The wrestling business is something that many future stars are actually born into, this didn't used to be the case but the fact that training schools and promotions are popping up all over the world right now means that wrestling training is now more accessible than ever before and many children of wrestlers now make the decision to follow in their parent's footsteps.

Of course, the fact that there are more training facilities means that competition is stronger than ever and not every star is able to make it to WWE and become a second or third generation star.

Over the years, a number of next-generation wrestlers have been able to make it through to WWE, which is where the WWE Universe then puts them into the shadow of their parents until they are able to step out and prove that they have their own personality.

There are a number of second and third generation stars on WWE TV right now who prove that they have been able to follow in their parent's footsteps despite the level of competition in the industry at present. As you will see from the list below, many of them have been able to create their own legacies, whilst others haven't been able to live up to the family name.

The following list looks at 10 wrestlers who were way better than their sons as well as 10 who were way better than their parents. These are the wrestlers who cast huge shadows out for their children to try to step into as well as the wrestlers who were able to overcome their parent's reputation and prove that they are the future of the business.

20 Better Than Their Son: Mr. Perfect > Curtis Axel

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Mr. Perfect is one of the biggest legends that WWE has ever created, he is a WWE Hall of Famer and one of the men who revolutionized the Intercontinental Championship. His son Curtis Axel has been able to follow in his footsteps and make it to WWE, but he hasn't been able to step up in the same way as his father.

Axel has won a number of championships including the Intercontinental title, but he's only ever been seen as a mid-carder, at best, by WWE.

The WWE Universe is aware that Axel is a third generation star and has been pushing for him to be given opportunities throughout his career, but the WWE hasn't agreed.

19 Better Than Their Father: Roman Reigns > Sika Anoa'i

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Roman Reigns' entire WWE career has been built around the fact that he is part of the famous Samoan family that has given the WWE Universe the likes of The Usos and The Wild Samoans. Reigns father Sika was one of the Wild Samoans, but it could be argued that he wasn't given the same kind of exposure as his son.

Reigns has main evented the past four WrestleMania events is the current Universal Champion and is a former Royal Rumble winner. It's obvious that The Big Dog is going to achieve so much more in his career, but he has already eclipsed the achievements of his famous father.

18 Better Than Their Son: Dusty Rhodes > Cody Rhodes/Goldust

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Dusty Rhodes was a WWE Hall of Famer, the son of a plumber that went on to become one of the most popular stars in the company. Rhodes wasn't supposed to amount to much but he found a way to come out on top and later spent his time teaching the next generation the tricks of the trade.

His sons Goldust and Cody Rhodes have followed in their father's footsteps and crafted their own legacies, but it could be argued that Rhodes and Goldust are still seen as Dream's sons rather than him being seen as their father, which shows that Dusty will always be seen as the dominant figure in the family.

17 Better Than Their Father: Paige > Ricky Knight

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Paige grew up with wrestling as both her parents were stars in the UK, with her father Ricky Knight and mother Sweet Saraya. While both her parents were accomplished wrestlers, Paige hit the big time in the WWE. She was the first NXT Women's Champion and a multi-time Divas Champion. Unfortunately, Paige's in-ring career has come to an end at an early age, but she still accomplished a ton in her in-ring career. If Paige had been able to wrestle a few more years, there's no telling what else she could have accomplished. But even in a shortened career, she stepped out of her parents' shadows.

16 Better Than Their Son: Ric Flair > David Flair

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Charlotte may have been able to upstage her father, but back when Ric's oldest son David tried his hand at being a wrestler in WCW, he was unable to become anything other than a clone of his father. David's career isn't something that many WWE fans will mention when it comes to the family legacy right now since it was considered a flop but any regular wrestler star in the shadow of Ric Flair would have a few issues.

Flair is a 16-time World Champion and a two time Hall of Famer, Charlotte saw her father's legacy as a target to push towards, but David was unable to step out of the shadow of his famous father and that was one of the reasons his career nosedived.

15 Better Than Their Father: Natalya > Jim Neidhart

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The Women's Revolution may be a new thing for WWE, but Natalya has been working towards history ever since she debuted in WWE.

Nattie is the first ever third-generation female wrestler in WWE and even though the company refuses to give the former Women's Champion the opportunities she deserves.

She is still considered to be one of the best technical wrestlers in the company.

Her father Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart was an integral part of The Heart Foundation for a number of years, but like many stars in WWE during that time, he was always in the shadow of Bret and Owen Hart.

14 Better Than Their Son: Ted DiBiase > Ted DiBiase Jr

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The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase was once one of the most recognizable faces in the company so much so that WWE gave him his own title, one that is now synonymous with his name. His son who was also called Ted opted to follow his father into the business but even though he had a fantastic run in Legacy and was even given his own Million Dollar belt, Ted was never able to live up to the hype that surrounded him.

DiBiase Jr. left the business after a lackluster career back in 2013 so that he could spend more time with his son and is now the vice president of business development for One Life.

13 Better Than Their Father: Carmella > Paul Van Dale

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Many of the WWE Universe are actually unaware that Carmella is a second generation superstar in WWE since the former SmackDown Women's Champion put in the hours to ensure that she was taken at face value rathe

r than based on her family history. The first ever Women's Money in the Bank winner revealed a few years ago that her father Paul Van Dale worked as a jobber for WWE back in the late 1990s, which was one of the reasons why she grew up watching the product.

Carmella's name will always be in the history books after her recent achievements on WWE TV, which means that after just two years on the main roster, she has already surpassed her own father.

12 Better Than Their Son: Scott Hall > Cody Hall

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Scott Hall may be considered to be one of the best wrestlers in the history of the company, but he certainly had one of the greatest persona's.

As Razor Ramon, Hall became one of the most popular stars of his era and trying to live up to the hype that surrounded the original Bad Guy was always going to be hard for his son Cody.

Cody has worked for a number of indie promotions throughout his career including NJPW where he's a former member of The Bullet Club, but he hasn't been able to make it to WWE as of yet, he currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah and was ranked in at number #317 of the top 500 singles wrestlers by PWI in 2018.

11 Better Than Their Father: The Usos > Rikishi

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This will perhaps be an unpopular opinion since Rikishi was one of the most popular stars of his era, but when it comes to accomplishments in the ring, it could be argued that his sons have already overtaken their father. Rikishi's big Championship win was the Intercontinental title, whilst his sons have been able to pick up a number of Tag Team Championships in their time on WWE TV.

The Usos are easily seen as one of the best tag teams in WWE right now and have proved this a number of times,  Rikishi is best known for his time with Too Cool, a team that was known mainly for their entertainment value.

10 Better Than Their Son: Jimmy Superfly Snuka > Sim Snuka

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WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy "The Superfly" Snuka doesn't have the greatest reputation now, but there was a time when he would light up every arena he walked into. His splash was known around the world and he was one of the stars that inspired the next generation of greats.

One of the stars that he inspired was his own son who came to WWE as part of a Tag Team known as Deuce and Domino. Even though the team went on to win the Tag Team Championships, Deuce was never a standout star in the team and after they went their separate ways he was released from WWE. Many fans were completely unaware that he was a second generation wrestler at the time.

9 Better Than Their Father: The Rock > Rocky Johnson

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It's hard to believe that there was ever a time that The Rock was a fresh-faced superstar just hoping to add to the legacy that his father Rocky Johnson had already created, but in the late 1990's The Rock went through a number of interesting changes.

There was a time when The Rock, as Rocky Maivia, was simply a vaillla babyface, but now The Rock is one of the best-known wrestlers of all time.

He's The People's Champion, he's a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer and he's someone who is known to every wrestling fan regardless of when they were first introduced to the company.

8 Better Than Their Son: Jerry Lawler > Brian Christopher

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Jerry "The King" Lawler is has been wrestling for most of his adult life and still continues to wrestle on a regular basis, but despite this, he has become better known to the current generation as a commentator. His son Brian Christopher looked to follow him into the industry and was known as one half of Too Cool, but this wasn't a gimmick that allowed him to excel.

Lawler is a WWE Hall of Famer and someone who has cast a huge shadow for his children to follow, which could be why Christopher didn't remain with WWE for very long and instead opted to wrestle more frequently on the independent circuit.

7 Better Than Their Father: Bray Wyatt > Mike Rotunda (IRS)

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Anyone who watched WWF back in the late 1980s and early 1990s will remember Mike Rotunda as his character Irwin R. Schyster, also known as IRS. Rotunda was a popular star who went on to lift the Tag Team Championships five times throughout his career before he announced his retirement back in 2007.

His son's Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas have been able to follow in his footsteps in recent years and even though it was Dallas who excelled in NXT, Wyatt has taken the spotlight on the main roster as a former WWE Champion. Wyatt continues to be one of WWE's top stars and many believe that he has already surpassed the legacy his father left in the squared circle.

6 Better Than Their Son: The British Bulldog > Harry Smith

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Many British fans will always remember the moment that The British Bulldog headlined SummerSlam back in 1992 against Bret Hart for the WWE Championship. Bulldog became a legend in the eyes of the United Kingdom, which is why WWE decided to allow his son Harry Smith to join the company.

Harry Smith was part of The Hart Dynasty alongside Natalya and Tyson Kidd, but it was always obvious where the talent in the team was.

His stint in WWE wasn't a long one since he was released back in 2011 and over the past seven years, he has performed all over the world on the Independent Circuit, mainly for NJPW.

5 Better Than Their Father: Randy Orton > 'Cowboy' Bob Orton

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Randy Orton was introduced to the business back in 2002 and merely two years later he lifted the WWE Championship, becoming the youngest star to do so. Orton is a third-generation star and has followed in the footsteps of the great "Cowboy" Bob Orton, who has appeared alongside his son in WWE a number of times.

That being said, Orton is now considered to be one of the best wrestlers in the company, he's a former 13 time World Champion and a sure-fire Hall of Famer, which shows that sometimes wrestlers are able to live up to the hype that surrounds them from a young age.

4 Better Than Their Son: Vader > Jake Carter

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Big Van Vader is one of the reasons why the wrestling business was so bright in the 1990s and even though his planned WWE Championship win was halted by backstage politics from Shawn Michaels, Vader continued to be a popular star in WWE.

After he left WWE, Vader continued to wrestle all over the world and went on to inspire his son Jesse to step into the business. Jesse was signed by WWE back in 2011 and worked on their NXT brand under the name Jake Carter. He was released from his contract just two years later in 2013 and has since continued to wrestle on the Independent Circuit.

3 Better Than Their Father: Bret Hart > Stu Hart

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Stu Hart was the man who began the legacy of The Hart Family, he was the patriarch that started the families associated with the business and over the past few decades his family has continued to dominate the professional wrestling industry.

Stu was the trainer and founder of Stampede Wrestling, but his son Bret was always destined to become someone special.

Bret went on to become one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of WWE, a former World Champion and a WWE Hall of Famer. The family legacy has since continued after Hart retired since his niece Natalya is still employed by WWE.

2 Better Than Their Son: Afa Anoa'i > Manu

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Many of the WWE Universe will remember Manu as the WWE star that was once the fourth member of Legacy alongside Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase Jr, but Orton went on record to state that Manu was actually released from WWE not long after he joined the group because of his backstage attitude.

Being a second generation star, Manu believed that he was owed everything that WWE was giving to him, rather than working for it and that became a problem. His father is WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa'i, who was one half of The Wild Samoans but unlike Roman Reigns, Manu wasn't able to live up to the legacy his father created.

1 Better Than Their Father: Shane McMahon > Vince McMahon

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Vincent Kennedy McMahon is the smartest man in professional wrestling, he took his father's company and has turned it into a global empire, but just because he was smart outside of the ring, didn't mean that he could take on the best inside of it.

McMahon has stepped into the ring a number of times and proved that he isn't destined to be a professional wrestler, but his son Shane actually shows a few hints of talent when he steps between the ropes. Shane could have been a fantastic wrestler if he was allowed to concentrate on training as a child, but he's still a better wrestler than his father, even without the training.