10 Ways World Class Championship Wrestling Changed The Business

6. Family

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuN04_fqA84 "We all knew who was Dad's favorite, second favorite and third favorite, you know. And I hear most families aren't like that. But, you know, we all knew Kerry was Dad's favorite... But I was number two. And so, I'll take number two. Two's a great spot." €“ Kevin Von Erich, Heroes of World Class It's difficult to think of modern wrestling without at least a smidgeon of nepotism. The McMahons are the most obvious example. The Jarretts come to mind. Verne Gagne gave his son Greg a primo spot in the eighties. Wrestling has always been a family tradition. WCCW was different in that not only was the Von Erich family the main attraction, but the concept of family itself became a theme of the show, especially in later years. After the death of David Von Erich, fans rallied around the family and WCCW, showing future generations how to support the survivors of their fallen heroes. Every once in a while, Fritz would step back into the ring to defend his family's honor, with his sons by his side. It's hard to imagine in a world where the McMahons are video game characters, but Fritz's inclusion was a rarity at the time, matched only by Gagne's wrestling with his son. In later years, we would see Dusty Rhodes and his son Dustin team up. Bret Hart would expand the Hart Foundation to include family and in-laws. Recently, there has been a lot of emphasis on the Samoan family tree, which brought us "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, the Rock, and the Usos. WCCW, however, did it first.