Shadow Boxing

Sometimes it can be a blessing. Sometimes it can be a curse. Growing up the child of a famous wrestler seems like it would be awesome. Everyone knows who your dad is. How tough he is. How much the ladies love him. But like they say: “The brighter the picture, the darker the negative.”

It is rare nowadays for a rising star to live up to the hype made by their wrestling forefathers. In some cases they outshine them. Eddie Guerrero for instance. He accomplished more in his short life than most of his family combined. Chavo will forever be fighting for light in Eddie’s shadow.

Of course it isn’t fair to Chavo to compare him to his uncle. But since they share the same last name it will be hard not to. Eddie and Chavo were mere years apart in age but in the wrestling world the contributions given to the sport are light years apart.

The American Dream Dusty Rhodes has two children in the sport that are active. Dustin Rhodes/Goldust/Black Reign and Cody Rhodes. Neither will ever be as charismatic as their father. Neither will ever be able to grab the fans and keep them seated the way their father did. Dustin, with his array of characters, came very close to making you forget he was Dusty’s kid. But as soon as he opens his mouth you know who raised his country ass.

It isn’t right to judge Cody so hard this early in his career but it is also damned near impossible not to. In today’s wrestling world we demand greatness quickly. We don’t want to watch Cody grow into the sport and polish himself. Since he is in The E he should be damned near at the top of his game. Dusty casts a shadow larger than Fatty’s so Cody has an uphill battle for the rest of his career.

Poor David Flair never had a chance. His father is the fucking Nature Boy! When David showed up blander than Corn Flakes he was doomed. Mix in subpar wrestling ability, no mic skills, and the look of the kid that got his ass kicked in the hallways every week in high school, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for disaster. There are guys that have never met The Nature Boy that could act more like his kid than David did. Maybe Reid will help continue the Flair legacy.

Carlito. Son of the famous Carlos Colon. I remember reading about Carlito in the dirt sheets. I imagined that dude was the second coming or something. Then he showed up and won the US Belt immediately. That got my attention but for all the wrong reasons. Like Common said “Don’t he know that he can only get as high as he fell?” Starting off strong too soon hurt him.

Having him play with The E and threatening to leave for TNA is like telling your manager at Wolfgang Puck’s that you’re gonna quit and work at McDonald’s. That’ll show ‘em! I have not been impressed by a single thing Carlito has done in the WWE. It may not seem like it but he’s been in The E for four years now. You can’t help but wonder what his dad thinks of his career?

I have intentionally left some other wrestling families out. Some huge and some not so much. Do you all think that having a famous family member helps or hurts your career? Is there some sort of middle ground possible? Or will they, for the rest of their career, stand in the shadows of giants?

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