10 Wrestlers Who Piggybacked Their Way To Success

7. Horace Hogan

Nikki Cross Becky Lynch
WWE.com

Success is relative in a list like this, because it's not exactly possible to reach the absolute pinnacle of pro wrestling purely by hanging around with the correct people - unless, of course, you are Triple H.

Horace Hogan, the nephew of Hulk, experienced a degree of success in WCW, but prior to that, he used his familial connection to land a gig in New Japan Pro Wrestling under the name of 'Axe Boulder'. A double-reference to his cousin's puro finish and early, dropped ring name, this was ironic, because he was nowhere near half as good. Almost distinctively bland, Horace's brief ECW ring name - Prey Of The Dead - was more fitting, because it reflected how useless he was.

A convincing if thoroughly unremarkable bruiser in FMW, Horace mostly plodded through colourless brawls stateside, though he was game for punishment. He took a trademark purser of a bump to the ribs, and he was quite mobile by lump standards, though he rushed so much of his offence that he barely conveyed what a unit he was.

Horace once unleashed a great response to a heckle - "Shut up ya pubes!" - but is remembered mostly for his repackage as Horace Hogan, a reveal in which his uncle somehow made exposition more obvious than his apology for being a massive racist.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!