For years, pro wrestling storylines have been likened to that of daytime soap operas, with countless twists, turns, betrayals, and no formal end in sight. While much of the drama is about competition and aggression, wrestling is also no stranger to romance, with lots of performers forming on-screen couples. Fans certainly remember WWE pairings like Molly Holly and Spike Dudley, AJ Lee and Dolph Ziggler, and arguably Chuck Palumbo and Billy Gunn, though that proved to be a regrettable ruse gone out of hand.
Along with those there are countless forgotten on-screen couples, whose pairings either weren’t that impressive or were simply cut off as they were getting started. Let’s take a look at 10 of these pairings that have become footnotes.
10 Jamie Noble & Layla (WWE)
Fans watching WWE during the Ruthless Aggression era likely remember Jamie Noble and Nidia being an item, but six years later Noble had another on-screen romance in Layla, who won the 2006 Diva Search and stuck around until 2015.
While Noble was initially unsuccessful in both the ring and in romance, he eventually won Layla over by beating William Regal in a match. However, Layla quickly dumped Noble for Regal, putting this storyline romance to an end.
9 Evan Karagias & Madusa (WCW)
By 1999, Madusa was already a former WWE and WCW Women’s Champion, but opportunities for women on wrestling television at the time weren’t great, to say the least, so she ended up becoming a valet/girlfriend to WCW cruiserweight Evan Karagias.
Karagias would capture the Cruiserweight Title, but would find a challenger in his own girlfriend after he was caught flirting with a Nitro Girl. A match between Madusa and Karagias would ensue, with the latter becoming the first female Cruiserweight Champion. But things would somehow get worse for her, as she’d enter a pretty offensive storyline with Oklahoma, WCW’s mean-spirited parody of Jim Ross.
8 Balls Mahoney & Kelly Kelly (WWE/ECW)
One of the more successful stars introduced during WWE’s ECW revival, Kelly Kelly had a number of romance angles on the show, starting with Mike Knox as a jealous boyfriend and a subsequent love triangle with CM Punk. Less well-remembered, however, was her romance with scuzzy ECW original Balls Mahoney.
The Mahoney/Kelly romance was weirdly adorable given that it involved an age gap of __ years and a guy whose first name was Balls, but wasn’t without its difficulties. Opposing the relationship were not only Kelly Kelly’s Extreme Exposé partners, but also The Miz, who for some reason owned their contracts.
7 Enzo Amore & Nia Jax (WWE)
Few wrestlers had such a meteoric rise followed by a sharp plummet like Enzo Amore. A hugely popular and mouthy tag team sidekick, Amore ended up becoming persona non grata in the wrestling business following backstage drama and some very serious real-life sexual assault allegations.
Before his firing from WWE in 2018, Enzo was actually engaged in a budding on-screen romance with Nia Jax, as the two were seen backstage in several segments, including one where he and Jax tried for a Christmas kiss under the mistletoe.
6 Grado and Laurel Van Ness (Impact)
In 2017, Scottish comedy wrestler Grado was part of Impact Wrestling, in a storyline where he attempted to marry a US citizen out of fear of being deported. A relationship with Laurel Van Ness, better known as Chelsea Green, ensued, but his attempts to propose would get thwarted by circumstance.
Thankfully at the last minute, Van Ness proposed to Grado herself, only for poor Grado to find out that Van Ness was actually Canadian. Grado rejected the proposal, prompting the former jilted bride to turn heel once again.
5 Alicia Fox & Noam Dar (WWE)
From about 2018 to 2019, 205 Live was the most underrated show in WWE, but the early days of the program were extremely Vince McMahon style main roster shenanigans.
In late 2016, future “Soul of 205 Live” Cedric Alexander was in a relationship with former Divas Champion Alicia Fox, but heel cruiserweight Noam Dar started vying for Fox’s affections, eventually winning them after Alexander dumped her. A rivalry ensued, albeit with Rich Swann defending Cedric’s honor, as the latter was out with an injury.
4 AJ Styles and Karen Angle (Impact)
When it comes to on-screen storylines, AJ Styles had some of the most bizarre in Impact Wrestling. Fans know the whole Claire Lynch debacle all too well, but likely have forgotten that he once had a thing going with Kurt Angle’s wife, Karen, in 2008.
It started at an in-ring renewal of vows between Kurt and Karen Angle, during which the priest got knocked out and accidentally married Karen to AJ Styles. Initially they denied any affection, but a romance soon blossomed — as well as some bouts between Styles and Kurt Angle.
3 AJ Lee & Primo (NXT)
Over the course of her WWE career, AJ Lee has been part of a number of on-screen relationships, most memorably with Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler. But WWE fans got their first exposure to AJ on the all-female season of the game show version fo NXT, Season 3, where she ended up forging a romance storyline with three-time WWE Tag Team Champion Primo.
The two lovebirds would eventually kiss on the finale of the show, but fans likely remember the friendship of AJ and Kaitlyn way more than any romance angle.
2 Alex Wright & Debra McMichael (WCW)
Former Chicago Bear turned commentator and wrestler Steve “Mongo” McMichael became fixture of WCW television in 1995, and his real-life wife Debra would soon follow, becoming the focal point of multiple storylines.
Eventually, she’d ditch Mongo for cruiserweight staple “Das Wunderkind” Alex Wright, becoming Wright’s valet and on-screen girlfriend. She’d also manage Goldberg, but have a much larger effect on Alex Wright’s matches, as she’d regularly attempt to interfere only to cause Wright to lose.
1 Trish Stratus & Jeff Hardy (WWE)
WWE women’s wrestling legend Trish Stratus, like the aforementioned AJ Lee, had a number of romance angles over the course of her in-ring career — so many that she had two with Jeff Hardy, both of which are totally forgettable. Her first would be in 2001, which would end prematurely thanks to Stratus sustaining an injury that kept her off television.
They’d try again in 2003, but that too would end prematurely thanks to Jeff Hardy getting released from the company.