9 greatest dynasties of the Wrestling world

#6 The Blackjacks

The Blackjacks with manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan.

It seems that the world of pro wrestling never tires of seeing big, burly Texans work over their opponents, and the tradition started with the Blackjacks. Mulligan and Lanza were big, bruising entities that worked primarily on the heel side of the roster, though they occasionally flipped to babyface.

Though they did not invent the move, the Blackjacks are credited with popularizing the Lariat, a clothesline variation where the attacker follows his victim to the mat.

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Blackjack Mulligan would father two sons, both of whom went into the wrestling business; Kendall and Hall of Fame brother Barry Windham.

Blackjack Lanza's nephew, Justin "hawk" Bradshaw (now known as JBL) followed him into the business. In fact, he and Barry Windham even wrestled as "The New Blackjacks" for a brief period.

the "new" Blackjacks, Barry Windham and Justin Bradshaw.

Having a son in the Hall of Fame is certainly a legacy worth crowing about. The Blackjacks weren't truly innovators in the ring, but what they did they did well. Their sons were more skilled, with JBL even capturing the WWE's 'big belt' and having a memorable, if polarizing, run. Here's a look at some of the "Classic" Blackjack's ring work.

It should also be noted that Blackjack Mulligan is the maternal grandfather of two popular WWE stars today: Bray Wyatt & Bo Dallas

About the author

Christopher Scott Wagoner is a writer from Austin, Texas in the United States. He is also a proud descendent of the Choctaw and Lakota people.
Chris has an English and Creative Writing degree, and is a published author with Simon and Schuster. He's ghost-written over eight million words in more than 500 books.
A long time wrestling fan, Chris is also a professional journalist who covers sports-entertainment. He's been writing for Sportskeeda since 2018.

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Edited by Shruti Sadbhav