10 Times Wrestling Was More Hardcore Than "Real" Sports

9. Dynasties & DDT's

Sports: Professional sports would be the one field you'd expect to operate as a meritocracy, but nepotism still gets people to places they'd never be on their own. It seemed like the Dallas Cowboys' Jimmy Johnson thought coaching ability was genetically transmitted when he wooed David Shula, son of Don Shula, away from the Miami Dolphins to become his new offensive coordinator. He was wrong. And of course, the talents of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Jay Novecek and Emmit Smith combined could not keep the Cowboys from finishing last in the league in offensive scoring in the 89 season. By 1990 the Cowboys were still third to last in offensive scoring in the entire NFL. Pro Pro Wrestling: In the days before WWE wiped out the territories, wrestling was largely a family-run industry with trade secrets kept close to the vest. Nepotism wasn't so much the motivating factor as trying to avoid exposing the business. Wrestling's top families have produced talents that would have been main event, no matter what their last name was. Eddie Guerrero and Curt Hennig both learned to wrestle at their father's sides but eclipsed their legacies many times over. The Hart family's contributions are even recognized by Bleacher Report who ranked them 34 among the top 50 Most Talented Families in Sports. Some WWE superstars even make a conscious effort to not bring up their family names. Few viewers would guess at first glance that Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt are brothers in real life. Sometimes working in another country wipes out any family benefits like Paige might be wrestling royalty in England, but few American fans know anything about the Knight family.