La Familia: Where Are They Now?
Following the match between Matt Cardona and Adam "Edge" Copeland on Collision, let's examine their early days in a ring together
On the March 30th, 2024, edition of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Collision, Adam Copeland formerly known as Edge, put his TNT Championship on the line in an open challenge. Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zach Ryder, proved why he is “Alwayz Ready” as he answered the challenge and nearly defeated Copeland for the title.
The match excited those watching live and at home. The two had great chemistry together. The reason why? It wasn’t the first time they shared a squared circle together. Many of Cardona’s early WWE main roster days were spent in a WWE ring alongside Edge, Brian Myers (formerly known as Curt Hawkins), Chavo Guerrero, Vickie Guerrero, and Bam Neely as part of La Familia.
The stable was a focal point of the mid-2000s in WWE especially on the SmackDown brand. Let’s take a quick walk down memory lane and look at the history of the stable, and where the members are now.
La Familia: Past and Present
Formation
Edge returned from injury at the 2007 edition of Survivor Series where he cost the Undertaker his World Heavyweight Championship match, allowing Batista to retain the title.
On the episode of SmackDown after the pay-per-view, it was revealed that Edge was in an on-screen relationship with General Manager Vickie Guerrero. Undertaker took out his frustration with Edge on Vickie, laying her out with a Tombstone Piledriver, causing her to be a wheelchair for much of the La Familia storyline. A triple-threat match was booked at Armageddon between Undertaker, Edge, and Batista, with the championship on the line.
That match would see Hawkins and Ryder make their first appearance as part of La Familia. They served as distractions to help Edge claim the World Heavyweight Championship. The following week on SmackDown, they introduced themselves as Hawkins and Ryder, shedding the Brian and Brett Majors gimmicks. With this, the first iteration of La Familia was formed.
There was one missing piece, however. While most of the La Familia action was taking place on SmackDown, the WWE version of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) held a key piece to the puzzle. Chavo Guerrero, the nephew of Vickie’s late husband Eddie Guerrero was competing on the ECW brand. He was not a fan of Vickie and Edge’s antics and felt it was disrespectful to the Guerrero legacy. This all changed when she used her power to allow Edge to interfere in an ECW Championship match in early 2008 against CM Punk that ended with Chavo winning the title. After that, he joined La Familia, expanding the stable.
Reign of Terror and Initial Breakup
For much of 2008, the stable used underhanded tactics to win as many matches as possible. Although Edge and Chavo would lose their respective titles at WrestleMania XXIV in 2008, the group was still featured heavily on WWE weekly programming. Following the WrestleMania losses, Chavo introduced Bam Neely to act as the enforcer of the group.
As the summer of 2008 went into full swing for the stable but Chavo and Bam temporarily left the group as they were feeling used by the group. They would rejoin the group and assist Edge in winning and retaining the World Heavyweight Championship at One Night Stand and Night of Champions respectively. This was short-lived as CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat Edge for the title.
The loss sent Edge into a downward spiral that caused him to postpone the wedding between himself and Vickie. He was punished by Vickie by being forced into a match against The Big Show. Vickie watched on and after seeing Edge take enough punishment, she stopped the match and embraced Edge in the ring.
The following week on SmackDown the two celebrated their wedding. The reception was crashed by Triple H who showed hidden camera footage of Edge and wedding planner Alicia Fox kissing. Things escalated the following Sunday at The Great American Bash when Fox tried to interview in Edge’s match by handing him the World Heavyweight Championship to use against Triple H. This caused a brawl to break out between Fox and Vickie that ended with Edge accidentally spearing Vickie and losing the match.
Edge returned to SmackDown and tried to reconcile with the members of the stable and ended up turning on the rest of the members of La Familia. Vickie had the last laugh as she booked him against the Undertaker at SummerSlam in a Hell in a Cell match. Edge lost the match at SummerSlam and was sent through the ring canvas to “hell” at the end of the match.
This was when the stable first started to officially crumble. The Undertaker was still not happy with Vickie and attacked the rest of La Familia to try and get to her. Not long after this, Neely was released from his WWE contract, and Hawkins and Ryder stopped appearing with Vickie.
Partial Reunion
This all changed at Survivor Series in November of 2008. Jeff Hardy was taken out of the triple threat WWE Championship match as he had been attacked before the match. Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov, the other two scheduled competitors in the match were having a one-on-one match when Vickie announced a third competitor and shocked everyone when Edge came to the ring and won the WWE Championship. This iteration of the stable just saw Vickie, Edge, and Chavo as Neely had been released and Hawkins and Ryder were not involved.
Edge would later lose the WWE Championship at No Way Out but would force his way into the World Heavyweight Championship match at the same event and would end up winning the match and the WWE Championship. The tables turned on a later edition of Monday Night Raw when former WWE Champion John Cena revealed footage of The Big Show who had been acting as a bodyguard for Vickie, kissing Vickie much like Edge and Fox had done.
The End
Things started to unwrap after WrestleMania 25. Edge lost the World Heavyweight Championship in a triple-threat match with Cena and Big Show at the event. Vickie set up a rematch at Backlash as a Last Man Standing Match that Edge won with help from Big Show, bringing the title back to SmackDown. Vickie and Chavo were also drafted to Monday Night Raw, which marked the near end of the stable. The final dissolution of the group occurred when Edge came to Monday Night Raw and announced he only married Vickie for her power as a General Manager and demanded a divorce.
Where Are They Now?
Edge
Following the breakup of the group, Edge stayed a part of the active WWE roster until 2011 when he was forced to retire due to his history of neck injuries. He made a shocking return to WWE as part of the 2020 Royal Rumble and became locked in a feud with Randy Orton. He went on to form the Judgment Day stable before leaving the company to go to AEW where he has been locked in a feud with long-time friend Christian Cage
Zach Ryder/ Matt Cardona
After the split of La Familia Cardona rebranded his gimmick as the “Long Island Loud Mouth” he became a YouTube sensation with his channel and became a fan favorite in 2011. He moved around the WWE card appearing in various gimmicks until his release in 2020.
Following his release he appeared for AEW, IMPACT Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), among other promotions. He has branded himself as the “King of the Indys” and has become a massive heel character in GCW where he defeated fan favorite Nick Gage in a deathmatch for the GCW Championship. Cardona has become a prominent deathmatch competitor alongside his valet, Steph De Lander. He has also launched a successful podcast, Major Wrestling Figure Podcast alongside Brian Myers.
Curt Hawkins/Brian Myers
Following his tag team split with Ryder/Cardona Hawkins largely became part of the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and NXT developmental territory until his eventual release from WWE in 2014.
Like Cardona, he found a home on the independent circuit competing for promotions such as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW) and Pro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG). He returned to WWE in 2016 and had a losing streak gimmick before having a reunion with Ryder/Cardona in 2019. He was released in 2020 and headed to IMPACT Wrestling where he has found a home and has worked with Cardona at times in the promotion. He is currently part of The System stable with Moose, Eddie and Alicia Edwards, and DeAngelo Williams.
Vickie Guerrero
Following the breakup of La Familia, Vickie largely stayed in on-screen management roles. She managed Layla and Michelle McCool (LayCool) and Dolph Ziggler before transitioning into an on-screen authority role for Monday Night Raw. She formerly left WWE in 2014 but made a few sporadic appearances for events such as the Royal Rumble.
She made appearances for AEW as a guest commentator before becoming the on-screen manager for Nyla Rose. Her contract was not renewed in 2023 and she departed the promotion.
Chavo Guerrero
Following the conclusion of La Familia, Chavo headed to the SmackDown brand before becoming a mentor as part of the early days of NXT. In June of 2011, Chavo’s request to be released was granted by WWE.
He headed to the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico following his release where he won a tag team championship and was able to share the ring with his father, Chavo Guerrero Sr.
He also competed in Total Nonstop Action (TNA) / IMPACT Wrestling and Lucha Underground.
His most recent wrestling appearance was in AEW where he managed Andrade El Idolo and Bandido. In addition to his work in the ring, he worked on the NBC show, Young Rock.
Bam Neely
Following his release from WWE in the first part of 2009 he had a brief return to the independent circuit. He had a few sporadic matches on the independent circuit but has not been active since 2010.
What did you think of La Familia? Let us know in the comments below.