It is always difficult to follow in the footsteps of your parents. Yet, plenty of second-generation wrestlers have attempted to do just that. Often times, a father's fame and success can help their sons or daughters gain immense amounts of fame in the business before they even have one match. Fritz Von Erich's success in Texas helped his sons become the biggest thing the state had ever seen in the 1980s. Ron and Rob Fuller learned from their father's success and built their own storied careers during the 1970s and 1980s. However, not all second-generation grapplers can find that successful formula created by their parents.

A good number of second-generation wrestlers grew up around the business. It was something they always loved and figured it wouldn't be too difficult to break into. Yet, those grapplers find things a lot harder once inside the squared circle. The pressure to live up to expectations set by their parents can often prove too much for them to get past. There are also those wrestlers that enter the business solely because their parent or parents worked in it. These second-generation wrestlers can find success, like Charlotte Flair, while others can find it isn't the glamorous business they thought it was, like David Flair did.

Being the son or daughter of a popular wrestler isn't always what it is crack up to be. Some need to retire from the business and move on into a real job.

15 Cody Hall

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Cody Hall has consistently been labeled as a young wrestler with promise. Currently working for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, Hall continues to wrestle continuously on the company's tours. Now 26, Hall made his debut in 2012 and three years later joined New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of the Bullet Club. In 2016, a serious injury put him out of action and kept him sidelined for around a year. During his recovery he was let go of NJPW before he resurfaced in NOAH.

Hall seems confused in matches whether to steal his father's old moves and mannerisms, or to go off on his own.

The confusion leads to matches that just leave the viewer feeling flat. It is doubtful joining NXT would improve Hall currently. But it should be remembered that his dad was in his early to mid-30s before he got it together with the Diamond Stud gimmick. As everyone knows, that gimmick led to the birth of Razor Ramon in the WWE.

14 Ricky Morton

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Ricky Morton is 61-years old and he still gets into the ring to work shows along with tag team partner Robert Gibson. Morton has been in the business so long, many wrestling fans may not be aware that his father Paul was also a wrestler and referee in Tennessee. Morton has had a great career that started in the late 1970s. However, after four decades competing in the squared circle, it is time Morton retired from competition. Amazingly, despite his age, Morton can still hold his own with today's generation of wrestlers. Perhaps that is why he is still in the ring, as he teaches the stars of tomorrow the intricacies of professional wrestling. Morton may not work as often as he used to, but after four decades in the business, even working once a year shouldn't be happening.

13 Paige

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WWE women's wrestler Paige has endured a lot controversy in the last few years. From a strange and strained relationship with Alberto Del Rio to images being leaked to the media that had her in a compromising position, Paige has come back from career damaging situations. This popular female wrestler is the daughter of Ricky Knight and Sweet Saraya, who run the English wrestling promotion World Association of Wrestling.

Paige has been in the business for the last 12 years of her life and it is practically all she knows.

Now 25, Paige only seems to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. Her latest issue was aggravating a neck injury that appears to have ended her career. This makes any sort of ring return highly unlikely. It is probably time she hung up her boots for her own safety.

12 Brian Christopher

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There must be something in the water in Tennessee, because it seems like a lot of wrestlers in the state are trying to hold onto past glories. Brian Christopher is the son of Jerry "The King" Lawler and is a wrestler that has had his fair share of problems over the years.

Christopher's biggest success in the wrestling business was during the Attitude Era.

One half of the Too Cool tag team with Scotty 2 Hotty, Christopher was let go from the WWE in 2001 after he attempted to take drugs across the United States-Canadian border. Since then, Christopher has worked for a number of indie promotions using the Brian Christopher name and his more memorable "Grand Master" moniker. Only 46, Christopher still gets work on the occasional indie, but should focus on his 9 to 5.

11 Rachael Ellering

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Rachael Ellering is the daughter of former Road Warriors manager Paul Ellering. At just 25, the young Ellering has only been in the business for a few short years. It seems commonplace now for the children of wrestlers or managers who had some celebrity to get into the business. In 2017, Ellering's main claim to fame was working in the WWE's Mae Young Classic.

Outside the WWE, she has worked consistently for an assortment of companies, including Dave Prazak's Shimmer wrestling company.

Ellering had a short run with NXT and Impact in 2017. Despite the work she never landed a full-time gig with either promotion. Her father was never a great worker or in-ring performer. He was great at being the shoot manager of the Road Warriors. Hopefully, he is helping Rachel invest her earnings. She may be able to retire earlier rather than get a real job.

10 Carlito

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Carly (Carlito) Colon is the son of famous Puerto Rican wrestler and WWE Hall of Fame inductee Carlos Colon. Carlito can be found working the indies across the United States and in February worked a match in Florida against Alberto El Patron (a.k.a. Albero Del Rio). At 39, Carlito has experienced plenty of highs and lows in the business. His walking out on the WWE rather than going to rehabilitation is still one of the more talked about incidents when the company's Wellness Policy is brought up. It also torpedo his career with the company. Like many second-generation wrestlers, Carlito has had difficulty standing on his own. For the most part, fans will always think of him as the son of a great wrestler.

9 Amy Hennig

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Amy Hennig is the daughter of wrestling legend "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. She is also the sister of current WWE jobber Curtis Axel (or Joseph Curtis Hennig). It is really unfortunate that the children of such a legend just couldn't climb to quite the same ranks. This is especially true for Amy, who continues to wrestle on the indies, keeping her family name in the business alive with her brother. She hasn't had much success though, and often wrestles in gymnasiums and small rooms. Perhaps it's best she starts to consider other career options, as wrestling in the indies will not carry her forever. It's too bad that the legacy of "Mr. Perfect" is far from that.

8 Rene Dupree

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Rene Dupree is the son of former Canadian wrestling promoter Emile Dupree. In 2003, Rene Dupree along with tag team partner Sylvain Grenier won the WWE World Tag Team Championship. The win made Dupree the youngest wrestler to win the company's tag belts. Now 15 years later, Dupree works the indie wrestling scene while holding on to his small slice of WWE fame from over a decade ago. Dupree is well-traveled as he works for promotions all over the world. In 2017, Dupree was the Great North Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. Occasionally, Dupree gets booked with his old partner Grenier and the duo work as La Resistance. It was a lame gimmick in 2003, and it is lame in 2018. Dupree should retire from wrestling and get a real job while he is still young.

7 Dakota Darsow

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It is difficult to follow in your father's footsteps, especially if your father had success in wresting. Dakota Darsow's dad is Barry Darsow, who found worldwide wrestling fame as Demolition Smash. Even before his time in Demolition, Darsow was a top heel in NWA Jim Crockett Promotions as the Russian sympathizing, American turncoat Krusher Kruschev.

Thanks to his father's name, Dakota Darsow found his way to WWE developmental in 2008.

However, his stay lasted less than a year. Darsow went on to work the indies and popped up in TNA in 2012. Ten years into the business, the younger Darsow hasn't found the success his father did. Darsow works the occasional indie date, but he may have got the idea that a regular job is better than chasing the fading dream of being a pro wrestler.

6 Doug Gilbert

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Doug Gilbert comes from the famous Tennessee Gilbert family. Like the Lawlers, the Gilberts were well-known in the Memphis territory thanks to father Tommy Gilbert. Doug got his start in 1986, but since he debuted, he has always lived in the shadow of his late brother Eddie. Now 49-years old, Doug's career is winding down.

However, the former USWA, WCW and Juggalo Championship Wrestling performer still gets into the ring.

In late 2017, Gilbert pulled on the tights to wrestle Jerry "The King" Lawler in three matches. It was a chance to continue the feud started by Eddie back in the late 1980s. All three matches saw Lawler defeated Gilbert. The wrestling business has been all the Gilberts have ever known, and perhaps that is why Doug still works despite it being time for him to leave it behind.

5 Deuce

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James Reiher Snuka, better known to some as Deuce, is the son of WWE legend and accused murderer Jimmy Snuka. Following in his father's footsteps, Deuce became a wrestler and had his first match in 2000. Not long after, Deuce joined the WWE's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling. Known as part of Deuce 'n' Domino, the duo was a ridiculous 1950s greaser team that had limited shelf life. The team was finished just over a year later, and after a short singles run, Deuce was out the door. In 2014, Deuce reappeared on the indie circuit, and he can be seen on shows from time to time. He was never the greatest in-ring performer and he should focus on a 9 to 5 job from now on.

4 Jamie Dundee

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Jamie Dundee got his big mainstream wrestling break during the WWE's pre-Attitude Era period as part of the Nation of Domination. Dundee was one half of the rapping duo that sang the Nation's entrance music. Little did most WWE fans know, but Dundee was an accomplished wrestler who had learned the trade from his father, Memphis mainstay Bill Dundee. The youngest Dundee has made more of a name for himself in recent years for being inebriated during shoot interviews and wrestling speaking events. Dundee can still be seen working the occasional indie date. In fact, his 74-year-old father can also be seen on the wrestling circuit hustling to make a buck, too. Both Dundees are a throwback to the Memphis wrestling era of the 1980s. That isn't necessarily a good thing.

3 Jeff Jarrett

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Jeff Jarrett's father, Jerry, was a successful wrestler and promoter based in Tennessee. Alongside partner Jerry Lawler, Jerry Jarrett turned Memphis into one of the hottest wrestling cities in America in the 1970s and 1980s. Jeff Jarrett has had a successful wrestling career, although his work at owning a wrestling company paled in comparison to his father. Now 50-years old, Jarrett has been announced as an inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame. It not only shocked fans, but it left them questioning what Jarrett had done in his career to warrant a Hall of Fame inclusion. The former TNA owner still works the occasional match. However, Jarrett should finally retire from the business. We all know he broke a million guitars and never drew a dime.

2 Shane McMahon

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Shane McMahon is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter. His great grandfather Jess, grandfather Vince McMahon Sr and dad Vince McMahon Jr all promoted wrestling. However, it wasn't until Vince Jr got into the ring in April 1998 against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin that a McMahon became a wrestler. Eight months later, Shane got into the ring for his first match as he lost to Mankind. When Shane entered the ring that night on RAW is WAR, he became a second-generation wrestler. Shane's continued desire to get in the ring, especially in recent years, has once again taken the spotlight off the wrestlers and put it on the McMahons. It has also belittled what the wrestlers do in the ring in a majority of the fans' eyes. Shane will never get a "regular" job, but it is time for him to stop wrestling matches and just run the company from Titan Towers.

1 Goldust

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Dustin Rhodes, a.k.a. Goldust, has been competing in the ring for the last 30 years. Sure, Rhodes was awesome in the early 1990s when he was wrestling against Steven Austin, Rick Rude and Arn Anderson in WCW, but now 48, Rhodes should be ready to hang up the boots. Unfortunately, the WWE isn't blessed with many workers like Rhodes these days; and for the most part, he can still work. Still, the son of the "American Dream" should be thinking about working behind the scenes full-time rather than in the ring. Rhodes keeps a consistent schedule for the WWE. In February, he appeared in the 2018 Royal Rumble and worked Curt Hawkins on house shows and television tapings. Perhaps one reason Rhodes has kept his in-ring career going for so long has to do with the drug and money issues he has previously detailed in interviews.