The Canadians Are To Medici As The Samoans Are To Pazzi

"You come from a great line of competitors that the WWE Universe respects...a respect our family doesn't have." - Tamina

For anyone who is a history buff (or anyone who played Assassins Creed 2) you know the story of the Pazzi Conspiracy.

In 1400's Italy, around the time of the Renaissance, the two biggest banking families were the Medici and the Pazzi. The Medici were the more powerful family, beloved by the people of Florence. They held positions of power and were great patrons of arts and science. The Pazzi were less influential and were always in the shadows of the Medici.

What does this have to do with the WWE? Well, like the two Renaissance families, there is a similar comparison in WWE today. The Canadians, specifically the Harts, are seen as the Medici. The modern day Pazzi are the Samoan Anoa'i family.

The Harts are Canada's wrestling dynasty. Headed by Stu Hart, the family has produced many noteworthy wrestlers, such as Owen Hart, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and Keith Hart. Through marriage, the Harts have linked themselves to other wrestling families, such as the Neidharts (Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Natalie "Natalya" Neidhart) and the Smiths (David "The British Bulldog" Smith, Harry "David Hart" Smith). In the WWE today, Harry Smith and Natalie Neidhart wrestle as part of the "Hart Dynasty" tag team, and Bret Hart is General Manager of Raw.

The Anoa'i are Samoa's wrestling dynasty. They have produced some of the greatest wrestlers inculding The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika Anoa'i), Solofa "Rikishi" Fatu Jr., Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Eddie "Umaga" Fatu. The Anoa'i are linked Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, and his son Jimmy "Sim/Deuce" Snuka Jr. and daughter Sarona "Tamina" Reiher are wrestlers. Anoa'i in the WWE today are the tag team of Rehier, Jonathan "Jimmy Uso" Fatu, and Joshua "Jules Uso" Fatu.

While both families may be respected by the older fans, the emphasis on the Harts is much more visible than on the Anoa'i. With Bret as General Manager and the Hart Dynasty as Unified Tag Team Champs, the Harts are heavy in the spotlight. The whole family was involved in a Wrestlemania 26 Match, teaming together to defeat Vince Mcmahon in front of billions of people.

There has been lesser spotlight on the Anoa'i family recently. Sim Snuka was just used as a fill-in for Ted Dibiase Jr. in Legacy. Umaga was used as a jobber and released months before his death. Superfly was even used as a jobber to Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 25.

This difference in respect between the Anoa'i and the Harts are reflected in the current feud between the Usos and Rehier verses Smith and Neidhart. The fissures run deep.

And so begins a rivalry larger than life.

Author's note: This article does not impose any disrespect on either family.