10 Times Wrestling History Repeated Itself
7. Next Generation To Legacy
Continuing the theme of gimmick infringement in 2002, while working for TNA, second generation wrestlers Brian Lawler teamed with David Flair and Erik Watts, sons of The Nature Boy Ric Flair and Cowboy Bill Watts, respectively. The recipients of more than a little nepotism over the course of their careers due to their more famous fathers, Lawler, Flair and Watts would trade on this familial connection to form a stable called Next Generation.
The faction didn't make much in the way of waves, even in a second rate promotion like TNA in 2002: Flair and Watts weren't the great talents their fathers were, and Lawler himself, although no slouch, wasn't enough to carry the stable on his own. The gimmick lasted until 2004, and was most famous for its feud with the American Dream Dusty Rhodes.
Spinning on to 2008, and WWE had their own stock of second generation wrestlers on hand. Ted DiBiase was first, attempting to recruit Harry Smith (son of the British Bulldog) and Cody Rhodes before the office decided that the team needed the star power of one Randall Keith Orton. They'd tease the induction of Manu, son of Wild Samoan Afa, and Sim Snuka, son of Jimmy Superfly Snuka, before settling on the three man group of Rhodes, Orton and DiBiase.
The rest is history. The stable would be named The Legacy, and run for three years of high profile storylines within the company. Oddly, around the time of the formation of the concept in WWE, one Dusty Rhodes was feuding with Randy Orton on screen. Coincidence? We're sure it is.