The entertainment aspect of a romantic storyline in wrestling has helped improve many careers throughout the years. Wrestlers to get that kind of angle will get the spotlight to showcase more personality to add to the in-ring element. This can be missing ingredient for a mid-carder to move into the main event picture or a lower card act to move up the card slowly. Some relationship storylines have led to hurting careers as the booking and chemistry are necessary to succeed.
We will look at the positive instances of romantic storylines of dating another wrestler leading to careers thriving. All these relationships helped at least one of the talents involved with most benefiting both of the participants. Find out just how much the storyline played a role in positive changes. These are ten instances of romantic storylines helping the careers of wrestlers.
10 Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee
The first World Championship reign of Daniel Bryan started picking up steam when he turned heel. Bryan started using cheap heel tactics to retain the title. AJ Lee became his love interest at the time and it just added more material for the angle.
Bryan played a horrible boyfriend using Lee to get the advantage in his matches. The character work of Lee here is what started her ascension to stardom. AJ would showcase the entertainment aspect and it gave her more opportunities in the ring after the breakup.
9 Christian and Trish Stratus
WrestleMania 20 featured a shocking heel turn when Trish Stratus turned on Chris Jericho to lead Christian to a victory. Jericho turned face after growing feelings for Stratus. Christian refused to accept the new side of Jericho leading to the clash.
Stratus however sided with Christian due to the past heel moments of Jericho disrespecting her. The heel duo of Trish and Christian found great success together. Stratus had a new character allowing her to dominate the women’s division as a heel while Christian developed strong momentum as a singles star for the first time.
8 Diamond Dallas Page and Kimberly Page
The marriage between Diamond Dallas Page and Kimberly Page led to them working together a few times in WCW. DDP first had Kimberly appear as his manager known as the Diamond Doll. Their second run together once DDP turned face helped their careers for the better.
Fans got to see the loving husband side of Page which was a positive as he portrayed a face. Kimberly also got over huge as the most popular female performer in WWE accompanying her husband to the ring. The feud between DDP and Kimberly vs Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth created great television for WCW.
7 Spike Dudley and Molly Holly
WWE found some magic with the relationship between Spike Dudley and Molly Holly. The feud between the Dudley Boyz and the Holly cousins led to Spike and Molly developing a relationship similar to the Romeo and Juliet story of being in feuding families.
Both wrestlers benefited immensely from this as they showcased their characters for the first time. Fans even rallied behind Spike when he stood up to Steve Austin in defense of Molly. The relationship ended faster than expected or they’d be even higher on the list.
6 Beth Phoenix and Santino
The odd couple romance story of Beth Phoenix and Santino featured them both having great chemistry together. Beth Phoenix was the serious Women’s Champion while Santino played a comedic heel in the Intercontinental Championship picture.
The difference in their characters led to humorous segments together. Beth and Santino even won a huge Summerslam match with both titles on the line against Kofi Kingston and Mickie James. This angle allowed them to tap into other aspects of their character to stand out.
5 Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
Triple H spent most of 1999 in the main event picture failing to reach the same level of The Rock or Steve Austin. The huge storyline of him marrying Stephanie McMahon along with her heel turn is what finally pushed him over the top to the next level.
WWE would see Triple H reach the legitimate top of the company as the best heel. Triple H and Stephanie had incredible chemistry together that helped both. Not only did Triple H take the final step to the top, but Stephanie showcased her skills as a character after a weak face run.
4 Shane Douglas and Francine
ECW witnessed the impact of a positive romantic storyline when Francine turned on The Pibulls to align with Shane Douglas. The couple started dating as Douglas would have Francine accompany him to the ring as she often interfered in his matches.
Douglas became the top star in the company often holding the ECW Championship during this run. Francine was what put him over the top as The Franchise character adding something that was missing. The career of Francine also took off with a better fit as Douglas’ love interest.
3 Eddie Guerrero and Chyna
2000 was the year that Chyna broke away from the past runs in The Corporation and D-Generation X. The singles career of Chyna allowed her to showcase her own star potential. A romantic storyline with Eddie Guerrero helped both of their careers in WWE.
Chyna got to showcase her natural charisma rather than being silent like most of her prior run in WWE. Guerrero also had the chance to break out as a character after WWE pigeonholed him as a cruiserweight. They had incredible chemistry to put together a fun storyline during an important time for each.
2 Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth
The real-life marriage between Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth helped them find success together in WWE as well. Elizabeth joined WWE as the manager of Savage. They had the perfect chemistry together to help the act reach the top of the company.
Savage’s intense persona along with the soft-spoken elegance of Elizabeth just made fans enjoy the dynamic. Even when a character change was needed, Elizabeth played the person in the middle when Savage turned on Hulk Hogan to enter their WrestleMania feud. Their WWE legacies will always be linked together.
1 Edge and Lita
Edge was on the verge of the main event scene for about four years without ever knocking the door down. The real-life love triangle gone wrong between Edge, Matt Hardy and Lita led to WWE having to make it an angle due to the crowd chants.
Lita turning heel to date Edge on screen led to Edge finally getting the missing piece needed to enter the main event picture. The first few months of Edge and Lita’s relationship on television would see him have a great feud with Hardy, win his first WWE Championship, have a WrestleMania classic with Mick Foley and become a legitimate main event star.