WWE: 6 wrestlers you didn't know were adopted
We are all enthralled by the on-screen lives of WWE Superstars. Their characters, their in-ring work, their promos. All of these things combine to create an illusion that captures our attention and imagination. But more and more, professional wrestling fans are digging deeper into the personal lives of their favourite wrestlers.
Where do they live? How much do they earn? Who are they dating? We want to know all that there is to know about our favourite wrestling personalities - even away from the squared circle. With that in mind, we have decided to get in-depth about the early lives of some of the most famous wrestlers of all-time.
So, without further ado, here is our list of six wrestlers you didn't know were adopted:
#6 Hornswoggle
Wholesome Postl content incoming:
I got a Mom today!
On Mother’s Day I asked my step-mom to legally adopt me and today we went to the courthouse to make it official! She raised (put up with) me for the last 25 years so I wanted to make it a real thing.
Today is a good day. https://t.co/k7ITU5YKCV
Yes, Hornswoggle was adopted, and no, Vince McMahon was not the father. Hornswoggle was one of the most entertaining acts in WWE during his tenure. He was the final Cruiserweight Champion before the Championship was reinstated in 2016 with the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. The former WWE superstar revealed in a post in 2021 that he was officially adopted by his step-mom.
#5 Ken Shamrock
You all remember Ken Shamrock, right? The Most Dangerous Man in the World. The guy who became a household name in both the UFC and WWE more than a decade ago before Brock Lesnar did the same.
After his father abandoned his family, his mother moved in with his stepfather, with whom Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick) never got along. This led to him being kicked out of the house and living in a car before ending up at Shamrock's Boys' Home. Here, Bob Shamrock adopted young Ken legally, and that's where Shamrock's last name comes from.
#4 Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase is one of the most famous wrestlers of all-time. He made a real name for himself as a top-level heel between 1980s and 1990s, but his life could have turned out very differently.
He was adopted at an early age by the legendary "Iron" Mike DiBiase and that's where his foray into wrestling commenced. He became a second-generation wrestler who wanted to emulate what his adoptive father did for a living and succeeded. Unfortunately, his father would never see his success as he passed away from a heart attack inside the ring when Ted was just 15 years old.
#3 Tama Tonga
For those of you unfamiliar with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Tama Tonga is a hugely popular wrestler in the Asian promotion as part of the Bullet Club and a multi-time IWGP World Tag Team Champion teaming with Tanga Roa as the Guerillas of Destiny subgroup.
His name is in honour of his homeland — the nation of Tonga. It was where he was born but moved to the United States at a young age when former WWE wrestler Haku adopted him on a visit to the island nation.
From there, he would go on to follow his father into the business.
#2 Ric Flair
Ric Flair was adopted from the Tennessee Children's Home Society, a notorious orphanage which was found guilty in the early 50s of kidnapping children from their rightful mothers and arranging illegal black market adoptions. #WWE #RicFlair #WOOOOO #NatureBoy #Flair #Adopted #Fact https://t.co/jdNTR00sqR
The legendary Ric Flair needs no introduction to fans of professional wrestling. The Nature Boy is widely considered one of the greatest performers of all-time, after all. But his early life was a very different affair.
He was adopted by the Fliehr family thanks to the efforts of the Tennessee Children's Home Society — widely believed to be involved in the kidnapping of young children. But his adopted family gave him all the encouragement he needed to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
#1 WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
Wait, what? Vince McMahon was adopted? Well, not quite. This is a complicated story. Vince's biological father, Vince McMahon Sr, abandoned the family when Jr was still a child and didn't return to life until he was 12 years old.
In the interim, the future Chairman of WWE was adopted by a string of stepfathers. He once claimed that Vinnie Lupton, one of his stepfathers, was abusive. "It is unfortunate that he died before I could kill him. I would have enjoyed that," he said.