wrestling / Columns
The Contentious Ten 06.21.10: Wrestling Fathers
It may be a day late, but hopefully it isn’t a dollar short. The truth is, I’m with my father and my grandfather celebrating the holiday, and I had a busier week than normal, so this is kind of rushed. I hope you enjoy the list, and happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!
The only qualifier I had on this was that the father had to be a wrestler and had to have children who wrestled. The more children and the more combined star power, the higher the placement. This does not indicate how good they were as “Dads”, just the epic power of their loins.
Cowboy Bob Orton, Jr.size=6>
A second generation wrestler himself, Bob Orton Jr. was one of the best in-ring technicians of his day. Before it became synonymous with Bret “The Hitman” Hart, it was not uncommon for Gorilla Monsoon to refer to Orton’s wrestling ability as the excellence of execution. Bob Orton had success in many of the old-school territories and once teamed with Dick Murdoch to collect a bounty on Ric Flair leading into The Nature Boy’s match with Harley Race at the first Starrcade. Still, his most famous role was as the bodyguard of Roddy Piper in the WWF, and for wearing a cast for almost two years as his arm took “a remarkabley long time” to heal. Randy Orton would follow in his father’s footsteps and work in OVW for a few short years before coming to the WWE in 2002. He was part of Evolution, where Ric Flair and Triple H deemed him the future of pro wrestling. He defeated Chris Benoit to become the youngest World Champion in history, and has since become a multi-time champion and one of the premier heels in wrestling. Today, Orton is arguably the most popular wrestler in the WWE, and at only 30 years of age, looks to continue to be a top star well into the next decade.
El Santosize=6>
This is definitely a case where the father outshines the son, but this is no ordinary father. El Santo is the biggest wrestling star in Lucha Libre history. If you take Hulk Hogan’s popularity and add Stone Cold’s popularity to it, you’re touching the tip of the iceberg of how legendary El Santo is in Mexico. He is, for all intents and purposes, a god. He wrestled for almost five decades, starred in over 40 movies, and was buried in his silver mask. The public funeral drew an estimated 10,000 people and the anniversary of his death is a national holiday. El Hijo Del Santo (literally “The Son of The Saint”) followed in his father’s footsteps, and while he has not achieved the same fame (that’s utterly unfathomable), he has forged quite a respectable resume and is quite an accomplished technician; arguably his most famous match was teaming with Octagon to face Los Gringos Locos at AAA When Worlds Collide.
Angelo Poffosize=6>
Angelo Poffo was a reasonable successful wrestler and a decent promoter, but he definitely makes this list because of his children. “Leaping” Lanny Poffo isn’t exactly a big name; his biggest fame was as a high-flying jobber and a manager named “The Genius” in the WWF. But Angelo’s oldest son, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, is one of the biggest wrestling stars of the 1980’s. Everything about Savage was unique; his colorful outfits, high-flying and brawling style, signature gravelly voice, and his manager Miss Elizabeth combined to create one of the most marketable and recognizable stars of the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling era. If anyone in that era was even a casual fan, they know who Savage is, and can probably attempt an impersonation of the voice. Savage was a multiple-time world champion in WWF and later WCW.
Larry “The Ax” Hennigsize=6>
Larry “The Ax” Hennig was brought into the American Wrestling Association under Verne Gagne, but would traveled around the world to different territories, like most wrestlers of his day. He was an occasional challenger to the AWA World Title and Bruno Sammartino’s WWWF Title, but achieved his biggest success as part of a tag team with Harley Race. As “Handsome” Harley and “Pretty Boy” Larry, the duo held the AWA Tag Team Championship on three occasions. It is interesting that this rough, brawling bear of a man’s most famous contribution to wrestling is the technical and athletic brilliance of his son, Curt Hennig. Hennig was one of the best workers of his age and helped to popularize a faster-paced, more athletic style in America, and one of the all-time great bumpers. He held the AWA Championship once, but is most famous as “Mr. Perfect” in the WWF, where his feud with Bret Hart over the Intercontinental Championship is the stuff of legend.
Rocky Johnsonsize=6>
Charismatic and athletic, Rocky Johnson was a very popular star in his day, winning many regional titles, although his most famous accomplishment was teaming with Tony Atlas as the first black tag team champions in WWF History. However, Johnson’s charisma, success and popularity would not just be exceeded by his son, but completely blown out of the water. While “Rocky Maivia” may have had a rough start, The Rock is one of the biggest wrestling stars ever. Peaking during “The Attitude Era” of the WWF, Dwayne Johnson became a household name as The Rock; his dozens of catchphrases and The People’s Eyebrow are often imitated, but never duplicated. The Rock’s legendary feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin resulted in one of the greatest matches of all time at Wrestlemania X-SEVEN. His one of a kind charisma and speaking ability has allowed Dwayne Johnson to pursue a successful career as a big-screen actor, starring in everything from action films (The Rundown) to sports dramas (The Grid-Iron Gang) and family comedies (The Tooth Fairy). He was, arguably, the last big name in pro wrestling.
Dusty Rhodessize=6>
He may be known as “The Plumber’s Son”, but Dusty Rhodes is quite the father as well. Dusty shouldn’t really need any introduction; he was one of the most popular wrestlers, not just of his day, but of all time. He was a genius on the microphone and cut some of the greatest promos of all time, particularly against Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. And he was a three-time NWA Heavyweight Champion. “The American Dream” is obviously the most famous member of his family, but his sons deserve credit for finding ways to step out of his shadow. Dustin Runnels found his own character in the bizarre Goldust, who provided some of the most disturbingly memorable moments in the WWF during his initial run. He later proved his comic genius in a tag team with Booker T. Easily a better in-ring technician than his father, most people don’t even think of Dustin as Dusty’s kid; he’s Goldust. Cody Rhodes has relied a bit more on his father’s name, but has little else in common with him. Very trim and possessing underrated agility and speaking ability, Cody is just starting to build what is likely to be a very successful career.
Fritz Von Erichsize=6>
Fritz Von Erich was trained by Stu Hart and spent most of his wrestling career with a Nazi gimmick and teamed with his “brother” Waldo Von Erich. He achieved more success as a promoter, running World Class Championship Wrestling during its hottest period, and his using his sons as the stars. His son Jack didn’t live long enough to enter pro wrestling, but his sons David and Kevin became a hugely popular tag team and challengers to the NWA Championship. Kerry Von Erich would win this belt and become the most famous of the Von Erichs. Mike and Chris never really amounted to much. Of Fritz’s six children, only Kevin would live to reach his 34th birthday, as drugs and suicide took the lives of all but Jack; Jack died via an accidental electrocution. While the Von Erichs are most famous because of the tragedy surrounding the deaths of the children, Fritz produced three genuinely great performers and big stars.
Stu Hartsize=6>
Stu Hart is not a legendary wrestler, he is a legendary trainer and father. His legacy is in the numerous talented wrestlers and megastars that survived his dungeon, and in his sons. His son Wayne became a referee and his son Ross became a promoter, but the rest of his sons all went into the ring, where they became the top stars of the Stampede Territory and were all respected for their considerable scientific skill. Smith, Bruce, Keith and Dean never really made much of a dent outside of their home country, but Bret and Owen both became superstars in the WWF. Owen was an outstanding athlete and a true pioneer for smaller, more high-flying wrestlers coming into the main event. Bret Hart is a certifiable wrestling legend, one of the great technicians and storytellers of wrestling and arguably the best in-ring performer to ever lace a pair of boots. Oh, and he’s a seven time world champion in the WWF and WCW.
Dory Funk Srsize=6>
Originally, I had a picture of Bob Geigal here, thinking it was Terry Funk. I thought he looked familiar. Anyway, not a lot of pictures of the guy.
Dory Funk was a successful wrestler in his day, but he makes this list because of his sons. Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk are the only brothers in history to both be world champions. In this case, they were both NWA World Heavyweight Champions at the peak of that title’s prestige. During each of their reigns, they were recognized as the best wrestler in the world. Dory Funk was the more scientific of the two, while Terry was known as a wild man and would eventually be known as “The Hardcore Legend”. It is tempting to put Dory Funk, Sr. at the top of the list based solely on his sons’ accomplishments, but there is one father and one family that surpasses it, in my opinion.
Gory Guerrero size=6>
Gory Guerrero was one of the pioneers of Mexican Wrestling, famous both for his outstanding technical acumen and his intense bloody brawling, which is where he got the nickname. He teamed with El Santo, the team known as La Paraja Atomica, and invented two famous wrestling holds, the Camel Clutch and the Gory Special. His sons followed in his footsteps, and unlike some wrestling families like the Harts and Von Erichs where only a few would make any real impact, all four of the Guerrero sons had success, competing in promotions around the world and winning championships upon championships. Hector and Mando were the closest in age and often tagged together and with Chavo, Sr. Chavo was a multiple time junior heavyweight champion and competed in many promotions with a good deal of success; he also innovated the moonsault. The crown jewel was Eddie Guerrero, who became a star everywhere he went, from Mexico to Japan, from ECW, WCW and finally WWE, where he became WWE Champion and the most popular Mexican-American wrestler in mainstream American history. His charisma, passion and incredible ability mark Eddie as one of the best wrestlers of all time.
No pressure, dads. So, what other fathers did I leave out? Readers?
