La Familia was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that existed from November 18, 2007 until June 8, 2009. The group consisted of Edge, Vickie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, and Bam Neely. The team went on to have control over several championships and authority positions on WWE as they appeared on all three WWE brands, starting on SmackDown, and later spreading over to ECW and Raw.
Concept The idea behind the group was the concept of family. This specifically pertained to Vickie and Chavo both being members of Los Guerreros, the Guerrero wrestling family, with Chavo being Vickie's nephew by way of her marriage to the deceased wrestler Eddie Guerrero. Through his on-screen romantic (and later marital) relationship with her, Edge became part of the family and the group largely revolved around protecting his interests although they would often help out other members as well. The name of the group conveys the Mexican heritage of the Guerreros, giving a Spanish inflection on the word family.
While the group consisted of six members, Vickie and Edge were the central focus and were known for their grotesquely hyperbolised displays of affection, such as primal kisses. As well as frequently kissing on screen, the couple often showed video packages of them in comically blissful situations such as playing on swings and feeding each other while having a picnic. As well as these romantic scenes, the pair would often be shown indulging activities unrelated to wrestling, such as having a pedicure and other beauty treatments. Also, despite not being a wrestler, Vickie Guerrero played a central role in the group not only in aiding Edge's career, but also earning the ire of many wrestlers which resulted in her frequently being attacked and consequently appearing in a wheelchair or wearing a neck brace, which became somewhat iconic for Vickie at the time. She also became notorious for her screeching and for shouting "Excuse me!" to gain the attention of booing fans, all started during her tumultuous affair with Edge.
While the group were notorious villains in kayfabe, the members received praise from wrestling fans for their performances. Edge was noted for his ability to indulge in comically entertaining scenes without losing his potency as a convincingly detestable character.
History World Wrestling Entertainment (2007–2009) Formation Edge relinquished the World Heavyweight Championship in July 2007 due to injury. He returned four months later at Survivor Series, where he attacked The Undertaker during a Hell in a Cell match and helped Batista retain the championship. On the November 23 weekly episode of SmackDown!, it was revealed that Edge was romantically involved as part of the storyline with the show's general manager Vickie Guerrero, who granted Edge a championship match against Batista on the following week. Although Edge lost that match, he would win the championship at Armageddon from Batista in a triple-threat match also involving The Undertaker, with the help of two of his lookalikes.
The December 21 episode of SmackDown! opened with Vickie Guerrero, who was now in a wheelchair due to receiving a Tombstone Piledriver from The Undertaker and would remain in a wheelchair for the majority of the following year. Vickie, begrudgingly being pushed to the ring by Long, brought with her the World Heavyweight Championship and then introduced Edge to present the title to him. The two then revealed Edge's doppelgangers were the Major Brothers, who made a speech retconning their previous gimmick of being brothers and now proclaimed themselves to be Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, dubbed as Edgeheads, fans and protégés of Edge.
Edge and Vickie's engagement As well as being opposed by Batista and The Undertaker, the group faced a different kind of opposition from Chavo Guerrero. Chavo, Vickie's nephew, voiced his misgiving about her relationship with Edge, thinking it disrespected the Guerrero name, alluding to Vickie being the off-screen widow of Eddie Guerrero. Despite being forced to face Edge's enemies, Chavo was soon brought around and welcomed into the group when Edge appeared on the January 15, 2008 episode of ECW to help Chavo win contendership for the ECW Championship by beating CM Punk, having lost twice already. Using her power to influence ECW General Manager Armando Estrada, Vickie turned Chavo's championship match into a no disqualification and with Edge using a spear on Punk, Chavo defeated Punk to win the ECW Championship on the January 22 episode of ECW. With two World Championships in their possession, Edge and Vickie's relationship fully established, and Chavo fully on board, the group began to act as a family, thereby calling themselves La Familia.
Meanwhile, Vickie was also using her power on SmackDown to help Edge retain his championship. When Edge was forced to defend his championship at the Royal Rumble on January 27, Vickie announced a Beat the Clock challenge, placing perennial rivals Batista and The Undertaker in difficult matches, facing Hawkins and Ryder in a handicap match and having a special guest referee, respectively. However, The Undertaker used his powers to turn the arena lights out and attack Edge, which helped Rey Mysterio to become the contender. At the Royal Rumble, Edge came to the ring with his entourage, aside from Chavo, who was participating in the Royal Rumble match later that evening. Hawkins and Ryder were sent from ring side early during the match and Mysterio almost beat Edge after using his 619 finishing move, but as the referee tried to count for three, Vickie rose up from her chair and pulled the official from the ring. As Mysterio reprimanded Vickie, Edge tried to run into him, but ended up on the ropes, once again allowing Mysterio to attempt another 619; however, this time Vickie jumped on the ropes and hugged Edge, protecting him from the move and giving Edge enough time to recover and use his spear to pin Mysterio and win the match. On the February 15 episode of SmackDown, the week before the No Way Out pay-per-view on February 17, with Vickie back in her wheelchair as a result of Mysterio's 619, Edge proposed to Vickie. After she accepted, Mysterio came to the ring and voiced his disappointment at the union and proceeded to come at Edge with a springboard senton, but as he ducked, Mysterio hit Vickie instead. At No Way Out, Edge retained the World Heavyweight Championship over Mysterio again to end their rivalry, while Chavo successfully defended the ECW Championship against Punk. However, The Undertaker also became the new contender for Edge's championship at the pay-per-view, and La Familia began to target him, with Edge, Hawkins, and Ryder defeating The Undertaker in a handicap match on SmackDown in March. The entire group (aside from Vickie) also took on Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in a steel cage match, but The Undertaker invaded the cage using his powers, attacking the group as Edge climbed over the cage in fear to win the match for the team.
At WrestleMania XXIV on March 30, both Edge and Chavo lost their championships to The Undertaker and Kane respectively, with Edge tapping out to Undertaker's new gogoplata submission move (which would eventually be called Hell's Gate) and Chavo making a WrestleMania record by losing in nine seconds. While signing a contract for his rematch, Chavo introduced Bam Neely, given a history as a border guard turned body guard, as his new enforcer and member of La Familia. Despite this help and Vickie's power, both Edge and Chavo failed to win back their titles at Backlash on April 27, with Edge being stretchered out after again submitting to the eventual Hell's Gate. On the May 2 episode of SmackDown, Vickie announced that The Undertaker's chokehold was an illegal move and banned The Undertaker from using it, slapping him and saying "Hell hath no fury over a woman scorned!", stripping The Undertaker of the World Heavyweight Championship. Later that month, on the May 16 episode of SmackDown, Vickie was forced by the WWE Board of Directors to compete against The Undertaker in what she subsequently made a six-on-one handicap match featuring all of La Familia. However, Chavo and Neely left before the match began, feeling used by the group, though they were brought on side the next week. At Judgment Day on May 18, The Undertaker defeated Edge by countout, but instantly after the match Vickie announced that the title would remain vacant as The Undertaker won by countout, under which a championship would not normally change hands. The next month at One Night Stand on June 1, a rematch for the vacant championship was given two stipulations: firstly it was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, Edge's specialty; and secondly, if The Undertaker lost, he would be banished from WWE. After interference from La Familia, Edge reclaimed the World Heavyweight Championship after pushing The Undertaker off a ladder and through four tables, forcing his storyline exile from WWE television. Following this, Batista set his sights on Edge and avoided being banished himself by beating The Great Khali to earn a title match. With Chavo as referee, Edge retained the championship at Night of Champions on June 29, but the next night on Raw, Batista attacked Edge while he was making a speech and afterwards CM Punk used his Money in the Bank contract to make an instant championship match and win the belt.
The wedding and initial dissolution On the July 4 episode of SmackDown, Edge's frustrations about losing the World Heavyweight Championship which he could not reclaim materialized when he assaulted Festus, an opponent of Hawkins and Ryder, and canceled his wedding with Vickie. The following week, Chavo, Neely, Hawkins, and Ryder were seen backstage agreeing with both Vickie and Edge in their argument while Edge was punished the next week by being forced into a no-disqualification match against Big Show. However, after watching Edge receive punishment from Big Show, she stopped the match and the two embraced in the ring, both expressing their love. The following week, on July 18, SmackDown became a wedding reception with La Familia at the top of the ramp all evening in formal dress with a table and large wedding cake, while highlights were shown of Edge and Vickie's wedding that were filmed earlier in the day. During the evening, Cherry lost her match and afterwards Vickie declared an impromptu match, capitalizing on Cherry's defeat to pin her herself giving Vickie her first wrestling win. However, also during the evening The Hardys were forced to compete against each other, but tipped over the wedding cake in protest and the show ended with Triple H giving a mock celebration speech. During the speech, he revealed hidden camera video footage of Edge talking to the wedding planner Alicia Fox about Vickie, mocking her size and eventually kissing Fox.