According to certain old-fashioned traditions, it’s every parent’s wish for their children to follow in his or her footsteps and surpass them. Doctor’s children theoretically become doctors, the offspring of lawyers enter the legal world, and even second generation professional wrestlers hit the squared circle. Of course, in the modern era, this only happens in rare instances, when sons and daughters take genuine interest in what their mothers and fathers do for a living.

Despite how rare the idea has become, certain businesses still appreciate the idea of family legacies, and Vince McMahon’s WWE Universe is definitely one of them. Whenever the son or daughter of a former WWE icon even thinks about becoming a wrestler, Vince is quick to offer them a job and training, excited to find out how much potential they may have. In some cases, this has paid off spectacularly, with the best second-generation wrestlers having learned from their parents at a very early age, thus being able to quickly eclipse them when their own careers began.

On the other hand, the flip side is that many second-generation wrestlers don’t even have a chance at coming near their famous parent’s legacy. Talent doesn’t exactly come along with one's genes, meaning it’s entirely possible that a child will have none of their parent’s gifts at sports entertainment. Unfortunately, it usually takes McMahon and company a little while to accept this, even if the fans catch on right away. If you’ve ever had trouble recognizing nepotism when you see it yourself, keep reading to learn about 10 second generation wrestlers who are better than their parents (and 10 who couldn’t live up).

Goldust Doesn’t Shine As Bright As Dusty Rhodes

Having spent over 20 years as one of the most unique and memorable characters in the WWE Universe, it’s safe to say Goldust has developed quite a name for himself in sports entertainment. However, it also needs to be noted that Goldust has been in the same company for all this time without ever coming all that close to the main event. His greatest were accolades a handful of Intercontinental Championships that came near the onset of his career and a couple of fun Tag Team title reigns later on. Compared to the three NWA Championships won by his father Dusty Rhodes, though, these feel like minor accomplishments. Dusty also has great fame as one of the best creative minds and talkers in the business, and while Goldust was always a pro when it came to his character, he never showed much potential outside of his relatively narrow lane.

Randy Orton And “Cowboy” Bob Orton’s Legend

It’s hard to think of a more historic accomplishment imaginable for a pro wrestler than appearing in the main event of the first WrestleMania, which “Cowboy” Bob Orton did by teaming with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. However, when looking at “Cowboy” Bob’s mainstream career, there’s just not a whole lot else there aside from a few more high-profile encounters with the Hulkster, André the Giant, and Tito Santana. His son Randy Orton, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of a “one and done” type performer, having been at the top of WWE for the past decade plus. Along the way, Orton has won 13 WWE Championships thus far, putting him near record numbers. Unlike Randy, “Cowboy” Bob never came anywhere near the gold. It’s also worth noting that Bob’s career also surpassed his own father, Bob Orton, Sr., making us wonder how far Randy’s kids could go in the future.

Curtis Axel Was Far From Mr. Perfect

In all fairness to Curtis Axel, the odds were heavily stacked again him ever overcoming his father’s legacy from day one. After all, the man was “perfect”— Mr. Perfect, that is, long considered one of the greatest technical wrestlers in WWE history. To prove it, Hennig won the AWA World Championship and two Intercontinental titles to go with it, followed by success in WCW’s nWo to round out the fact he could be a top name in any promotion. Unable to reach this perfection in any way, Hennig’s son Curtis Axel has been pathetically meandering in the WWE midcard for almost a full decade without pulling off any significant moments. Sure, he had a token reign with the Intercontinental gold his father made famous, but it was instantly forgettable, unlike the year-plus Perfect spent defending it with incredible matches. Axel is also by far inferior to his grandfather Larry “The Axe” Hennig, who had been a legend for the AWA much like Curt.

Alberto Del Rio Is Much More Than Dos Caras, Jr.

With all due respect to fans of lucha libre, this next entry is mostly in relation to the American careers of the names involved. When it comes to success north of the Mexican border, there’s really no question that Alberto Del Rios has achieved more than his father, Dos Caras. However, it must be acknowledged that when talking exclusively about what the men achieved in their home country, it’s more of a push.

Despite being a relative known in the US, Dos Caras has been considered one of the greatest legends in lucha libre, a status he backed up with three reigns as UWA World Champion.

He also had decent success in Japan, but having never seen a reason to venture stateside, he simply can’t compete with his son’s own accomplishments in WWE and Impact Wrestling. Between the two companies, Del Rio won five World Championships, plus two more in Mexico, making him a top draw in both countries, while his father could only conquer one.

Raquel Diaz Didn’t Have Eddie Guerrero’s Latino Heat

Cheating his way to the Hall of Fame and stealing the hearts of the entire WWE Universe as he did it, there will simply never be another Eddie Guerrero. Theoretically, the closest fans were ever going to get was Shaul Guerrero, better known as Raquel Diaz, who spent four short years in Florida Championship Wrestling and NXT with hopes of following in her father’s footsteps. As Eddie’s daughter, Diaz was also obviously the child of Vickie Guerrero, and while it was unlikely anyone could ever live up to the former WWE Champion, it turned out poor Raquel couldn’t even match the former Raw and SmackDown general manager. Not that it’s necessarily her fault, as Diaz simply wasn’t made for the business, making the decision to leave when she felt the pressure of performing was causing her to develop an eating disorder. Eddie was no stranger to pressure himself, either, but he didn’t let it stop him from becoming a truly iconic wrestler.

Natalya Neidhart Doesn’t Plummet Like The Anvil

One of the greatest testament’s to Bret Hart’s talents as a performer is that he turned the Hart Foundation into an iconic tag team despite needing to carry nearly 300 pounds of dead weight every match. Granted, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart was also Bret’s brother-in-law and a personal friend, but that doesn’t make up for the fact he did less than 10% of the work in their WWE Tag Team Championship winning team. Whenever left to his own devices, Neidhart would immediately sink to the bottom like the Anvil he was.

Luckily for him, Neidhart’s legacy may just be saved by way of his daughter Natalya, one of the top stars in the current women’s wrestling revolution.

Coming to fame before the revolution truly started, Nattie could even take some credit for fanning the flames. Thus far, she’s won the Divas and SmackDown Women’s Championships, and even without the titles, her ring work along would put her a league ahead of the old man.

Tamina Snuka Will Never Soar Like The Superfly

Given how the court of public opinion has ruled on Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka in regards to his deceased ex-girlfriend Nancy Argentino, it feels hard to heap any sort of praise on his career. At the same time, the nature of this list means we can’t ignore that Tamina Snuka’s entire career has been based on who her father is, because she’s been entirely unable to stand out on her own.

Though Snuka himself never won any WWE championships, he was an incredibly popular superstar in his day, innovating the concept of high flying by jumping off steel cages against main event superstars Bob Backlund and Don Muraco.

He was also involved in the main event of WrestleMania I as the cornerman to Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. This is all significantly more impressive than anything Tamina has accomplished, considering she’s basically spent the last eight years as a rotating bodyguard to women who immediately drop down the card when they attain her services.

The Usos Are Funkier Than Rikishi

Two heads are better than one, so maybe it’s not even fair to stack WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi up against his two sons, Jimmy and Jey Uso. However, it would be almost impossible to compare him against either child individually, since they’ve been intrinsically linked to one another for their entire careers thus far. Even when viewed as a unit, there may be some fans disagreeing that the Usos have already surpassed their father. Tag team success traditionally doesn’t compare to solo championships in wrestling, and in addition to that Hall of Fame nod, Rikishi also has an Intercontinental Championship in his resume, plus a few main-event challenges for the WWE title.

That said, Rikishi was also notorious for almost never delivering a classic match, while his boys are able to give them on an incredibly consistent basis.

Throw in five Tag Team Championships of considerable length, and maybe this is one tag team that can outrank a solo star.

Wes Brisco Can’t Even Get A Job From His Dad Gerald

To wrestling fans in the Attitude Era, it could easily be misconstrued that Gerald Brisco was a total joke. Standing next to fellow legend Pat Patterson, Brisco served as one of Vince McMahon’s most loyal “Stooges” in the Corporation, willingly looking like a goofball to take beatings on his boss’s behalf. Long before that happened, though, Brisco was a bona fide legend in the sport, winning countless regional NWA championships while running his own Georgia territory with brother Jack Brisco, also an iconic wrestler. Together as the Brisco Brothers, they were considered perhaps the best team of their era from a technical standpoint. By contrast, Gerald’s son has thus far experienced an almost entirely forgettable career. His time in WWE ended almost immediately, followed by an inability to stand up in Impact Wrestling or on the independent scene. The fact Wes can’t get job with WWE despite his dad being a talent scout for the company really says it all.

Cody Rhodes Beat The Dream With A Nightmare

Based on title history and legacy alone, Cody Rhodes probably belongs with his brother Goldust on the other half of his list in respect to their father Dusty. When it comes to overall influence on pro wrestling, “The American Dream” will always win out, as it would take decades for his children to invent as many iconic storylines and matches as their old man. One thing they could do, however, is become better than him inside the squared circle. In fact, that wouldn’t even be all that hard for one of them to do, as for all Dusty’s genius behind the scenes, his work inside the ring was always considered average at best.

When firing on all cylinders, Goldust could do a little better than his father, but not quite to the extent it overrode his other accomplishments.

Cody, however, might actually be so technically gifted that his in-ring skills will eventually supersede anything Dusty did.

Richie Steamboat Couldn’t Be A Dragon

Crisp enough to earn distinction as a wrestling Dragon long before Vince McMahon had him breathe fire, Ricky Steamboat was one of the greatest grapplers ever to lace his boots. Not only was Steamboat a former NWA World and WWE Intercontinental Champion, but he also managed to win both titles in matches that instantly earned acclaim as being amongst the best contests in sports entertainment history. Initially, it looked like his son Richie was poised to follow in his footsteps during early appearances for Florida Championship Wrestling and NXT. Early on, Richie was a partner of Seth Rollins, winning the FCW Tag Team titles together and predicting that both could entertain similarly successful careers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, as a bad back injury forced the youngster Steamboat out of the ring before his career could take off in any notable way. Even if his career had panned out, it would have taken a long time for him to be considered a true dragon.

Paige’s Short Career Was Still Sweeter Than Saraya’s

In most cases, a wrestler being forced into retirement at the young age of 25 would give them little hope of matching the legacy of a parent still getting in the ring into her mid-40s. However, Paige spent her entire career breaking through glass ceilings and changing wrestling for women, meaning it’s entirely arguable she did more in four short years than Sweet Saraya did in her three-decade career. The same could be true of Paige in relation to her father, Ricky Knight, as neither of her parents ever even attempted to make the jump stateside. Instead, the elder Knights were entirely content running their own little British independent promotion, which was successful in its own right with the two of them as the top stars. Of course, their World Association of Wrestling only gets a couple hundred fans in the crowd per show, and WWE’s worldwide audience meant Paige was instantly more famous than her parents ever were upon her debut.

Bo Dallas Doesn’t Bo-Lieve He’s Better Than Irwin R. Shyster

No amount of false positivity can change the fact Bo Dallas just isn’t taking off as a WWE superstar. For a brief time, it looked like he had some initial promise, holding the NXT Championship for a full 10 months. However, it’s been all downhill since he got called up to the main roster, with the best Dallas can hope for being comedy segments that ultimately see him get beaten up as the punch line.

All that said, it must be acknowledged that Dallas’s father wasn’t all that much better.

Whether going by his own name, Mike Rotunda, or the more memorable gimmick Irwin R. Shyster, one constant that remained through his career is that he was nowhere near the main event. IRS did manage to win a handful of WWE Tag Team Championships though, three with Ted DiBiase and two with Barry Windham, plating him with far more gold than his son is ever likely to see again.

Mike Rotunda Couldn't Join Bray Wyatt's Family

Contrary to everything going on with the career of Bo Dallas, his brother Bray Wyatt has actually been one of the highest profile WWE superstars in recent history. In 2017, he climbed to the top of the wrestling ladder by winning the WWE Championship, and though he didn’t hold it long, that instantly cemented him as better than his father, Mike Rotunda. As mentioned in the discussion of Bray’s brother, Rotunda was a repeat Tag Team Champion, but the idea of him ever competing in a singles main event was absolutely out of the question.

No matter his partner, Rotunda was always the second fiddle in his teams from a charisma perspective, while Wyatt is the domineering leader who moves thousands of Fireflies with his words alone.

It would probably be a stretch to suggest Rotunda is any less proud of Dallas for being less successful as a wrestler than Bray, but everyone would understand if that were the case.

Primo Colón Can’t Shine Like Carlos

At this point, it would be a valid question to ask what the heck WWE is trying to do with Primo Colón and his cousin Epico. Roughly a decade ago, Primo was tagging with his brother Carlito, achieving decent fame as a WWE Tag Team Champion. Though that success initially continued after Carlito left and he switched partners, it’s all been downhill since Primo and Epico lost their only brush with the gold way back in 2012. They’ve stuck around since then portraying a myriad of confusing comedy characters, never coming anywhere near glory again.

This is a far cry from Primo’s father Carlos Colón’s legacy, which painted him as perhaps the greatest native Puerto Rican superstar in the island’s history.

Colón owned the World Wrestling Council, and held the promotion’s Universal Championship an incredible 26 times, feuding names like Abdullah the Butcher and Ric Flair in matches that innovated hardcore along the way.

Roman Reigns Is Wilder Than The Samoans

No matter how audiences feel about The Guy, it can’t be denied Vince McMahon views Roman Reigns as the most important wrestler on the WWE roster today. Considering Roman’s father Afa never elevated above the tag team division, this alone means he’s eclipsed the old man in terms of their sports entertainment prowess. While definitely a WWE legend in his own right, Afa was never a solo star in any stretch of the imagination, unable to differentiate himself from Sika in the Wild Samoans.

Afa did challenge Bob Backlund for the WWE Championship a few times, but that hardly compares to Reigns actually winning the belt three times, not to mention the fact he was the main event for four WrestleManias in a row.

Reigns is also significantly better in the ring than his father ever was, and for all the criticism about his microphone work, at least he tries, while Afa rarely offered more than grunts and subtle racism.

Ted DiBiase, Jr. Had A Much Lower Price Tag Than Sr.

Wrestling simply isn’t for everybody, regardless of what Vince McMahon is willing to pay them to do the job. Going against his family history in more way than one, this included Ted DiBiase, Jr., who apparently didn’t have a price when it came to putting his career in front of his personal life. That definitely wasn’t an issue for DiBiase’s father Ted, Sr., who pushed fatherhood aside so he could tour the world as the Million Dollar Man, one of the greatest villains in wrestling history. DiBiase, Sr. may never have won the WWE Championship, but he did come extremely close, and won three Tag Team Championships with Irwin R. Shyster as a compilation prize.

There were also plenty of territorial titles that made it clear DiBiase could stand on his own when given the chance.

DiBiase, Jr. may have had that same talent, but he decided to quit wrestling altogether after just a few short years in the business, long before he could show it.

Charlotte Flair Matches Ric’s Place In History

Of all names on this half of the list, chances are the suggestion Charlotte Flair has surpassed her father Ric will attract the most controversy. Truth be told, looking at the Nature Boy’s legacy and 16 reigns as World Champion, we’re not so convinced ourselves that his daughter Charlotte has eclipsed his legacy in the sport. However, Ric himself has been overwhelmingly positive about the idea, going so far as to say he personally believes Charlotte’s already better than he ever was.

Ric’s logic is essentially that by leading the women’s revolution, Charlotte is changing the business in a way he never could, and she’s wrestling incredibly innovative matches while doing so.

Charlotte is already a five-time Women’s Champion after her short time in the ring, meaning she could absolutely win more than 16 overall and truly outmatch her father, but for the time being, the whole family is probably just proud to see her continue the revolt for womankind.

Stephanie McMahon Might Not Replace Vince

For many years, the wrestling world seemed to assume Shane McMahon would inevitably take control of WWE from his father, Vince. Nowadays, it seems more likely that Vince’s daughter Stephanie and her husband Triple H will eventually be put in charge, which may or may not be “best for business.” Dating all the way back to her debut in the late '90s, Stephanie hasn’t seemed to understand her role in WWE quite the way her father does. While it’s a McMahon’s birthright to be loud, boisterous, and angry, belittling the audience and their employees, this shtick only works if they get beat up at the end. Vince was a master of this, getting destroyed by Triple H, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, The Rock, and so, so many others. It took Stephanie years before she allowed herself to look weak, and the only person she let dominate her then was UFC star Ronda Rousey, which hardly makes up for the careers she’s cut off.

The Rock Takes Rocky Johnson To The SmackDown Hotel

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what Rocky Johnson was able to accomplish during his WWE Hall of Fame worthy career — there’s not a single athlete or performer on the planet who can hold a candle to his son, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment history, The Rock. That said, Johnson’s career was indeed fairly admirable, standing aside Tony Atlas as half of the first black WWE Tag Team Championship winning duo, the Soul Patrol.

Johnson was also extremely popular as a solo star for a number of territorial NWA promotions, but again, none of this comes close to The Rock’s complete dominance of the WWE Universe and Hollywood.

Even before the Rock became the highest paid actor on the big screen, his eight WWE Championships and immense popularity made it very clear he had surpassed the old man’s work in the tag ranks. Rock also far overcame the legacy of his grandfather “High Chief” Peter Maivia, marking another family that just keeps getting better.