10 Second-Generation Wrestlers Who Never Made It
Wrestling's not always a family business...
Over the past decade, it seems like WWE has put more of a focus on wrestling dynasties - hiring wrestlers whose fathers (or mothers) competed in the sport, based partially on the assumption that the young men and women grow up with an understanding of what it takes to succeed in the business. This isn't always untrue - right now, second-generation stars like Charlotte, Bray Wyatt, The Usos, and yes, even Roman Reigns are doing quite well. Going back a bit in history, both The Rock and Bret Hart carried on a family legacy by becoming legends.
Of course, as we've seen time and time again, it doesn't always go that smoothly. Right now, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, and Primo are floundering in the company, despite their famous fathers. It sort of seems like hiring second-generation stars is as much of a crapshoot as trying to find future champions is under other circumstances.
Then, though, there are the men who completely flop - guys who can't even come close to living up to their fathers' reputations, and never even make it to the level of an Axel or a Dallas. These would-be stars maybe weren't meant to be wrestlers, and hopefully, they found something else to fulfill them.
10. Scott Putski
"Polish Power" Ivan Putski was a beloved WWE superstar during the 1970s and '80s. Though he never captured the WWE World Championship, he feuded with many of the top heels of the era - men like Bruiser Brody and Ivan Koloff - and teaming with Tito Santana, he won the WWE World Tag Team Titles. His status as a legend of the time got him inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995.
Putski was inducted by his son, Scott, and that's certainly the closest that Scott will get to any Hall of Fame. Though the younger Putski was built like his father and had a couple of brief runs in WWE, he was clearly not a superstar.
His most notable bout came at In Your House: Ground Zero, when he took on Brian Christopher in an undercard match. Only minutes into the contest, Christopher dove out of the ring onto Putski, but Putski blew out his knee while catching him, forcing an end to the match. Putski soon left WWE, then after a brief run in WCW, he all but left the business.