In WWE, The Hardy Boys and Bellas have helped make being "sibling superstars" one of the highest honors in wrestling. Through every era of wrestling, there have been wrestlers who fans thought were siblings. Sometimes the wrestling program introduces two unrelated stars as siblings to create storylines, while other times fans will put last names together and conclude the relationship themselves.
In modern times, the idea of pulling off "fake siblings" is impossible thanks to Wikipedia and social media. The art of assuming wrestlers are related may be a lost art for wrestling fans, but this list examines 10 pairs of wrestlers fans swear were siblings at one point or another.
10 Sherri-Rick Martel
A classic case of "wrestlers with the same names being unrelated," Sherri and Rick Martel were linked together during their careers for multiple reasons. Along with both being very underrated as superstars, the two shared the same last name.
They rarely crossed paths on television and although some fans thought their "sibling-ship" was a secret the company kept (for whatever reason) the two are not related.
9 The Bashams Brothers
In 2002, The Basham Brothers were introduced to WWE audiences. There was no real reason for the fan to believe the pair were not related. They shared the same last name and Doug and Danny Basham had great chemistry as a unit.
Although they did become WWE Tag Team Champions on two occasions, their career in the WWE lasted less than five years. They left the company in 2007 and arrived at TNA Impact as a "non-sibling" faction.
8 Ken And Ryan Shamrock
When Ken Shamrock spoke on the Scheduled for Two Falls podcast, he claimed Vince McMahon once suggested an incest angle between him and Ryan Shamrock. This would've been an insane storyline as many fans believed the two were actually related. The two were not siblings in real life and "Ryan" is actually the name of Shamrock's son and "fake Ryan Shamrock's" real name is Alicia Webb.
Apparently, the reason he kept running in to save her was to set up a romance between the two. Luckily, the storyline never happened and the sibling segments between the two had a minimal impact for either star.
7 Smoking Gunns
Billy and Bart Gunn were a cowboy duo said to be siblings from Austin, Texas. The three-time WWE Tag Team Champions had a good run as a unit in the early 90s but split up after Sunny caused the two to compete for her love.
Although Billy Gunn went on to have a tremendous Hall of Fame career and still competes in AEW to this day alongside his sons in The Gunn Club, Mike Polchlopek who portrayed Bart Gunn never repeated the heights of he and his fake brother Billy.
6 The Godwinns
Although The Godwinns competed in what is often considered a "low time" for the WWE, they were fairly big stars of their era. Dennis Knight (Phineas I. Godwinn) and Mark Canterbury (Henry O. Godwinn) had competed as a unit since 1991.
Most WWE fans assumed they were related. Later, The Godwinns changed their relationship to cousins when they formed Southern Justice. The duo were neither cousins nor siblings. They left wrestling in the mid-2000s but did return in 2020 at The Undertaker's retirement ceremony.
5 Ole And Arn Anderson
At one point, not only were fans convinced Ole and Arn Anderson were related, but they also assumed Ric Flair was their cousin. Although the Anderson family is one of the greatest in wrestling history, it's also a mostly fictional family. Ole and Arn were brought in as kayfabe siblings to Gene and Lars Anderson.
In reality, Gene is the only wrestler whose real surname is actually Anderson. The four all grew to prominence thanks to the Four Horseman, but are not related. Many fans to this day still assume Arn, Gene, Lars, and Ole are family by blood.
4 The Major Brothers
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder are one of the more forgotten "brother duos," but when they debuted in the WWE many fans instantly assumed the two were related. Not only did they sell the look of being similar, but the two also had the same surname "Major."
Brett and Brian debuted as brothers, but failed to catch on as a unit. They eventually did do better as Hawkins and Ryder, but by that time fans had forgotten they were ever once "related."
3 Edge And Christian
One of the greatest wrestling tag team units of all time was once thought to be a pair of brothers from Canada. They were introduced as brothers who followed Gangrel when they joined the Brood and kept their identity as fake siblings going to add drama to their legendary feuds between the Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz.
The two did have the in-ring chemistry of family since they had been a unit practically their whole wrestling lives and, at this point, it's fair to say even though they aren't biological brothers, the two are family in the wrestling ring.
2 Kane And Undertaker
One of the biggest storylines in the Attitude Era was the introduction of Undertaker's brother, Kane. This was during a time of much more soapy wrestling stories, but the payoff worked well. Kane is a monster the size of 'Taker and their kayfabe sibling relationship would be believable to anyone.
The storyline not only created the future Brothers of Destruction, but also saved Kane's career as before he was Undertaker's brother he was (the awful) Fake Diesel.
1 The Dudley Boyz
One of the most extreme tag team units of all time, many fans assumed Bubba and D-Von billed as "half brothers" were actually half brothers. The introduction of Spike Dudley did throw things off, but overall they honestly seemed like they could've been a pair of interracial siblings.
Their chemistry in the ring was unmatched, and they were a huge part of taking the WWE tag team division from "decent matches at pay per views" to stealing the show at WrestleMania.