The history of pro wrestling is full of famous wrestlers’ kids who have taken up the family business. Not all of these children are all-timers, of course -- amid generational talents like Randy Orton, Charlotte Flair, and El Hijo del Santo, there are misfires like David Flair and Ted DiBiase Jr. But regardless of success, using a parent’s famous name is totally fair game.
Then there are those legacy talents who entered wrestling fans’ radar without their famous last name for one reason or another. This isn’t always a bad thing, as there are some major talents that got over without it, but in some cases, it feels a bit baffling.
10 Bron Breakker
Ever since his debut on the rebooted NXT 2.0, Bron Breakker has been the talk of the wrestling world. The son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner, it was reported that Bronson Rechsteiner would use the ring name Rex Steiner, but suddenly plans changed and he became the spell-check-defying Bron Breakker, with his family history only being alluded to by commentary as an in-joke for fans who are already aware. It’s an odd choice, but Breakker’s being pushed to the moon, so it may work out regardless.
9 Deuce
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka was an icon of 1980s WWE thanks to his high-flying style, but he was also one of those stars who surprisingly never won a championship during his time with the company. For a very long time until Tamina’s 24/7 Title win, the only member of the Snuka family to actually hold gold in the company was her brother James, who wrestled as Deuce of the 1950s greaser-themed tag team Deuce ‘n Domino. In 2008, Deuce would actually be repackaged as Sim Snuka but found little success and got released the following year.
8 Curtis Axel
The son of Curt Hennig (a.k.a. Mr. Perfect) and grandson of Larry “The Axe” Hennig, Joe Hennig spent a brief period wrestling under his real name for Florida Championship Wrestling, but such monikers in developmental are always subject to change. When he was brought up to compete in Season 2 of NXT, he received the most baffling ring name possible in Michael McGillicutty.
When that run didn’t work out, he went back to developmental and returned as Paul Heyman’s latest client, Curtis Axel, which tributed his heritage but avoided the slam-dunk name recognition of Joe Hennig.
7 Von Wagner
Another NXT 2.0 rookie, Von Wagner sounds like the kind of ring name WALTER would have if he signed to NXT in 2014. But it actually belongs to Minnesota-born Cal Bloom, the son of 1990s tag team specialist Wayne Bloom. Bloom teamed with Mike Enos as The Destruction Crew in AWA, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew II in WCW, and The Beverly Brothers in WWE, but it makes sense that WWE would give his son a different name. After all, if they’re not going to give Rick Steiner’s kid a legacy name, they’re certainly not going to do it for Beau Beverly.
6 Jesse (a.k.a. Slam Master J)
The son of Fabulous Freebird and two-time AJPW Triple Crown Champion Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy, Terry Ray Gordy Jr. found himself born with a fine and respectable ring name, but he only ever used it early in his career in Japan and in WWE developmental. When it came time to debut on the main roster, he became Jesse, teaming with Festus (a.k.a. Luke Gallows) to little tag team success. When they were separated by a draft, Jesse was repackaged with a rapper gimmick, becoming Slam Master J.
5 Rachel Evers
WWE’s tendency to avoid legacy ring names predates NXT 2.0. From 2019 to 2020, NXT had Rachael Ellering, the daughter of legendary wrestler/manager Paul Ellering on its roster and gave her the ring name Rachel Evers. This seemed particularly absurd because Paul Ellering was a recent presence on NXT, managing The Authors of Pain. After getting released in 2020, however, Evers would revert to her real name, debuting in Impact Wrestling as Rachael Ellering and experiencing a whole lot more in-ring success to date.
4 Road Dogg
The son of “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, Brian James briefly had in a forgettable run in WCW as jobber Brian Armstrong, but he would lose the association with the family name once he came to WWE. Debuting as The Roadie, James was a henchman for Jeff Jarrett but would go on to become “The Real Double J,” supplanting Jarrett’s country singer gimmick and becoming Jesse James.
Soon enough, James would team with Billy Gunn and reinvent himself as the more hip-hop themed Road Dogg in D-Generation X, which would be his definitive gimmick in wrestling.
3 Brian Christopher (a.k.a. Grandmaster Sexay)
Even though he began his wrestling career in his father Jerry “The King” Lawler’s United States Wrestling Association promotion, Brian Christopher Lawler didn’t use his famous surname, instead adopting his middle name to become Brian Christopher. The name would carry over into WWE as well until 1999, when his tag team Too Much with Scott Taylor (a.k.a. Scotty 2 Hotty) became Too Cool and Christopher became Grandmaster Sexay. After leaving WWE, he would revert back to Brian Christopher, save for a few months where he actually wrestled as Brian Lawler in early Impact Wrestling.
2 Marcel Barthel
It always seemed that Marcel Barthel of NXT’s Imperium had the ring name he did, because it sounds more like a French guy than a German heel, but it’s actually more complicated than the usual arbitrary-seeming WWE renaming. Barthel’s father used the ring name Axl Dieter and performed in Germany from the late 1950s all the way to the mid 1980s, but he obviously isn’t as well known to WWE fans. While Barthel used the moniker Axl Dieter Jr. during his time in the European wrestling scene, it turns out that Marcel Barthel is actually the performer’s real name.
1 The Rock
Easily the most famous wrestler on this list, Dwayne Johnson is the son of early 1980s WWE tag team specialist “Soulman” Rocky Johnson as well as the grandson of "High Chief" Peter Maivia. When it came time for Dwayne Johnson to debut in WWE, he was given the name Rocky Maivia in a bit of a Curtis Axel situation, using his father’s first name and his grandfather’s last name. However, the younger Rocky would soon turn heel after fans refused to accept the vanilla babyface, remaking himself into the braggadocious egomaniac and future eight-time WWE Champion The Rock.