15 Unrecognizable Wrestling Brothers (Even WWE Fans Are Surprised By)
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Back in the day, it was nearly impossible to find out information pertaining to the personal lives of wrestlers. It was important that the Superstars maintained the credibility of the business while letting out very little about who they really were in real life. It’s believed that the Curtain Call changed all of that, exposing the business.
Today, we’re in a much different day and age (one that’s all about technology and reality-based stories). Just imagine back in the 90s someone telling you that WWE would produce reality based programs such as Total Divas and Breaking Ground, giving us access to the personal lives of the wrestlers we love. Not to mention the various social media platforms that also give us another unique look.
In this article, we document some of the lesser known brothers in the wrestling business. Some actually worked towards the same dream of their siblings while for the most part, wrestling wasn’t of interest for these family members. From the old guard to the current crop, these are 15 unrecognizable wrestling brothers you never knew about. Enjoy folks!
Batista – Mike Bautista
Life wasn’t the easiest growing up for Batista. He lived in a rough neighborhood and he even saw a couple of dangerous incidents in the front of his very own home.
He grew up with two lesser know siblings, Donna Raye and his brother who we feature in this entry, Mike Bautista.
Dave posted a photo of the two via his Twitter account; the former WWE star congratulated his younger brother on his big day as he was getting married. The two share a minor resemblance and one that most fans would not catch on to, especially when you look at the size difference between the two. As for Dave and his WWE future, that still remains an unanswered question, although he has expressed some interest in returning at some point down the road.
Randy Orton – Nathan Orton
Growing up, Randy Orton struggled with his future. Both of his parents wanted to steer him away from pro wrestling given how difficult it was back in the day to maintain a steady pay. Instead, he joined the military but that didn’t last. He was booted out and later, despite his parents’ wishes, decided to join pro wrestling. Orton was an absolute natural in the ring and it didn’t take long for the Viper to get the call up to the main roster.
A little known fact is that Orton actually has two younger siblings.
He has a sister named Becky and a brother named Nathan. Randy posted about his brother telling his supporters to give him a follow on Twitter. Nathan took a completely different path than his brother pursuing a career as an aspiring comedian.
John Cena – Matt Cena
One can imagine the struggle John’s mom went through back in the day raising five boys, John, Matt, Steve, Sean and Dan. In previous interviews, John’s mom recalls the boys ripping each other to shreds in the backyard performing wrestling moves on the regular. John had very little once he moved out, barely making a living as a bodybuilder and a bouncer. A WWE contract changed all of that however.
We got a glimpse of Matt Cena in the past. Like brother John, he’s got an impressive physique. He also told WWE.com a unique story that featured Matt meeting The Rock at a gym and asking him for tickets in order to see his brother John’s first WWE match. Rock, the class act that he is, got the tickets for Matt the very next day in order to see his brother’s dark match debut with the company.
Alberto Del Rio – El Hijo de Dos Caras
A little known fact, not only does Alberto Del Rio have a younger brother but he also joined the WWE for a brief amount of time during his youthful days in 2012.
Alberto’s brother wrestled under the moniker of Memo Montenegro.
He later changed things up taking off his mask; you can see a resemblance to Del Rio. His run with NXT wasn’t the greatest losing squash matches to both Big E and Xavier Woods. Ultimately, Del Rio’s brother asked for his own release in 2013. Like his brother, El Hijo returned to Mexico while putting the mask back on. He remains active today wrestling on the Mexican indie scene, he even appeared on GFW in 2017 in the corner of his brother. He’s yet to hit his 30s as of this writing at the age of 29.
Nia Jax – Younger Brother
Even the current crop of WWE talent have lesser known brothers, and that includes 33 year old Nia Jax. She posted various photos of her younger brother in the past.
Jax’s brother supports her career, even posing for a pic that saw him wearing her WWE Shop t-shirt.
Jax recently posted another photo of the two as her younger brother made it just in time to spend Christmas with his older sister. Even though the road life can be hectic, most Superstars make it a priority to enjoy family life when needed. Jax seems to be one of those people. Nia continues to thrive and a WWE Women’s Championship run seems inevitable at this point. She’s come a long way since her days as a high school basketball player and plus-sized model.
Adam Cole – Younger Brother
We sprinkle in some NXT flavor in this article with the most talented wrestler on the roster, ADAM COLE BAY BAY! In terms of his personal life, we know very little aside from the fact that he has a stunning partner in Britt Baker. We’ve seen the both of them post various pics together in the past. However, aside from that, we know very little about Cole, though you can bet that’s going to change as he rises up the WWE charts.
What we do know is that the 28 year old has a younger brother as evidenced by a recent Twitter post. You might say most of the brothers on this list are unrecognizable but we can’t put Adam’s bro under that category as the two resemble one another a little too much. He might be a lesser known sibling but the two definitely share some similar features.
Sasha Banks – Joshua Kaestner-Varnado
If Sasha ever needs a little extra motivation, then she should just look to her prior days as a youth. Life wasn’t the easiest for Sasha and her mom as they moved from town to town in order to find a school that could accommodate the needs of her disabled brother Joshua, who you see in the photo above.
Banks credits her younger brother for a lot of the success we see today.
Heartwarming photos of the two have been made public; you can truly see the great emotional bond the brother and sister have with one another. Still only 26 years old, Banks continues on at this point maintaining a babyface type of role. Fans are begging for Sasha to turn heel similar to her days in NXT, and we can expect the turn at some point, likely following WrestleMania.
Baron Corbin – Danny Pestock
Baron Corbin doesn’t have a soft spot for the fans, nor does he for most of his fellow co-workers. However, he does care about family. At a SmackDown taping Corbin consoled a family member that took his defeat the wrong way. Baron made headlines for having a heart but he later rejected those claims stating it was family and he didn’t give a darn about other kids. Well done, Baron.
Baron is close to his brother Danny Pestock as well, and you can see similarities between the two.
One thing that they both have in common is that they love hitting the gym; the brothers have photos together pumping some iron. As for Danny’s career, it’s nothing like his brother’s, working in Kansas as a Product Specialist for Tactile Medical.
Corey Graves – Sam Adonis
It was a cringy story shared by Corey Graves when discussing his WWE debut. The story goes that the company made a mistake and accidentally signed his brother Sam Adonis to a deal.
Once Corey was hired by the company he was ecstatic that he would be joining his brother.
The only problem? Sam was immediately released following the hiring of his brother. That had to sting for the both of them. As we all know by now, concussions would force Corey out of the ring, though he would thrive in his new role as a commentator. As for his lesser known brother Sam Adonis, he continues to make a name for himself out on the indie. He continues to spend time in both Mexico and Japan. Most recently, he lost a match which forced him to shave his head. You see folks, you can still make a living outside of the WWE and Corey’s brother is a prime example of that.
Finn Balor – Three Brothers
No, we’re not talking about Finn’s “good brothers” Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, instead we feature his actual bros. Finn has a large family consisting of three brothers and a sister. We even got to see them backstage for TakeOver events. A nice picture was posted of the clan by Finn as they posed on the wedding day of their sister, a fantastic moment for the family without a doubt.
It’s a lesser known fact that Finn has three brothers, however you can see the resemblance between the four in the photo above.
It’s hard to believe but Finn’s a veteran of 18 years at this point. He started his training back in 2000 and wrestled the bulk of his career on the indie scene. At the age of 36, Balor’s thriving with the WWE as a major fan favorite. For what it’s worth, he looks nothing like his age and more so like a dude that’s about 26 years old.
Dolph Ziggler – Ryan Nemeth
Only the hardcore wrestling fans may remember that Dolph Ziggler’s brother had a run with the company down in developmental a couple of years back. He actually got a scholarship to join OVW and then transferred to FCW. Nemeth was mostly used as a tag team wrestler, though he would later change his identity to Briley Pierce once FCW rebranded to NXT.
He kept that moniker since leaving the WWE in 2013. Instagram posts by Ryan show he’s still actively wrestling on the indie scene and having a good time as well. Another little known fact is that the two have an older brother Donald, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in January of 2016 for his involvement in a robbery that went completely wrong, causing the passing of a former Marine.
Becky Lynch – Gonzo de Mondo
Sometimes, life has a scary way of working out. Lynch began wrestling as a teenager back in Ireland. She was barely making any money on the European indie scene and it caused her to change career paths. Lynch joined her mom as a flight attendant opting for a stable career. Thankfully, passion triumphed stability in this situation and she would return to wrestling. Her decision proved to be a good one in 2013, when the WWE picked up the talent. She joined NXT and although she started off with a lame Irish Jig Dancer gimmick, she would completely change the trajectory of her career later on as a pioneer in the women’s revolution.
A little known fact about Becky is that she has a brother who was also an aspiring wrestler at one point.
No doubt he’s smiling from ear to ear watching his sister become a household name over in North America.
Nikki & Brie Bella – JJ Garcia
Fans of Total Divas and Total Bellas might be familiar with the brother of the Bella twins. JJ Garcia has been featured on the show several times. He works alongside Nikki and Brie’s mother and is now a proud father, recently welcoming his first child alongside Brie and Nikki’s sister-in-law. For those of you that watch Total Bellas, who can forget that awkward moment that saw JJ ask John for a job with the WWE. It was a weird segment and one that we truly believe was set up by the show’s writers – we doubt JJ is that oblivious.
As for the Bella twins, both are outside of the WWE at the moment. However, we can expect both of them to return at some point; it wouldn’t surprise us one bit if they returned to SmackDown Live before the end of 2018 to feud with Asuka who’s in need of new opponents.
Kurt Angle – Eric Angle
Another forgotten storyline that took place on the main roster,
Kurt used his real-life brother to defeat The Undertaker at the 2000 Survivor Series PPV.
Eric didn’t last very long which is a damn shame, as the segments featuring the two were actually quite entertaining and truly hilarious. He was written off the show following a beat down by Brock Lesnar. Eric was released following the angle (no pun intended), like we’ve seen time and time again with Vince; once a story has run its course the wrestler is released. Eric remained in the business for a little bit hitting the indie circuit. His wrestling days are now done and he’s putting his efforts into the world of personal training. Like his brother Kurt, Eric remains in great shape today and the two still look eerily similar.
Stone Cold – Jamie McBride
Yup, that dude that looks like Austin is in fact his half-brother, Jamie McBride. He was a former police officer but later took his skills to Hollywood as a part-time actor. Perhaps Stone Cold helped in getting his bro some gigs? Steve has three other lesser known brothers, Scott, Kevin and Jeff Williams. Steve kept his personal life on the down low through his career so don’t feel too sorry if you never knew about his lesser known siblings.
Along with his siblings, Austin also has three failed marriages he rarely discusses. From 1990 till 2003 Stone Cold filed for divorce three-times. The one failed marriage that made most of the headlines featured his relationship with Debra. He was also married to Lady Blossom and Kathryn Burrhus. Austin finally seems to be settling down married since 2009 to Kristin Feres. Steve has three kids from his marriages.
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