There have been many relatives throughout the history of wrestling to work together. WWE loves to reference the relationships between family members when it is convenient for a story they are trying to tell. Vince McMahon loves to remind fans that Roman Reigns and The Rock are cousins in hopes of fans giving Reigns more of a chance knowing he is related to a wrestling and pop culture icon. Cody Rhodes and Goldust were often placed together as brothers even though they never had a close relationship behind the scenes due to growing up in different households and having a generational gap.
RELATED: Real Life WWE Relatives And Some You Thought Were Family
However, there are other relatives in the wrestling business that you have likely never heard about. WWE and other promotions don’t go out of their way to let you know these wrestler pairs are related in real life. Some of these instances feature wrestlers that worked together on-screen while others had no interactions at all. For the most part, their relationships are not widely known in wrestling circles due to no companies thinking they can get much out of it. Find out if your favorite wrestler has a surprising relative as these are 15 lesser known instances of wrestling pairs being related.
15 Aiden English and Chavo Guerrero
Aiden English marrying into the Guerrero family has caused him to have new respected relatives. The path of WWE developmental led Aiden to meet Shaul Guerrero as both were training at the time. Shaul is the daughter of Eddie and Vickie Guerrero. WWE signed her with high hopes of having her work with Vickie on the main roster if her talent could match Eddie’s.
RELATED: Fascinating Things You Didn't Know About The Guerrero Family
It never came to fruition and Shaul left WWE. However, she met the love of her life there and eventually married Aiden a few years ago. Chavo was the nephew of Eddie making Shaul his cousin. Aiden marrying into the Guerrero family now means he is now the unofficial cousin of Chavo along with relations to the other legendary Guerrero family members.
14 Rikishi and Roman Reigns
WWE has referenced the relationship between Roman Reigns and The Usos as cousins. Reigns and the Usos grew up together as close friends thanks to being in the same age range with similar interests. However, they are second cousins rather than the direct cousins implied by WWE.
This means Reigns is the cousin of The Usos’ father, Rikishi.
The fact that Rikishi and Roman are cousins is something WWE does not reference on television. It is likely due to Rikishi not being as big of a star as The Rock nor being in the same age range as Reigns like the Usos. Roman being significantly younger than Rikishi made him closer to the Usos and WWE clearly prefers marketing that alignment since all three are on the main roster today.
13 Amazing Red and Zelina Vega
The work of Zelina Vega has been impressive in recent months leading Andrade Almas to the top of NXT. Almas was floundering as a forgettable mid-carder that appeared to be a bust until Vega was signed as his manager. They have been incredible together leading to Almas winning the NXT Championship. Despite primarily being a manager in NXT, Vega has a lot of in-ring experience in Impact Wrestling and various independent wrestling promotions.
A surprising fact about Zelina is that her cousin is Amazing Red.
Diehard wrestling fans from the early 2000s have fond memories of Red being among the best unsigned wrestlers in the world. A body of work in Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor helped him develop a great reputation in wrestling circles. Red is now running his own school while his cousin represents the family in WWE.
12 Animal and The Bella Twins
There are a lot of random variables in play here that brought the Bella Twins and Road Warrior Animal together as relatives. Animal is the brother of WWE producer and former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis. The personal life of Laurinaitis in recent years saw him enter a relationship with Kathy Colace.
RELATED: Worst Things That Ever Happened To The Bella Twins
For those unaware, Kathy is the mother of Brie and Nikki Bella. It was a bit surprising to find out Colace and Laurinaitis were involved considering Laurinaitis hired the Bella Twins when looking for attractive women. Regardless, Laurinaitis and Colace got married making Animal the uncle-in-law to Brie and Nikki. We have not seen Animal on Total Bellas, but there’s always the chance of him teaching Birdie Jo how to rock a mohawk.
11 The Rock and Rosey
It has become a joke that any cousin of The Rock will receive a developmental contract and huge push by WWE today. Roman Reigns is clearly the top star that WWE wants to build the next decade of wrestling around. Nia Jax was a top prospect from day one and is receiving a huge storyline for a Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 34.
One cousin that missed out on this was the late Rosey. It turns out the fad of pushing The Rock’s cousins wasn’t a thing in the 2000s.
Rosey worked many years for WWE as part 3 Minute Warning and as the superhero in training sidekick to The Hurricane. The Rock did work with him in segments where he’d make fun of him in a lighthearted way, but Rosey never benefited from his bloodline.
10 Curtis Axel and Amy Hennig
Most wrestling fans are aware that Curtis Axel is the son of the late Mr. Perfect. Axel is attempting to carry on the family legacy as he makes his name in the wrestling industry. The current role of Axel is comedic as part of the Miztourage doing the grunt work for Miz. However, he is not the only child of Mr. Perfect to try their luck in the wrestling industry.
Axel’s lesser known sister Amy Hennig tried to continue the family tradition as an independent wrestler.
Amy resembles her father more than Axel thanks to the curly blonde hair. Unfortunately, she never impressed WWE enough to land a roster spot. Axel is hoping to add more memories and moments to the Hennig family legacy name.
9 Jerry Sags and Cody Rhodes
A very random pair of relatives in the wrestling sees Cody Rhodes related to Jerry Sags. Rhodes is currently thriving as a top star for Ring of Honor and New Japan. Sags was half of the Nasty Boys tag team in the 80s and 90s with Brian Knobbs.
The relation started when Sags married the sister of Cody’s mother. It made Sags the brother-in-law of Dusty and the uncle of Cody by association.
RELATED: Cody Rhodes Reacts To Goldust Using Cross Rhodes
Rhodes and Sags never reference each other making it unlikely they have a close relationship. If they were close, Sags would likely be petitioning for a run in the Bullet Club. The Nasty Boys did team with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes in a War Games match during the 90s in a family affair no one could have predicted.
8 David Flair and Charlotte Flair
A wrestling relationship that has become forgotten through the years is Charlotte Flair and David Flair being siblings. This is mostly because fans have forgotten David exists, let alone wrestled for WCW during the Monday Night Wars. David signed a WCW contract at a young age and received a major push in angles with his dad Ric Flair and the New World Order.
RELATED: Charlotte Flair Shares Emotional Photo Of Late Brother Reid
While David flopped horrendously, it didn’t prevent Charlotte from trying her luck when WWE gave her a chance at the Performance Center. The athleticism of Charlotte was significantly better than what David brought to WCW. Her promo skills also improved at the Performance Center thanks to WWE putting together classes designed to get talents ready for the main roster. Most fans would be shocked to realize Charlotte had a sibling wrestle on national television.
7 Nia Jax and The Usos
The relationships of family members in WWE’s Samoan dynasty is hard to figure out due to how WWE presents it. They want us to know Roman Reigns is related to The Rock and The Usos are related to Tamina, but there are many other relatives in there. One group of relatives currently under WWE contract are the cousins of Nia Jax and The Usos.
WWE acknowledges all three are cousins of The Rock and that The Usos are the cousins of Roman.
However, there has never been any acknowledgement of Jimmy and Jey being the cousin of Nia. It turns out Jax and the Usos didn’t have a close relationship growing up and barely knew much about each other until Nia joined WWE. Time will tell if the company ever references their relationship on air.
6 Jerry Lawler and Honky Tonk Man
Another surprising pair of cousins in wrestling are Jerry Lawler and Honky Tonk Man. Both legends had their own strong singles careers without ever working the family angle. There were a few forgettable references to it when Lawler and Honky Tonk Man were on commentary together in the 90s. However, you would assume that an angle for a match would have been planned at some point between two established performers that were related.
The relationship between Lawler and Honky Tonk Man was never that close despite the family relation.
They wrestled in different promotions before each joined WWE and it seems they didn’t care for each other. Honky Tonk Man has buried Lawler in various shoot interviews making it unlikely they’ll hang out at family reunions any time soon.
5 Jake Carter and Vader
The career of Vader saw him achieve success in WWE, WCW and New Japan. It is impressive for one man to have a memorable run in all three promotions. Vince McMahon was never fond of Vader due to his look despite being an extremely talented big man for the era. Vader still did enough to have a successful career that would be worthy of the Hall of Fame.
RELATED: WWE Wrestler Sons Who Look Nothing Like Their Dads
The son of Vader received an opportunity in WWE as well; Jake Carter received a developmental contract with a chance to develop in NXT.
Officials weren’t impressed, and Carter would fade away into a release. The surprising thing is Carter had a jacked physique as the opposite as his father. McMahon always held back on pushing Vader due to not being in shape. His son entered WWE with a great build and couldn’t get a push.
4 Alicia Fox and Christina Crawford
The role of Alicia Fox has usually seen her as a secondary performer in the women’s division, but she is a respected figure. WWE clearly views her as a strong locker room presence. Fox is still a fixture on the WWE roster as the division has evolved. Despite not getting a major role, Alicia is often on the live events and will remain with the company until at least the next cuts.
Fox’s sister received a chance with WWE after Alicia became respected as a great employee.
RELATED: Female Athletes We Didn't Know Have A More Attractive Sister
Her sister Christina Crawford spent most of her WWE time in developmental trying to make it to then main roster. WWE placed her on the Tough Enough reality series in 2011 hosted by Steve Ausitn. Crawford finished fourth and remained to developmental. Unfortunately, Christina never joined Alicia on WWE TV and left the business to become a cheerleader after her WWE release.
3 Carlito and Epico
Primo and Epico are still hanging on the main roster by a thread after years of failing to get a consistent role. The Colon family has given the wrestling world some talented wrestlers starting with Primo’s dad Carlos Colon. WWE respects Carlos for his promotional work in Puerto Rico along with a business relationship that helped Vince McMahon at various points.
Carlito is another son of Carlos that received a solid push in WWE before failing to live up to expectations. Primo being the brother of Carlito means that Carlito is also the cousin of Epico.
Despite lacking the motivation to perform at a high level, Carlito had more charisma than Primo and Epico. They would benefit from having Carlito return today to join them as the talker of the group.
2 Tessa Blanchard and Magnum TA
The ascension of Tessa Blanchard as a top women’s wrestler on the independent circuit has seen it become known that her dad is Tully Blanchard. Tessa wrestles using her dad’s last name to carry on the family legacy and make him proud. However, Tully isn’t the only wrestling father figure in her life. Tessa is the step-daughter of former wrestler Magnum TA.
The mother of Tessa married Magnum TA after her relationship with Tully ended. Tessa has stated that both men have helped her learn a lot as she entered the business. Magnum TA believes Tessa has the “it factor” to succeed in wrestling at a high level and it’s hard to argue. Tessa has delivered classic matches against both men and women on the independent circuit to start her own legacy.
1 Ted DiBiase Jr. and Brett DiBiase
Ted DiBiase was arguably the greatest heel of the Golden Era for WWE in the 80s. While he never won the WWE Championship, DiBiase was always involved in a top level angle with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Andre the Giant. WWE respected his legacy enough to give his sons Ted DiBiase Jr. and Brett DiBiase opportunities.
Fans will remember Ted Jr. from his time in the Legacy faction with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. Brett is a lesser known wrestler as he never made it to the main roster. There was one appearance when he interfered in a match to help Orton win a PPV match, but it never culminated into him having a role on WWE television. Both brothers have since left the wrestling business looking for work in other fields.