History Main / UnrelatedBrothers

* Eddie and Doug Gilbert both entered the GWF upon its inception in 1991. Doug spent his entire tenure competing under a mask as The Dark Patriot, and their relationship was never acknowledged--even when Eddie beat Doug for the promotion's heavyweight title.

** The relationship has now been acknowledged by WWE. Wrestling/CMPunk has called John Laurinitis, now [[InsistentTerminology WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations]], out for being such a vindictive management type because he's bitter over never being as successful as his brother, who was a member of one of the greatest tag teams of all time.

* {{Christian}} Cage and {{Edge}} were introduced as brothers upon their entrance to Wrestling/{{WWE}} in 1998. As their characters evolved in the mid-2000s, this aspect of their relationship was deemphasized, but was never officially [[RetCon retconned]] until 2010 when the two finally referred to themselves simply as best friends since childhood. It doesn't help that Edge is actually ''one month'' older than Christian (Edge born October 30th, and Christian on November 30th, both in 1973).
* Wrestler/{{Kane}} was introduced to Wrestling/{{WWE}} in 1997 as TheUndertaker's brother, though in 1998, this was retconned to him being revealed as 'Taker's ''half''-brother. Their status as being only half-brothers is largely ignored in-universe, though the recent DVD release of ''TheUndertaker's Deadliest Matches'' does feature Undertaker, doing narration, making reference to their status as half-brothers, so it hasn't been retconned yet, at least so far as anybody knows.

* The Dudleys are a collection of half-brothers, each allegedly having the same father but different ''mothers''. The most famous are Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley, who formed a successful tag team in Wrestling/{{WWE}} and later {{TNA}}; however, the clan had its origins in the original {{ECW}}, where several more half-brothers dwelt, including Spike Dudley, Dudley Dudley, the late Dick Dudley, Snot Dudley, Dances with Dudley, Chubby Dudley, and Sign Guy Dudley.
* The Wrestling/{{WWE}} of the 1970s saw a set of ''three'' UnrelatedBrothers: Johnny, Jimmy, and Jerry Valiant. In their heyday, Johnny and Jimmy looked so much alike that they were able to exercise most of the advantages of TagTeamTwins (additionally, both brothers wore tights embroidered with "Johnny", to further confuse hapless referees).

* While working in Florida in the mid-1980s, the legendary Dory and Terry Funk decided they needed another brother so they were joined by Jesse Barr, sporting a Lone Ranger-style mask and going by the name Jimmy Jack Funk. They were even able to convince VinceMcMahon to bring him in to the WWF to team with "Hoss" (aka Dory) after Terry got a singles push.

* Jerry Graham had three storyline brothers: Eddie Graham, "Crazy" Luke Graham, and former Wrestling/{{WWE}} champion "Superstar" Billy Graham. None were related to him, nor were they really named Graham.

* In 1994, {{WCW}} competitor The Equalizer was "revealed" as Dave Sullivan, the brother of veteran wrestler Kevin Sullivan.

* In their early days, HulkHogan and Brutus Beefcake were billed as brothers; either as Hulk and Dizzy Hogan or Terry and Ed Boulder, depending on the promoter.

* After the British Bulldogs split up in the late 1980s, the Dynamite Kid competed in Japan, where he teamed with Johnny Smith under the pretense that Johnny was former partner Davey Boy Smith's brother; he was not.

* In the 1990s, Vladimir Koloff was supposed to be Nikita Koloff's brother. Neither were really related; neither were really Russian (neither was their "uncle," former Wrestling/{{WWE}} world champion Ivan Koloff).

* In a rare instance of an ''official'' {{Retcon}} by Wrestling/{{WWE}}, it was revealed that Brett and Brian Major were never really brothers; they now go by Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. (This being wrestling, ''those'' aren't their real names either.)

* DragonGate wrestler Genki Horiguchi had a brother named Hiromi. During the "Toryumon split" (look it up, too much to explain here), Genki stayed in DG and Hiromi went with Toryumon. It wasn't revealed they were only kayfabe brothers until years later. Hiromi still uses the Horiguchi name.

* The Amazing Red and Crimson in {{TNA}}.

* [[BobHolly Bob "Hardcore" Holly]] was eventually joined in Wrestling/{{WWE}} by "cousins" Crash Holly and Molly Holly.
* RicFlair was a cousin of the Andersons (see above) during the early years of their affiliation in the NWA.

* In {{WCW}}, Tommy and Johnny Rich really were cousins. Davey Rich (aka Davey Haskins) was not.

* AmericanWrestlingAssociation mainstays Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher were allegedly cousins.

* RandySavage and Lanny Poffo in Wrestling/{{WWE}}.
* In 1988, Wrestling/{{WWE}} hired OwenHart, younger brother of established star BretHart. He wore a mask and competed as The Blue Blazer. The promotion never acknowledged the Blazer's until years later, during Owen's second tenure there.
* Also in 1988, Wrestling/{{WWE}} elected not to acknowledge real-life half brothers [[JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]] and Sam Houston, nor their sister, women's champion Rockin' Robin.

* Steve Armstrong competed in {{WCW}} in the early 1990s, primarily as half of the Southern Boys (aka Young Pistols) tag team with Tracy Smothers. During this time, his brother Brad Armstrong portrayed a number of masked characters, such as Baddstreet, [[CaptainErsatz Arachnaman]], and The Freedom Fighter; each of these could be considered an example of unacknowledged brothers, as none of these characters was ever identified as Brad. On one notable occasion, the 1991 Great American Bash, the team of Dustin Rhodes, Tracy Smothers and Steve Armstrong defeated the Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin, Michaels Hayes, and the masked Baddstreet, Brad Armstrong); needless to say, the relationship between Steve Armstrong and Baddstreet was not mentioned.
* Joe and John Laurinaitis (better known as Road Warrior Animal and Johnny Ace, respectively) have never been acknowledged as related, let alone as brothers, even though they've been in the same promotion together--most notably the NWA of the late 1980s. Furthermore, a third brother, Marcus Laurinaitis, was a {{Jobber}} in the NWA around that time, competing as The Terminator.
** And VinceMcMahon is on record as saying that Joe's son James is welcome on his roster if football doesn't work out. Although the Butkus Award for best college linebacker makes that prospect unlikely.
** The relationship has now been acknowledged by WWE. CMPunk has called John Laurinitis, now [[InsistentTerminology WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations]], out for being such a vindictive management type because he's bitter over never being as successful as his brother, who was a member of one of the greatest tag teams of all time.
* Bob Orton, Jr and Barry O (father and uncle, respectively, of RandyOrton) were not acknowledged as such in the Wrestling/{{WWE}} - probably due to Bob being an upper mid-carder and Barry being a {{jobber}} (or, later, Barry accusing WWE executives of sexual harassment).

* Wrestler/{{Kane}} was introduced to Wrestling/{{WWE}} in 1997 as TheUndertaker's brother, though in 1998, this was retconned to him being revealed as 'Taker's ''half''-brother. Their status as being only half-brothers is largely ignored in-universe, though the recent dvd release of ''TheUndertaker's deadliest matches'' does feature Undertaker, doing narration, making reference to their status as half-brothers, so it hasn't been retconned yet, at least so far as anybody knows.

** Mostly this one is still remembered; best example is that whenever they team-up, the tag-team is called the "Brothers of Destruction." It is occasionally referenced when they fued.

* {{Christian}} Cage and {{Edge}} were introduced as brothers upon their entrance to Wrestling/{{WWE}} in 1998. As their characters evolved in the mid-2000s, this aspect of their relationship was deemphasized, but was never officially [[RetCon retconned]] until 2010 when the two finally referred to themselves simply as best friends since childhood. It doesn't help that Edge is actually ''one month'' older than Christian (Edge born October 30th, and Christian on November 3oth, both in 1973).

* {{Christian}} Cage and {{Edge}} were introduced as brothers upon their entrance to Wrestling/{{WWE}} in 1998. As their characters evolved in the mid-2000s, this aspect of their relationship was deemphasized, but was never officially [[RetCon retconned]] until 2010 when the two finally referred to themselves simply as best friends since childhood. It doesn't help that they Edge is actually ''one month'' older than Christian (Edge born October 30th, and Christian on November 3oth, both in 1973)

* {{Christian}} Cage and {{Edge}} were introduced as brothers upon their entrance to Wrestling/{{WWE}} in 1998. As their characters evolved in the mid-2000s, this aspect of their relationship was deemphasized, but was never officially [[RetCon retconned]] until 2010 when the two finally referred to themselves simply as best friends since childhood.

* When former AWA tag team champions Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom arrived in {{WWE}} in 1991, they were immediately rechristened Beau and Blake Beverly.
* {{Christian}} Cage and {{Edge}} were introduced as brothers upon their entrance to {{WWE}} in 1998. As their characters evolved in the mid-2000s, this aspect of their relationship was deemphasized, but was never officially [[RetCon retconned]] until 2010 when the two finally referred to themselves simply as best friends since childhood.
* {{Wrestler/Kane}} was introduced to {{WWE}} in 1997 as TheUndertaker's brother, though in 1998, this was retconned to him being revealed as 'Taker's ''half''-brother. Their status as being only half-brothers is largely ignored in-universe, though the recent dvd release of ''TheUndertaker's deadliest matches'' does feature Undertaker, doing narration, making reference to their status as half-brothers, so it hasn't been retconned yet, at least so far as anybody knows.

* The Dudleys are a collection of half-brothers, each allegedly having the same father but different ''mothers''. The most famous are Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley, who formed a successful tag team in {{WWE}} and later {{TNA}}; however, the clan had its origins in the original {{ECW}}, where several more half-brothers dwelt, including Spike Dudley, Dudley Dudley, the late Dick Dudley, Snot Dudley, Dances with Dudley, Chubby Dudley, and Sign Guy Dudley.
* The {{WWE}} of the 1970s saw a set of ''three'' UnrelatedBrothers: Johnny, Jimmy, and Jerry Valiant. In their heyday, Johnny and Jimmy looked so much alike that they were able to exercise most of the advantages of TagTeamTwins (additionally, both brothers wore tights embroidered with "Johnny", to further confuse hapless referees).
* Doug Basham was a singles wrestler for much of his career, until he reached {{WWE}} in 2003. OVW mainstay Damaja was immediately repackaged as Danny Basham and the pair debuted as brothers. With matching attire and shaved heads, they looked remarkably alike.

* Former {{WWE}} tag team champions Jay and Jules Strongbow were unrelated. Neither was named Strongbow, and it probably goes without saying that neither was really Native American.
* Jerry Graham had three storyline brothers: Eddie Graham, "Crazy" Luke Graham, and former {{WWE}} champion "Superstar" Billy Graham. None were related to him, nor were they really named Graham.

* The IWF tag team of the Long Riders, Kip Winchester and Brett Colt, entered {{WWE}} in 1993 and, in a nod to their prior identities, were renamed Billy and Bart Gunn, the Smoking Gunns.

* World Class Championship Wrestling mainstay Solomon Grundy (your typical "wrestling hillbilly" gimmick) competed in Mexico in the early 1990s. During his tenure there, he was joined in tag team matches by his brother, Aaron Grundy--played by Mike Shaw, who had been Norman the Lunatic in the NWA and would subsequently portray Makhan Singh in the GWF and Bastion Booger in {{WWE}}.

* In the 1990s, Vladimir Koloff was supposed to be Nikita Koloff's brother. Neither were really related; neither were really Russian (neither was their "uncle," former {{WWE}} world champion Ivan Koloff).
* In {{WWE}}, Domino and Cherry were not really brother and sister.

* In a rare instance of an ''official'' RetCon by {{WWE}}, it was revealed that Brett and Brian Major were never really brothers; they now go by Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. (This being wrestling, ''those'' aren't their real names either.)
* A 2005 {{WWE}} example, perhaps best left forgotten, were James and Chad Dick.
* Though the {{WWE}} tag team of Jesse and Festus were referred to as the Daltons in their introductory vignettes, their relationship appears to have been erased at the same time as their surname. (Jesse ''is'' the son of the late Terry Gordy, however.)

* Though Omar Atlas is probably best-remembered as a 1980s {{WWE}} [[{{Jobber}} jobber]], one of his earlier outings was in the Houston territory as Omar Negro, the "brother" of his real-life friend Cyclone Negro.
* Beloved {{WWE}} competitor S. D. Jones began his career in the Mid-Atlantic territory as Roosevelt Jones, the brother of established star Rufus R. Jones.

* In {{WWE}}, [[TheGiant The Great Khali]] and his translator/manager Ranjin Singh were revealed to be brothers. {{WWE}} booking being [[ThreeMonthRule what it is]], there's no telling how "true" this remains any given week. When Jinder Mahal made his debut, he was introduced as the kayfabe brother-in-law of both Khali and Singh (having supposedly married their sister).
* Parodied on ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''. The Brothers Strong do not look at all similar, but it later turns out they really are brothers.
* Before they debuted in {{WWE}} as Men on a Mission in the early 1990s, Mabel and Mo competed as the Harlem Knights in the [=PWF=] and [=USWA=], billed as brothers Nelson and Bobby Knight; they are unrelated.

* [[BobHolly Bob "Hardcore" Holly]] was eventually joined in {{WWE}} by "cousins" Crash Holly and Molly Holly.

* When the Sheepherders, Luke Williams and Butch Miller, entered {{WWE}} in 1988, they not only changed their team name to the Bushwhackers, but became cousins as well.

* Biily Jack Haynes and the late Brady Boone were billed as cousins, both early in their careers in Pacific Northwest Wrestling, and, briefly, later in {{WWE}}.
* James "Little Guido" Maritato was introduced in {{WWE}} as Jamie Noble's cousin Nunzio. The relationship was deemphasized and never subsequently mentioned, even when they wrestled each other, but never officially [[RetCon retconned]].
* Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight were repackaged as [[WrestlingDoesntPay hog-farming]] cousins Henry and Phineas Godwin by {{WWE}} in the mid-1990s. This was [[RetCon retconned]] a few years later, as Canterbury and Knight reverted to their real names and changed the name of their team to Southern Justice. (And poor Tony Anthony--aka Uncle Cletus--wasn't really their uncle, either, needless to say.)
** In 2006, however, {{WWE}} affiliate Deep South Wrestling reformed the Godwins with Henry (Canterbury) and new cousin Ray (Ray Gordy). This iteration ended when Ray left for {{WWE}} proper to become a Dalton (see above).

* RandySavage and Lanny Poffo in {{WWE}}.
* In 1988, {{WWE}} hired OwenHart, younger brother of established star BretHart. He wore a mask and competed as The Blue Blazer. The promotion never acknowledged the Blazer's until years later, during Owen's second tenure there.
* Also in 1988, {{WWE}} elected not to acknowledge real-life half brothers [[JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]] and Sam Houston, nor their sister, women's champion Rockin' Robin.
* In 2002, brothers Solofa Fatu, Jr. (then wrestling as Rikishi) and the late Eddie Fatu (then known as Jamal, most recently as [[WildSamoan Umaga]]) were on the {{WWE}} roster at the same time. They never really interacted in storylines, and weren't acknowledged as brothers (though given the complexity of the Samoan wrestling family tree, they may have been the only ones who knew).

* Joe and John Laurinaitis (better known as Road Warrior Animal and Johnny Ace, respectively) have never been acknowledged as related, let alone as brothers, even though they've been in the same promotion together--most notably the NWA of the late 1980s. Furthermore, a third brother, Marcus Laurinaitis, was a [[{{Jobber}} jobber]] in the NWA around that time, competing as The Terminator.

* Bob Orton, Jr and Barry O (father and uncle, respectively, of RandyOrton) were not acknowledged as such in the {{WWE}} - probably due to Bob being an upper mid-carder and Barry being a {{jobber}} (or, later, Barry accusing WWE executives of sexual harassment).

<<|ProfessionalWrestling|>>

* Bob Orton, Jr and Barry O (father and uncle, respectively, of RandyOrton) were not acknowledged as such in the {{WWE}} - probably due to Bob being an upper mid-carder and Barry being a {{jobber}}.

* Parodied on ''HomestarRunner''. The Brothers Strong do not look at all similar, but it later turns out they really are brothers.

** The relationship has now been acknowledged by WWE. CMPunk has called John Laurinitis, now [[InsistentTerminologgy WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations]], out for being such a vindictive management type because he's bitter over never being as successful as his brother, who was a member of one of the greatest tag teams of all time.

* Bob "Hardcore" Holly was eventually joined in {{WWE}} by "cousins" Crash Holly and Molly Holly.

* Ron and Jimmy Garvin often teamed in the NWA; sometimes they were billed as brothers, sometimes as simply "The Garvins". In real life, neither is named Garvin, but Ron ''is'' Jimmy's stepfather. There other brother Terry Garvin who was the [[UnusualEuphemism President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer of the Terry Garvin School of Self Defense]] was not really related to them at all.

* Michael Hayes and "Hollywood" John Tatum were billed as cousins in the NationalWrestling Alliance in the early 1980s.

* In {{WWE}}, [[TheGiant The Great Khali]] and his translator/manager Ranjin Singh were revealed to be brothers. {{WWE}} booking being [[ThreeMonthRule what it is]], there's no telling how "true" this remains any given week. When Jinder Mahal made his debut, he was introduced as the kayfabe brother-in-law of both Khali and Singh (having supposedly married their sister), though this was forgotten after Khali was let go from WWE and Mahal was left on his own.

* Also in 1988, {{WWE}} elected not to acknowledge real-life half brothers Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Sam Houston, nor their sister, women's champion Rockin' Robin.

* In {{WWE}}, [[TheGiant The Great Khali]] and his translator/manager Ranjin Singh were revealed to be brothers. {{WWE}} booking being [[ThreeMonthRule what it is]], there's no telling how "true" this remains any given week.

* In a rare instance of an ''official'' RetCon by {{WWE}}, it was revealed that Brett and Brian Major were never really brothers; they now go by Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder. (This being wrestling, ''those'' aren't their real names either.)

* The Amazing Red and Crimson in {{TNA}}.

!!Examples

* Christian Cage and Edge were introduced as brothers upon their entrance to {{WWE}} in 1998. As their characters evolved in the mid-2000s, this aspect of their relationship was deemphasized, but was never officially [[RetCon retconned]] until 2010 when the two finally referred to themselves simply as best friends since childhood.
* Kane was introduced to {{WWE}} in 1997 as the Undertaker's brother, though in 1998, this was retconned to him being revealed as 'Taker's ''half''-brother. Their status as being only half-brothers is largely ignored in-universe, though the recent dvd release of ''The Undertaker's deadliest matches'' does feature Undertaker, doing narration, making reference to their status as half-brothers, so it hasn't been retconned yet, at least so far as anybody knows.

* While working in Florida in the mid-1980s, the legendary Dory and Terry Funk decided they needed another brother so they were joined by Jesse Barr, sporting a Lone Ranger-style mask and going by the name Jimmy Jack Funk. They were even able to convince Vince [=McMahon=] to bring him in to the WWF to team with "Hoss" (aka Dory) after Terry got a singles push.

* In their early days, Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake were billed as brothers; either as Hulk and Dizzy Hogan or Terry and Ed Boulder, depending on the promoter.

!!Variations (unrelated cousins)

* Ric Flair was a cousin of the Andersons (see above) during the early years of their affiliation in the NWA.

!!Inversions (legitimate--but unacknowledged--brothers)

* In 1988, {{WWE}} hired Owen Hart, younger brother of established star Bret Hart. He wore a mask and competed as The Blue Blazer. The promotion never acknowledged the Blazer's until years later, during Owen's second tenure there.

** And Vince [=McMahon=] is on record as saying that Joe's son James is welcome on his roster if football doesn't work out. Although the Butkus Award for best college linebacker makes that prospect unlikely.
* Bob Orton, Jr and Barry O (father and uncle, respectively, of Randy Orton) were not acknowledged as such in the {{WWE}} - probably due to Bob being an upper mid-carder and Barry being a {{jobber}}.

** "Cousin" Lance Von Erich was likewise unrelated to the Fritz side ''or'' the Waldo side of the family.

* In {{WWE}}, [[TheGiant The Great Khali]] and his translator/manager Ranjin Singh were revealed to be brothers. {{WWE}} booking being what it is, there's no telling how "true" this remains any given week.

* Kane was introduced to {{WWE}} in 1997 as the Undertaker's half-brother.