WWE provides a wide variety of storylines ranging from those that are incredibly realistic to ones that are just flat out ridiculous. In many ways it is like a soap opera, but with some sporting action thrown in for good measure. With that dramatic entertainment element inevitably comes a little bit of family feuding. WWE loves creating the typical family drama we see on those shows. While they occasionally get a real family to carry out their storylines, the likelihood of WWE having a real wrestling family to tell some of its stories just isn't possible.

Because of that fact, WWE often creates families and pretends that wrestlers are related. Sometimes this is a full family, other times its brothers or a father and son relationship. They all usually end in a fallout and a feud, of course. Now, WWE has done this masterfully at times, whether it's because people honestly look like each other or the storyline is right and the people involved are committed, but other times it goes horrendously wrong and can totally derail a storyline before it even begins. Looking back on a few of these, it's incredible to think that anyone backstage thought they would actually ever work out.

This list will look at examples of both, picking out the fake families that WWE fooled us with and had fans believing, and the ones that nobody at all believed.

15 No One Believed: Finlay & Hornswoggle

This isn't the last time that Hornswoggle will appear on this list, as WWE has used him for another truly awful family angle as well, but this one was just far too much of a stretch for wrestling fans to believe in.

While the WWE Universe has a vivid imagination in order to accept some of the stories that they are provided, the idea that Finlay had a son, who happened to be a leprechaun who lived underneath the WWE ring was just too far. Hornswoggle couldn't even speak for the entire time he was supposedly Finlay's son, so to believe that the Irish wrestler had raised him was stupid. While pairing them together wasn't a bad thing, putting the family link made no sense.

14 Had Us Going: Wyatt Family

While nobody in the Wyatt Family ever came out and said they were brothers or cousins, the fact they were given the name of 'The Wyatt Family' led many to believe that the original trio was perhaps related in some form.

Perhaps fans were just easily convinced they must be related because they were three huge men with equally massive beards and they all portrayed their characters to perfection, making the group an instant success in the eyes of the WWE Universe. But the sheer fact that they never needed to announce or state that they were related and fans still accepted it is a testament to the way this family was handled and the work they all put in together as a group to make it a success.

13 No One Believed: Eugene & Eric Bischoff

One of the most random families attempts by WWE featured Eugene and former WCW star, Eric Bischoff and was one that fans failed to get behind from the start, no matter how hard the company and both men tried.

While Eugene did a brilliant job in getting over a character who suffered from mental disabilities, which is tricky to do in the WWE sphere, as Festus proved, this relationship was only really used to help push stories. With Eric serving as the Raw General Manager at the time, he would often put his 'nephew' through difficult circumstances in order to gain heat. Even though the relationship worked in terms of helping Eugene get over, nobody actually bought the family ties.

12 Had Us Going: Edge & Christian

One of the greatest examples of WWE claiming people were family when they had zero relations was with one of the greatest tag teams in history; Edge and Christian, who were portrayed as brothers at the start of their run.

Whether it was just because they were competing against the Hardy Boyz (real brothers) and the Dudley Boyz (fake) and WWE felt they also needed to be related, or just because they were both similar looking with the long hair, it never really made much sense. However, wrestling fans never seemed to question it either and just went along with the fact they could be brothers until the entire thing just fizzled out and they were just seen as the best friends that they actually are.

11 No One Believed: The Dudley Boyz

Speaking of iconic tag teams that were passed off as brothers, one pair that fans didn't buy into so much was 2018 Hall of Famers, The Dudley Boyz. Both men are simply just great friends who worked under the same last name throughout their careers.

Of course, they were portrayed as brothers on television, from the very start of their careers in ECW all the way to today. The Dudley family actually had many members, with Spike being another well-known name to most fans. WWE attempted to cover the obvious difference between them by stating they were just stepbrothers, but fans still weren't convinced by the relationship and simply just enjoyed their incredible body of work instead.

10 Had Us Going: The Holly Family

Sorry to ruin it for you, but Molly Holly, Crash Holly, and Hardcore Holly are not actually related, despite how much you might think they are. Even though they may have looked alike, Crash and Hardcore, in particular, there was no connection at all.

For a number of years the trio was portrayed as cousins on WWE TV and was quite successful as a unit, with Crash being the Hardcore Champion a ridiculous, 22 times, while Hardcore also enjoyed success. Molly failed to become Women's Champion until she left the group, but went on to become an icon in the women's division. All three did such a great job in the roles they totally fooled fans into thinking they were related, but it was never true.

9 No One Believed: Big Show & Andre The Giant

While this is technically something that took place in WCW, the whole thing was so ridiculous that it deserves to be entered in this list, after all, WWE bought WCW and I will use that technicality.

Even though Big Show has forged an incredible career for himself as one of the greatest big men in history, when he first debuted in WCW, as The Giant, he was pushed straight to the main event scene and was claimed to be the long-lost son of Andre The Giant. While WWE has linked the pair together at times, simply as a nod that both giants have achieved incredible things, but the ridiculous idea he was Andre's son was one that nobody ever bought into and was thankfully quickly scrapped.

8 Had Us Going: Kane & Paul Bearer

Just like the Brothers of Destruction had people fooled, so did Kane and Paul Bearer with their father and son angle because the story behind it was so detailed that wrestling fans just lost themselves in it. The early feuds between Kane and The Undertaker were so dramatic and full of character that nobody questioned the ridiculousness of it and Paul Bearer played a vital role in enhancing that when he revealed himself to be Kane's father.

Because it was Bearer himself who had hyped Kane's arrival for so long and seemingly knew so much about his mysterious past, it was easy to believe the pair were related and they did a fantastic job telling the tale.

7 No One Believed: Paul & Katie Lea Burchill

Neither Katie Lea or Paul Burchill ever achieved much success during their respective WWE careers and perhaps it's because of the very strange family gimmick they were burdened with during the start of their careers.

Originally partnered together, it was revealed that they were, in fact, brother and sister, something that a lot of fans never bought into, simply for the fact they were nothing alike other than them both having British accents. Perhaps the strangest part and the most glaringly obvious as to why fans wouldn't accept it is the strange vibe that they had together, with plenty of hints that the pair were actually in love with each other.

6 Had Us Going: The Major Brothers

While they were better known as the Edgeheads, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were seen as brothers when they first debuted back in WWE's version of ECW, although there was never really much explanation as to why.

It wasn't until they debuted as Edge lookalikes when fans really started to see their resemblance and, to be fair, they did look alike at the time, which is why it's not really a shock to know that many fans bought into the idea. It wasn't until they were split up and worked as singles wrestlers that fans began to click on to the fact they had no relation to each other whatsoever, so it's fair to say WWE did a good job with this one.

5 No One Believed: Jack Swagger & Swagger Sr.

This was a short-lived attempt at a family on television and we can all be thankful for that because the acting in these vignettes was truly horrendous and made it so unbelievable that the two were potentially related.

WWE was doing everything possible to make Jack Swagger relatable and someone that the fans would be interested in and having this story background was perhaps the way to go, had it not been so poorly executed. With Swagger Sr. often being attacked on the way to the ring, Jack Swagger never managed to make the save, which only made him look worse, and nobody batted an eyelid when his father simply left TV.

4 Had Us Going: The Brothers Of Destruction

When Kane and The Undertaker were first revealed as brothers, not a single person batted an eyelid or questioned it, because the entire thing just made sense. With both characters surrounded by a cloud of mystery, it was almost impossible for fans to say it wasn't true.

Of course, in the modern era fans will find it harder to believe, but when Kane first debuted people bought into the idea. Not only did they both have mystical powers, but looking past that both men are huge and looked similar, making it believable. Because WWE had done such a good job creating this crazily detailed storyline for them, the fans were invested and never thought to question it. Plus, both men have done a good job keeping their private lives actually private, meaning fans did really think they were brothers for a while.

3 No One Believed: Kurt Angle & Jason Jordan

A recent example of WWE creating a fake family storyline comes in the form of Jason Jordan and Kurt Angle being father and son. This was done to give Jordan a big push on Raw but ultimately flopped due to his recent injury.

In the modern era, it was always going to be tough to make fans buy into this storyline, with fans having social media and being able to see Jordan with his actual family, but they still decided to give it a try. Apart from the fact they both have an amateur wrestling background and wear singlets in the ring, there seemed to be no connection at all between Angle and Jordan and nobody has bought the idea, with the awkward interactions between them not helping matters.

2 Had Us Going: The Basham Brothers

Perhaps one of the least iconic fake WWE families on this list, perhaps that is why WWE fans were so easily fooled about this fake family story as they were never given anything very significant to do on WWE TV.

The Basham Brothers may not be remembered too much, there is no doubt WWE did a great job in convincing fans that they were actually real-life brothers. Of course, it helped by the fact they did look very alike and wore matching ring gear, but fans really bought into this one. Danny and Doug took their opportunity and ran with it and did a great job at making fans buy into them as a family, but sadly failed at managing to make sure their careers were long and prosperous.

1 No One Believed: Vince McMahon & Hornswoggle

If you are unlucky enough to have been a fan during this period you will remember just how awful this entire feud was, with the only real payoff being that fans received a JBL vs Finlay match at WrestleMania.

WWE ran the storyline of Vince McMahon having an illegitimate son for weeks, something that should, and could have easily given someone a major push as a top heel in the company. And that was the original intention, with Mr Kennedy the long speculated name that was originally going to be given this storyline. However, after the Chris Benoit situation took place, all WWE's original plans were changed, as the original story was based on Vince's fake death. Instead, Hornswoggle was announced and not a single wrestling fan alive took it seriously.