into some other territory and cause disharmony among different promoters. But his son had other ideas.

Vince McMahon Jr. wanted wrestling to go mainstream and started piling up talents from all across the United States and gave birth to WrestleMania afterwards. Vince clearly surpassed his father as a promoter after that but without his father; Vince wouldn’t have a company in the first place.