The art of the love triangle will provide a riveting story for wrestling promotions when done right. Three wrestlers having tension with romance involved see the wrestlers ending up in feuds with each other. The best instances of this story form featured an idea like Triple H and Kurt Angle competing for the affection of Stephanie McMahon.
Not every love triangle will have the same appeal with lackluster results coming when they tried to execute it. The flops had issues regarding the talents or creative not being able to pull it off. Find out which wrestlers had the awkward angles unfold in a manner they didn’t anticipate. The love triangles in question should have worked on paper but ultimately failed.
10 CM Punk/Daniel Bryan/AJ Lee
The rise of AJ Lee in WWE saw her getting involved in main event storylines involving the male wrestlers. Lee’s relationship with Daniel Bryan ended when she unintentionally cost him the World Championship by kissing him before the Sheamus match.
CM Punk entered the picture when defending his WWE Championship against Bryan. AJ started showing signs of feelings for Punk and was placed as the guest referee in their match. Their story didn’t advance the way one would expect, and she was removed from both characters shortly after.
9 Rusev/Bobby Lashley/Lana
The love triangle between Rusev, Lana and Bobby Lashley was Paul Heyman’s idea to have all three becoming bigger stars. Rusev and Lana each returned after an extended entrance separately with Lashley revealed as Lana’s new lover.
None of them benefited from the angle with horrible segments taking place every week. Rusev was the biggest loser by getting embarrassed every week before he was released. Lana and Lashley lacked chemistry and split up when MVP was a better fit to manage Lashley.
8 David Flair/Daffney/Stacy Keibler
WCW was struggling to have many successful acts in 2000 when the company started to fall apart. The extra time for the female performers led to both Stacy Keibler and Daffney each becoming rare hot names in the company.
David Flair’s only successful time in wrestling came with Daffney at his side. Stacy entering the picture and tempting him away gave all three a relevant program. The segments were unfortunately disappointing with WCW going for the cheap humor that helped no one at the end.
7 Saturn/Raven/Terri Runnels
Three talented performers entering an angle together should lead to bigger success for all involved. The love triangle of Raven, Terri Runnels and Saturn was a forgotten storyline in the Invasion storyline that should have worked on paper.
Saturn and Terri established their relationship when she joined him during the run in The Radicalz. The ridiculous storyline of Saturn injuring his head and falling in love with a mop caused Terri to leave him for Raven. WWE did a terrible job making Raven and Terri look important and it caused the angle to flop.
6 Kane/X-Pac/Tori
WWE found success with Kane becoming a face character dating Tori. The use of the romantic storyline helped Kane show more relating sides to himself outside of just being an unstoppable monster heel.
X-Pac’s friendship with Kane ended when he betrayed him to join D-Generation X again. Tori further broke Kane’s heart by leaving him for X-Pac and a spot in DX with him. Kane seeking revenge wasn’t a hot enough storyline to make the most of this angle and it turned into Kane and other faces going after DX.
5 Edge/Big Show/Vickie Guerrero
The love triangle between Edge, Vickie Guerrero and Big Show became a huge part of WrestleMania 25’s build. John Cena faced off with Edge and Big Show in a triple threat match for the World Championship with Vickie involved.
Cameras caught Vickie sharing intimate moment with Big Show backstage to upset Edge. Both heels tried to utilize Vickie’s power as an authority figure heading into the match. Cena eventually won the big match to win the title as both heels were distracted by the personal issues.
4 Scott Steiner/Test/Stacy Keibler
WWE tried to save Scott Steiner’s run after horrible start of the brutal Triple H feud and injuries sinking his momentum. The relationship between Stacy Keibler and Test started to fall apart with Test showing signs of turning heel.
Steiner essentially “saved” Stacy from a few of Test’s tirades to become involved with her moving forward. Both wrestlers feuded over Keibler’s managerial services despite her being loyal to Steiner. The angle was a huge mess that ended with both guys being heels and trying to force Stacy into continuing to manage them.
3 Kurt Angle/Jeff Jarrett/Karen Jarrett
TNA wanted to make the most out of a real backstage scandal making its way to the public. Karen Angle left Kurt to start a new relationship with Jeff Jarrett. Dixie Carter was forced to make a decision and sent Jeff home to appease Kurt.
All three talents were on the roster when TNA had them using the love triangle storyline on television. The segments felt in poor taste and was a waste of Kurt’s time. A legendary singles star taking part in the low rent moments just hurt his standing at the time.
2 Daniel Bryan/Bella Twins
WWE looked to find unique ways to show Daniel Bryan’s personality in his first few years on the roster. Bryan’s vegan lifestyle was referenced more than a few times on air. Brie and Nikki Bella made a bet about who could take his virginity first when mixing it up with the word vegan.
The comedic reveal was a disappointment of what could have been a bigger storyline. Three Hall of Famers with a real-life chemistry between Bryan and Brie should have worked on paper. It instead turned into a train wreck with the worst of WWE’s creative.
1 Rusev/Summer Rae/Lana
The decision to split up Rusev and Lana for the first time was done to make Lana a bigger star. Vince McMahon reportedly believed Lana could draw major money for WWE as a face separated from Rusev after they got over as heels together.
Summer Rae became the new love interest of Rusev and delivered a couple of brutal attacks on Lana. The angle ended poorly due to Lana and Rusev leaking their real-life engagement on TMZ. WWE dropped the promising storyline by reuniting them in what’s now a failed memory.