49) David Flair
50) Tamina Snuka
The daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Tamina has made a name for herself in WWE since 2010, as a manager of names like The Usos and Santino Marella, as a singles competition in the Divas division, and as a tag team partner for the likes of Alicia Fox and A.J. Lee.
The son of two-time WWE Hall of Famer "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, David arrived in WCW to aid his old man despite not having any formal wrestling training. This didn't stop him from capturing the WCW United States and World Tag Team Titles during his brief career.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (must be something in the Fiji air!), Deuce spent two years in the WWE, first as a pair of WWE Tag Team Champions with Domino, and then briefly as Legacy member Sim Snuka. Before that, he wrestled in the ill-fated XWF as Jimmy Snuka Jr.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler, Grandmaster worked in the USWA for many years as Brian Christopher and used that name up until he and Scott Taylor transformed into Too Cool. Together, the pair captured the WWF World Tag Team Championships.
47) Deuce
48) Grandmaster Sexay
The son of Davey Boy Smith and Diana Hart (ending my HOF streak!), David is on this list despite being billed briefly as "The Canadian Bulldog" even though that moniker was already taken by yours truly, years before. COPYCAT! He and Tyson Kidd held the WWE Tag Team Titles as The Hart Dynasty.
The son of WCW Hall of Famer Angelo Poffo, Leapin' Lanny worked most of his career as enhancement talent in the WWF, reciting poetry and tossing out frisbees to the audience. Following his heel turn as The Genius, Poffo scored a countout victory over Hulk Hogan on television.
A WWE Hall of Famer himself, along with his famous father Fritz Von Erich, David was the oldest of five brothers who electrified crowds in World Class Championship Wrestling. David engaged in feuds with the likes of Jim Garvin and Ric Flair before his life ended prematurely in 1984.
The son of Grizzly Smith (not to mention the sister of WWE Hall of Famer Jake "The Snake" Roberts), Rockin' Robin was a WWF fixture in the late-1980's, capturing the WWF Women's Title in 1988 and retiring the belt almost two years later.
43) David Hart Smith
44) Lanny Poffo
45) David Von Erich
46) Rockin' Robin
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Graham, Mike was a top light heavyweight talent in Florida, the AWA and the NWA throughout his career. Later, he became an agent for companies including WCW, WWE and the short-lived XWF.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Ted DiBiase (junior) was in WWE from 2007 until 2011. While there, he captured the WWE Tag Team Championships with Cody Rhodes, joined Randy Orton's Legacy stable, and briefly used his father's Million Dollar Championship.
The grandson of WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan and the son of Mike Rotunda, The Inspirational Bo Dallas captured championships in FCW and NXT, where he was the group's longest-reigning champion. Bo moved to the main roster earlier this year, where we Bo-lieve he'll do big things.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, Brad Armstrong was a top light heavyweight in the NWA, USWA, Smoky Mountain and other territories. He also competed under a mask as Arachnaman and Badstreet while competing in WCW, where he captured the Light Heavyweight Championship in 1992.
42) Mike Graham
41) Ted DiBiase
40) Bo Dallas
39) Brad Armstrong
The grandson of Larry "The Ax" Hennig and son of WWE Hall of Famer "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, he was brought in to WWE as NXT rookie Michael McGillicutty. McGillicutty was briefly a member of the Nexus faction before being repackaged as Curtis Axel and winning the Intercontinental Championship.
The son of Jacques Rougeau Sr., Raymond was a fixture on the Quebec wrestling scene for many years and parlayed that into a run as NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion. He and brother Jacques (Jr.) went to the WWF in 1986 where the two competed as The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers for many years.
The second-oldest son of WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart, Bruce was the first of seven Hart brothers to wrestle professionally. He captured many championships in Stampede Wrestling and formed a successful tag team with a young Brian Pillman, before becoming a booker, trainer and promoter.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, he was largely a mid-card performer in Smoky Mountain and WCW before going to the WWF as Jeff Jarrett's "Roadie". He later changed it to Road Dogg and, along with Billy Gunn, became one of the top tag teams during The Attitude Era.
38) Curtis Axel
37) Raymond Rougeau
36) Bruce Hart
35) Road Dogg
The son of Tommy Gilbert, Eddie began his career as an enhancement talent in the WWWF. His career took off after he became a heel, which in turn led to success as a wrestler in the USWA, NWA, UWF and WWC and manager of such names as Rick Steiner and Sting.
The granddaughter of WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart and daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Natalya has been in WWE since 2008, making her a veteran in the Divas division. She has held the WWE Divas Championship once and become a key player on the Total Divas reality show.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne, Greg followed in his father's footsteps, capturing both the AWA Tag Team and Television Titles during his lengthy run in his father's promotion. Following the AWA's demise, he had front office jobs in both WCW and WWE.
A WWE Hall of Famer himself and son of Fritz Von Erich, Kevin was a top star in Texas for many years, capturing championships in WCCW and the NWA before retiring in the mid-1990's. The only surviving Von Erich brother showed up in TNA earlier this year to manage his sons Ross and Marshall to victory.
34) Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert
33) Natalya
32) Greg Gagne
31) Kevin Von Erich
The son of Solofa Fatu (and nephew of WWE Hall of Famers Afa and Sika), he first joined WWE in 2002 as part of the Three Minute Warning tag team. He returned to the company in 2005 as Umaga, where he had a lengthy undefeated streak, won the Intercontinental Title and feuded with several top stars.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Carlos Colon, he debuted in WWE in 2004 as Carlito Caribbean Cool and quickly captured both the U.S. and Intercontinental Championships. Later, he and his brother Primo (Diego of Los Matadores) unified the WWE and World Tag Team Championships in 2009.
The twin sons of Rikishi, Jey and Jimmy Uso have part of WWE's main roster since 2009. After many attempts, the brothers captured the WWE Tag Team Championships in March of this year and have quietly become one of the company's more popular acts.
The grandson of Gory Guerrero and the son of Chavo Guerrero Sr., Chavo has been wrestling since 1994. Since that time, he has captured several championships in WCW, WWE and TNA, including the WWE version of the ECW Heavyweight Championship in 2008.
30) Umaga
29) Carlito
28) The Usos
27) Chavo Guerrero
The grandson of WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan and son of Mike Rotunda, he has been in the WWE system since 2009. His first run was as Nexus member Husky Harris and then he was repackaged as Bray Wyatt last year, which has already led him to feuds with Daniel Bryan, John Cena and Chris Jericho.
A WWE Hall of Famer himself and the son of Bob Orton Sr., Cowboy Bob was a prominent name in the Rock and Wrestling Era, being in the corner of Rowdy Roddy Piper at the first WrestleMania and feuding with the likes of Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff in the WWF.
The son of Boris Malenko, Dean began his career in Florida, Mexico and Japan before joining ECW in 1994. From there, he moved to WCW, capturing the Cruiserweight, United States and World Tag Team Championships as "The Man of 1,000 Holds" and went to WWE, where he remains an agent today.
The son of Jacques Rougeau Sr., Jacques followed his brother Raymond into the WWF as The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. After that team disbanded, he became The Mountie and held the Intercontinental Championship (for a day) and the WWF Tag Team Championships as one half of The Quebecers.
A WWE Hall of Famer himself and the son of Joe Blanchard, Tully cut his teeth in the Southwest wrestling scene before going to the NWA and helping form The Four Horsemen. After holding of the NWA championships, he and Arn Anderson moved to the WWF, where they became The Brainbusters.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika, Roman has been on the fastrack to stardom ever since he debuted on WWE's main roster in 2012. For two years, Reigns turned heads as the enforcer of The Shield and now that he's on his own, could be WWE World Champion by the time WrestleMania hits. Believe that.
A WWE Hall of Famer himself and the son of Johnny Valentine, Greg has been wrestling since 1970 and still makes infrequent appearances to this day! The Hammer captured several championships in the Mid-Atlantic and NWA territories and in the WWF, held the Intercontinental and Tag Team championships.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, Cody Rhodes has captured five WWE tag team championships since 2007 with four different partners and the Intercontinental Championship twice. One can only wonder where the man now known as StarDust will progress in the years ahead.
Himself a WWE Hall of Famer and son of WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan, Barry was a long-time NWA fixture, winning numerous championships there and being a charter member of The Four Horsemen. He also captured the WWF Tag Team Titles twice with brother-in-law Mike Rotunda.
The son of Dos Caras (and nephew of WWE Hall of Famer Mil Mascaras), he first competed as Dos Caras Jr. in Mexico and captured the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship. As Alberto Del Rio in WWE, he held the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships twice each before being released this month.
The youngest son of WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart, Owen collected championships in Stampede Wrestling before coming to the WWF in the late-1980's. While in WWF, he captured all of the major championships except for the World Title before tragically leaving us in May of 1999.
The son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, he first competed as Dustin Rhodes and captured several championships in WCW. As Goldust, the character he has played on and off since 1995 in WWE, he captured the Intercontinental Championship three twice and tag team belts with brother Cody (StarDust) and Booker T.
Himself a WWE Hall of Famer and the son of Dory Funk Sr., Dory Jr. captured the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and held it for four years. He has held many other regional championships throughout his career and the 73 year old was wrestling in Japan as recently as last year!
A WWE Hall of Famer himself and the son of Fritz Von Erich, Kerry was perhaps the most successful wrestler of the family, capturing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair in 1984, and later winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship before he passed away in 1993.
Himself a WWE Hall of Famer and the son of Grizzly Smith, Jake has been a fixture in every territory he worked, including Stampede, Mid-South, Mexico, Puerto Rico, WCW and the WWF, where he famously became "Jake The Snake" and began carrying his python around with him.
A WWE Hall of Famer and the son of Junior Anoai, Yokozuna began his career in the AWA as Kokina Maximus before joining the WWF in 1992. While there, he captured the WWF World Championship twice and the Tag Team titles with Owen Hart, before passing away in 2000.
A WWE Hall of Famer himself and son of wrestlers "Iron" Mike DiBiase and Helen Hild, "The Million Dollar Man" was one of the top villians in wrestling history, attempting to purchase Hulk Hogan's WWF World Title and, when that didn't work, creating a Million Dollar Championship for himself.
The son of Jerry Jarrett, Jeff was a legend in Memphis before heading to the WWF in 1993, where he would eventually capture six Intercontinental championships. He was also a four-time WCW World Champion and six-time TNA World Champion, and more recently announced the creation of Global Force Wrestling.
Himself a WWE Hall of Famer and the son of Dory Funk Sr., Terry has been "middle aged and crazy" for more than 20 years now. His accolades include the NWA World Title and ECW World Title, as well as championships in the WWF, Japan and WCW.
Himself a WWE Hall of Famer and the son of Warren Bockwinkel, Nick is one of the most tenured champions in AWA history, holding that company's World Title four times and the tag team straps three times. He was also a backstage official for both WWF in WCW in the 1990's.
A WWE Hall of Famer himself and the son of Larry "The Ax" Hennig, he began as Curt Hennig and competed in the WWWF, Portland and the AWA, where he won their version of the World Title. After becoming Mr. Perfect, he captured the Intercontinental Title in the WWF and the U.S. Title in WCW.
Himself a WWE Hall of Famer and the son of Gory Guerrero, Eddie became a champion in AAA, ECW, WCW and WWE, where he captured almost all of the company's major championships. He passed away in October 2005, ironically the very night he was rumored to regain the World Title at a television taping.
The son of WCW Hall of Famer Angelo Poffo, Randy Savage began his athletic career as a baseball player before moving to wrestling. He joined the WWF in 1985 and by 1988, captured his first of six World championships that he would acheive in WWF and WCW. He passed away in 2011.
The grandson of Bob Orton Sr. and son of WWE Hall of Famer Cowboy Bob Orton, Randy Orton has already surpassed both of their careers. He has won 12 World championships thus far in his WWE career, as well as a variety of Intercontinental, Tag Team and Money In The Bank accolades.
25) Cowboy Bob Orton
26) Bray Wyatt
23) Jacques Rougeau
24) Dean Malenko
21) Roman Reigns
22) Tully Blanchard
19) StarDust
20) Greg The Hammer Valentine
17) Alberto Del Rio
18) Barry Windham
15) Owen Hart
16) Goldust
13) Kerry Von Erich
14) Dory Funk Jr.
11) Yokozuna
12) Jake The Snake Roberts
9) Jeff Jarrett
10) Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase
7) Nick Bockwinkel
8) Terry Funk
5) Eddie Guerrero
6) Mr. Perfect
4) Macho Man Randy Savage
3) Randy Orton
Himself a WWE Hall of Famer and the son of WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart, Bret is a seven-time world champion and has won almost all of the major championships in the WWF and WCW, as well as Royal Rumble, King of the Ring and many other honors.
The grandson of WWE Hall of Famer Peter Maivia and thie son of WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, The Maivias are on pace to be the first three generations to wear Hall of Fame rings. The Rock has captured the WWF/E World Title eight times, the WCW World Title twice while becoming one of the biggest box-office draws in wrestling history, not to mention film.
2) Bret Hit Man Hart
1) The Rock
More than many other career options, professional wrestlers have taken getting into the family business very seriously. So much so that there have been nearly 100 second-and-third generation stars in the past 30 years. We've boiled it down - as usual - to a Top 50 list.
My criteria in this ranking:
- These are legit descendants of wrestlers only, no matter how badly we want to believe that The Big Show was Andre The Giant's kid or that Great Muta and Great Kabuki are father and son.
- No uncles, cousins or siblings - sorry, British Bulldogs and Rey Mysterio.
- The parents have to have been a major star in North America in order for their kids to make the list. That's why Alex Wright and Paige couldn't be considered.
- The second or third generation wrestler in question had to work for a major promotion, e.g. WWF/E, NWA, WCW, TNA, ECW or ROH. (NXT does not count - sorry, Charlotte and Richie Steamboat).
- No son-in-laws who married into the family business (Larry Zbyszko, Tyson Kidd, Triple H)
- Although one could make the argument that their father is a major wrestling star, I chose to leave Vince McMahon's kids out of the equation.
After taking all that into account, the wrestlers who have accomplished the most ranked highest, so this isn't necessarily a reflection of how their famous parents fared.
Ready? Here we go.
Related Posts: Top 50 Face Turns, Top 50 Heel Turns
Any names missing or misplaced? Leave your feedback in the Comments section below...