WWE usually loves a wrestler with pedigree, especially if they come from a big wrestling family like the Hart, Anoa’i, Rhodes, McMahon, or Guerrero Wrestling families. However, for every multi-generational talent like Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, or even the Rock, several talented wrestlers of wrestling pedigree get left by the wayside.
Sure it would be great if you could pick a star wrestler in the same way some pick a racehorse or even an athlete, but unfortunately what makes a great wrestler cannot always be boiled down to good genetics.
Even in the greatest wrestling families, some couldn’t live up to the hype of their family members. Take the Flair family for example, which produced two undisputable talents in family patriarch Ric Flair and his daughter Charlotte Flair. However, Ric’s sons David and Reid both try their hands at wrestling and fail to escape the shadow cast by their father.
SHAWN STASIAK
Shawn Stasiak is the son of former WWE Champion Stan Stasiak. The elder Stasiak wrestled for WWE at various points in the 1970s, winning the title in 1973 after beating Pedro Morales. Stan would then lose the title to Bruno Sammartino at WWE’s spiritual home, Madison Square Garden. In 2018, Stan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the Legends Division.
Shawn Stasiak began his career training at the Funking Conservatory, run by Dory Funk Jr., before signing with WWE. He made his debut as Meat, a boy toy for Terri Runnels, Jacqueline, and Ryan Shamrock. In 1999, WWE fired Stasiak, but he then signed for WCW and adopted the Perfect nickname after attacking Curt Hennig. Stasiak returned to WWE after WCW was purchased by WWE, but he adopted an alien gimmick and was booked from Planet Stasiak.
Shawn then retired from wrestling in 2002, instead pursuing a career as a chiropractor.
SHAUL GUERRERO
Shaul Guerrero is the daughter of Eddie Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero and a member of the Guerrero Wrestling family. Eddie Guerrero needs no introduction to wrestling fans, having wrestled for WCW and WWE during his career. His peak was when he won the WWE Championship in 2004. Unfortunately, Guerrero passed away in 2005 in arguably the prime of his career. Following his death, Shaul’s mother Vickie became more active in wrestling managing Edge and Dolph Ziggler and working as SmackDown general manager.
Shaul Guerrero signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2010 and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling, the wrestling territory to which developmental talents were sent. Shaul would wrestle alongside the likes of AJ Lee and Naomi. When WWE moved to NXT, Shaul was one of the wrestlers that moved with the rebrand. Guerrero eventually left WWE citing an ongoing eating disorder. In 2020, Shaul made her return to professional wrestling as a ring announcer in 2018 and 2020, but is yet to return to in-ring action.
JAKE CARTER
The name Jake Carter may not be familiar to many wrestling fans. However, Carter’s father would be undoubtedly familiar to those who watched professional wrestling in the 1990s. Carter is the son of Big Van Vader, who wrestled in the main event in NJPW, WCW, and WWE during his career. During his career, Vader held the IWGP and WCW World Heavyweight titles and challenged multiple times for the WWE World Championship.
After training with his father and NWA legend Harley Race, Carter signed a WWE developmental contract in 2011 and briefly held the FCW Tag Team titles with Corey Graves. When WWE moved to NXT, Carter moved with the promotion but was eventually released in 2013. Carter finished his wrestling career appearing alongside his father at small independent shows.
RICHIE STEAMBOAT
Richie Steamboat is the son of WWE Legend Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat. Steamboat is perhaps best known for his run with the Intercontinental title in WWE and his WrestleMania III match against Randy Savage. Outside of WWE, Steamboat also held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Flair at the Chi-Town Rumble in 1989 before losing the title back to Flair at WrestleWar the same year.
Richie began training in 2008, working with legendary wrestling trainers such as George South and Harley Race before signing a WWE developmental contract in 2009. Like, Carter and Guerrero, Steamboat was sent to Florida Championship Wrestling. In FCW, Steamboat teamed with Seth Rollins to win the FCW Tag Team title. Steamboat would also appear in NXT, participating in the NXT inaugural Gold Rush tournament, but was eliminated by Jinder Mahal in the Semi-Final.
Steamboat was forced to retire after suffering a back injury, this was later confirmed by his father in 2015.
MANU
Manu is the son of Afa Anoa’i, one-half of the Wild Samoan wrestling tag team in WWE, and a member of the legendary Anoa’i wrestling family. Afa and Sika would hold the WWE Tag Team titles three times together, and the pair were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. While Sika continued to wrestle in WWE, Afa retired in the mid-90s, only wrestling sporadically before he died in 2024 a few months after Sika passed away
After training with his father, and cousins, Manu was signed to a WWE developmental contract in 2006. After wrestling in WWE’s developmental territories Deep South Wrestling, Florida Championship Wrestling, and Ohio Valley Wrestling, he was eventually called up to the main roster in 2007. After being called up, Manu would join Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr in forming Legacy, a stable aligned with Randy Orton.
Despite seemingly being touted for bigger things, Manu was kicked out of The Legacy and then released from WWE at the start of 2000. Since then, Manu has mainly worked as a promoter running BattleField Pro Wrestling, a Pennsylvania-based independent wrestling promotion.
