During last night’s episode of NXT 2.0, the son of ex-WWE Superstar William Regal made his TV debut. Debuting as Charlie Dempsey, with no reference to his famous father, he becomes the latest in a lengthy line of second and third-generation WWE Superstars.
Dominik Mysterio
The most recent in-ring debutant, Dominik actually made his WWE debut way back in 2005 at the age of eight. He was introduced in the storyline rivalry between his father Rey and Eddie Guerrero, who claimed he was Dominik’s real “Papi.”
This led to the outrageous “Custody of Dominik” Ladder match at Summerslam, which Rey won.
15 years later at the same pay per view, Dominik made his in-ring debut in a street fight loss to Seth Rollins, who was in the midst of a rivalry with the Mysterio family.
Since then, he has won the Smackdown Tag Titles with his dad, making them the first father-son duo to do such.
Grand Master Sexay
Son of the legendary Jerry “The King” Lawler, he debuted in WWE under his real name of Brian Christopher (Lawler) in 1997.
Alongside “Scotty 2 Hotty”, he formed “Too Cool” and adopted the name of “Grand Master Sexay”. The two were later joined by Rikishi, leading to several memorable dance segments. A run with the tag titles also came for the extremely popular pair.
Throughout his five-year stint with the company, there was little mention of his family, despite “The King” commentating on his son for much of this time. He sadly passed away in 2018 aged just 46.
Natalya
A member of one of the most famous families in wrestling history, Natalya is the daughter of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and Ellie Hart, sister of Bret and Owen. She is a third-generation superstar owing to her grandfather Stu Hart.
Having trained in the Hart Family Dungeon, she made her main roster debut on Smackdown in April 2008. Since then, she has captured both the now-retired Divas Championship and Smackdown Women’s Championship.
She has also won the Women’s Tag Titles with Tamina, the daughter of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.
Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas
The first of our double entries, Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas are both third-generation wrestlers, grandsons of Blackjack Mulligan and sons of Mike Rotunda, better known as IRS.
The family history of the pair has never been mentioned, despite the two appearing on Smackdown and Raw at the same time. Instead, Bray had his on-screen family of the Wyatts.
The older of the two, Bray is a 1-time WWE Champion, 2-time Universal Champion and a 2-time Tag Titles Champion. Dallas had less success on the main roster with just one Tag Titles run, with Curtis Axel, son of Curt Hennig/Mr. Perfect. He was however NXT Champion before joining the main roster.
With rumours of Wyatt’s return, will we see more success for this famous wrestling family?
The Usos
The second of our double entries, The Usos are the twin sons of WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi and part of the wider Anoa’i family, arguably wrestling’s most legendary.
The twins have been a tag team for their career, becoming one of the most successful in WWE history. They are eight-time Champions, currently holding both Raw and Smackdown titles. Their current reign with the Smackdown belts is the longest in WWE history at over 400 days.
The two are also part of The Bloodline, alongside their (father’s) cousin, Roman Reigns and his special envoy, Paul Heyman.
Charlotte Flair
Charlotte (real name Ashley) is of course the daughter of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Woo!
Their relationship has always been referenced on WWE television, with Charlotte’s entrance paying homage to her father’s iconic theme and the two involved in storylines together.
Charlotte has enjoyed incredible success in her time with WWE, rivalling her father’s 16 World Titles with 15 of her own – six apiece on Smackdown and Raw, two NXT and 1 Divas Championship. She also won the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble.
She is certain to overtake her father’s record soon and continue as the most successful women’s wrestler of all time.
Cody Rhodes and Goldust
Another double entry, Cody’s career has been intrinsically linked to that of his father Dusty’s since debuting in WWE back in 2007, less so Dustin a.k.a. Goldust. He made his debut alongside “The American Dream” in backstage segment with Randy Orton.
Rhodes later teamed with Orton and Ted DiBiase Jr. as part of “Legacy,” a group of multi-generational wrestlers, and later again with his father and brother. The brothers went on to win Tag Titles in 2013.
Cody has since adopted the character of “The American Nightmare” and promised to pay homage to his father by winning the WWE title in one of his opening promos upon returning to WWE this year.
Roman Reigns
As mentioned, Roman Reigns is the cousin of Rikishi and The Usos as part of the Anoa’I family. He is son of Sika, one half of The Wild Samoans.
Reigns family history has been referenced to in recent years, with the formation of The Bloodline with The Usos and his anointment as “The Tribal Chief” and “The Head of the Table.”
He is the current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and face of the company, continuing the legacy of his famous family.
Randy Orton
Randy Orton’s status as a third-generation superstar has long been known since his early days with Evolution. He is the son of “Cowboy” Bob Orton and grandson of Bob Orton Sr.
He has outdone both his father and grandfather with his career accomplishments. In his 20-year career with WWE, Orton has won 14 World Championships, as well as two Royal Rumbles and near every other title you could think of.
Orton inducted his father into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, and it is only a matter of time before he joins him there. With several sons, is it possible that there may be a fourth-generation Orton in years to come?
The Rock
Without doubt, the most famous wrestler of all time given his success both in the ring and in Hollywood, The Rock is another third-generation superstar. He is the son of “Soulman” Rocky Johnson and the grandson of “High Chief” Peter Maivia.
Although not related by blood, he is part of the Anoa’i family which has regularly been referenced in his career, from Rikishi to Roman Reigns.
The Rock of course did it all, winning 10 World Championships in his run with WWE, cementing himself as one of the greatest of all time.
It is heavily rumoured that he will take on Roman Reigns at next year’s WrestleMania in a family feud for the ages.
