The history of couples in wrestling show that romance is a great storytelling device in any context. WWE tried to find the success of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth or Triple H and Stephanie McMahon when putting various wrestlers into the couple scenario. Unfortunately, it didn’t always work out that way when looking back at the results.
Certain couples not only saw one wrestler struggling, but it hurt the careers of both talents involved. The worst-case scenario of two wrestlers suffering from one bad storyline can have either short- or long-term effects on their careers. Each story is different, but the issue remains the same. The following couples hurt both wrestlers involved due to how poorly it went.
10 Randy Orton & Stacy Keibler
The relationship between Randy Orton and Stacy Keibler should have found more success due to their individual star power. Orton was coming off his feud with Triple H after losing the World Championship when dating Keibler a few months into his face turn.
Stacy became the most popular woman on the roster when Trish Stratus turned heel. Unfortunately, the relationship took away from both Keibler and Orton. WWE eventually split them up to have Orton turn heel by RKO’ing her to at least get something out of ending it.
9 Rusev & Summer Rae
Rusev and Lana splitting up for the first time in WWE led to him replacing his ex with Summer Rae. WWE was struggling to find the right role for Summer since she showed great potential as a heel manager. Rusev had a lot of heat for his previous run of an undefeated streak, but this was a step down.
Summer and Rusev could have been more of a success given their respective skill sets, but it didn’t pan out that way. Rusev and Lana both seemed a bit less motivated without each other. Rae cut a few impressive promos and had some shining moments, but lack of a long-term payoff hurt her career.
8 Teddy Long & Kristal Marshall
WWE put Teddy Long in one storyline too many when placing him in a romantic couple with Kristal Marshall. Long dating a wrestler significantly younger than him was a weird look that took away from his credibility as a longstanding SmackDown General Manager.
Kristal had potential as one of the more promising female talents on the SmackDown roster. The future of Marshall was limited in WWE since this angle was a polarizing one. WWE had the payoff of Long having a heart attack at the wedding with nothing else of note coming from it.
7 Kane & Lita
The entire storyline putting Kane and Lita in a relationship was ridiculous from the start. Matt Hardy losing a match to Kane forced Lita into marrying Kane during his time as the monster heel character. Kane already had heat, so a romantic storyline took away from his serious side.
The face turn of Kane during his romance with Lita hurt his character in both the short and long term. A real-life scandal of Lita cheating on Matt Hardy with Edge caused the fans to turn on her. WWE had to change course with Lita leaving Kane for Edge to make things even messier for both wrestlers.
6 The Great Khali & Natalya
WWE once had hopes for The Great Khali being a main event act since he was an international draw. Khali turning face led to a comedic twist in his character when developing a storyline with Natalya and Hornswoggle.
The relationship between Khali and Natalya hurt both of their standings in the company by removing their credibility. WWE even tried out the embarrassing farting gimmick for Natalya around this time to show how poorly things were going for the women’s division.
5 Bray Wyatt & Alexa Bliss
One of the most recent instances of a relationship story going poorly in WWE was Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss. WWE took a bigger risk on Bliss when she started showing the supernatural signs for her character like Wyatt did as The Fiend.
Both wrestlers captivated the audience enough to make the first few months a huge success for YouTube views. The lack of a long-term plan for their storyline caused things to fall apart during Wyatt’s feud against Randy Orton. Bliss turning on Wyatt and being left without a role after he was released showed how badly it went for both talents.
4 Enzo Amore & Nia Jax
WWE tried to mix different worlds when Enzo Amore and Nia Jax became an on-screen item. Enzo was the Cruiserweight Champion back when WWE was still trying to make a success out of the 205 Live cruiserweight show.
Nia had a lot of success on the main roster, so placing her in a storyline dating Enzo was meant to add interest to his character. The segments turned out to be a train wreck with both characters looking bad. WWE firing Enzo led to the angle ending as poorly as it was going with no savior in sight.
3 Shane Douglas & Torrie Wilson
WCW had their fair share of bad decisions when trying to book relationship storylines. Torrie Wilson was doing well as the manager and love interest of Billy Kidman, but a Vince Russo move to turn her heel led to a new partnership with Shane Douglas.
The hope was that Torrie would work out as Douglas’ girlfriend and valet like Francine was to his ECW character. Wilson and Douglas just did not have chemistry, and Torrie did not enjoy the heel role. Douglas flopped in WCW and Wilson was taken off television afterwards until WWE purchased the promotion.
2 Dolph Ziggler & Lana
The main reason for WWE splitting up Lana and Rusev was that they wanted to make Lana a bigger star as a face. Lana’s first storyline after Rusev was once again in a relationship when becoming the new partner of Dolph Ziggler.
The matches between Rusev and Ziggler would see Lana and Summer Rae getting involved as new love interests. Lana and Dolph both came off poorly by not making a good fit together. WWE’s hope for Lana fizzled out with her momentum fading, and Ziggler continued to reach new lows with a lowered ceiling.
1 Ted DiBiase Jr. & Maryse
WWE valued both Ted DiBiase Jr. and Maryse as stars for the future of the company when pushing them in separate roles. However, the idea of them becoming a relationship was meant to get the best out of them both in a romantic storyline.
DiBiase Jr. was getting pushed as a heel using his father’s old gimmick of bringing back the Million Dollar Championship. Maryse became his love interest and manager, with her personality meant to make up for Ted’s lack of charisma. Neither wrestler benefited as the act failed leading to them both with a lack of a role moving forward.