10 Most Infamous Fake Wrestling Relatives
5. Frtiz & Waldo Von Erich
The Von Erich family were one of wrestling's first real dynasties, but while their bloodline produced several world class wrestlers, some of their family tree's branches were entirely fabricated.
Fritz, the patriarch, terrified American and Canadian audiences with his Nazi-like gimmick in the '50s and '60s, and spent a lot of time teaming with Waldo, his supposed brother. Unsurprisingly, Waldo was of no relation to the Von Erich family, but remains part of their kayfabe lineage. The duo met while competing in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling and once held the NWA American Tag Team Championships together, before eventually going their separate ways
Waldo wasn't the era's only fake Von Erich, as Lance entered the picture when Mike (a legitimate family member) was rendered unable to wrestle in 1985. Introduced as Waldo's son, he was of no relation to Fritz or his supposed father, and his addition drew plenty of controversy. Kayfabe was king at the time, but some sections of the audience seemed to know Lance wasn't a legitimate Von Erich, which led to the perception that Fritz had disrespected the audience by lying to them.
Fritz eventually came clean, revealing Lance's true identity following his messy departure from the family's World Class Championship Wrestling.