The relationships to make its way to WWE television range from captivating to ridiculous. Romance is a great aspect of storytelling in all genres. Wrestling has found a way to make romantic storylines play a huge role in various angles. WWE has done it the best with many couples adding a lot to the show. Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon and Edge and Lita were a few of the couples to be remembered as great successes. All careers involved benefited from these angles with their relationships being huge parts of the show.

However, not all WWE romances on-screen will end up leading to great television. In fact, some of them will never even make to television at all. Vince McMahon and the creative staff have discussed quite a few romantic pairings that fans would never expect. These couples came close to being on television with potentially major plans moving forward. Something prevented the plans from becoming official and these ideas never saw the light of day. We will look at the relationships that could have been along with why exactly they never made its way to television. These are fifteen odd romances Vince McMahon almost booked for WWE programming.

15 Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon

Vince McMahon’s family is not exempt from his ridiculous ideas. Stephanie McMahon has found her way into quite a few less than desirable situations thanks to her father’s creativity having bizarre storylines for her. One of the weirdest segments in WWE featured the rivalry between Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff and SmackDown General Manager Stephanie heat up in a different way.

Bischoff surprised Stephanie during SmackDown’s Halloween party by wearing a Vince McMahon mask. Upon unmasking, he prevented Stephanie from slapping him and kissed her. The more surprising thing was that Stephanie seemed to enjoy it with both personalities being confused at the end of it.

Nothing else ever really came from this kiss, but the original plan was partially to set up a future romance.

Stephanie was known as a heel character for most of her career except for this specific time. Former WWE writers from this era claimed the kiss was meant to set up a romance between Stephanie and Bischoff. Whenever Stephanie turned heel, she would align with Bischoff as a new heel power couple. Vince was reportedly the one to have this idea, but it would get canceled and never happen. The kiss remains an odd segment with no real payoff to it.

14 Chris Jericho and Chyna

The early WWE career of Chris Jericho is remembered fondly, but it was a tough time for him. Jericho had one of the all-time great debuts as the reveal of the end of the Y2J countdown, which is all fans remember from his first few months. The fact that he interrupted The Rock skewed memories to think he was a star right away. However, he struggled for months before getting a storyline with Chyna of all people.

Jericho and Chyna feuded over the Intercontinental Championship for quite some time. This was one of the least enjoyable times of Jericho’s career as he viewed Chyna as being difficult to work with. Their matches were always clunky, and Chyna reportedly had a huge ego.

Jericho struggled to make things work with her and badly wanted their storyline to end as soon as possible.

At one point, Jericho and Chyna started to grow respect for each other. One of Jericho’s podcast episodes saw him reveal that he heard rumblings from people backstage that Vince McMahon wanted him in a romance storyline with Chyna going forward. Jericho was terrified about having to continue working with her, but those plans changed quickly. It seems like Vince decided to go with Eddie Guerrero as Chyna’s boyfriend instead of Jericho given the timeline. All three careers were better off for this.

13 Cody Rhodes and Kaitlyn

Cody Rhodes did not have many top-level storylines in WWE on his own. The most memorable ones took place when he was part of Legacy under the guidance of Randy Orton. Rhodes mostly was placed into forgettable mid-card stories for most of his career. Many interviews have seen Cody claim he left WWE due to the company not seeing him as a top star while he felt he was and wanted to prove it on his own.

This potential romantic plan for Rhodes’ character would have shown just how much of a mid-carder WWE considered him to be. A former WWE writer revealed a storyline that was in the plans for the future of Cody. Fellow WWE star Kaitlyn posted about her love for mustaches on social media in this time frame. It sparked a ridiculous idea from the writing staff to pitch to Vince McMahon.

The angle would have seen Kaitlyn enamored with Cody’s mustache.

Kaitlyn was going to remain a face that was manipulated by the heel Rhodes due to finding his mustache irresistible. McMahon reportedly liked the idea but never went through with it. Cody kept his mustache and Kaitlyn continued to love mustaches on social media with no relationship bringing them together.

12 Stacy Keibler and Rob Conway

Stacy Keibler had quite a few romantic storylines in her wrestling career. Considering she was never the most talented in-ring performer, the character aspect of wrestling was Keibler’s strong suit. There is one romantic angle that was discussed backstage in WWE for that never came into fruition. Most fans will remember Stacy’s love triangle with Scott Steiner and Test. However, very few people remember her alignment with The Hurricane and Rosey shortly after as their manager.

Keibler was the sidekick for the tag team sporting her own superhero look. One random segment during this time saw Rob Conway step in front of her to look at a mirror before cutting a heel promo. Conway was portraying an arrogant character obsessed with his physique and looks. It was reported at the time that WWE considering pairing Conway with Stacy as both were struggling to remain relevant.

The idea was to see Keibler turn on Hurricane and Rosey while becoming the girlfriend of Conway.

This certainly would have given Conway a better chance to get over as a heel. It never happened as WWE eventually decided it would have been a bad idea to turn the popular Stacy heel. Conway suffered most for it as his heel character fell apart is barely remembered by anyone today.

11 The Miz and Maryse

The odd reason for this couple on the list is the fact that they ended up falling in love in real life. WWE can be unpredictable in many ways, but this one took the cake. Maryse was starting to develop momentum as a strong heel character leading to WWE trying to find a wrestler to pair her with. Vince McMahon reportedly weighed various options about which wrestlers should be an item with Maryse to benefit from her presence.

There were a few segments between The Miz and Maryse back when Miz was still trying to move up the card as a mid-card heel. It was initially a plan to pair them together as McMahon saw a lot of potential in Miz. The short story featured Miz trying to win over Maryse but ultimately getting turned down by the bombshell. McMahon viewed Miz as having the tools to get over on his own thus Maryse wasn’t paired with him.

Ted DiBiase Jr. eventually saw Maryse become his manager in hopes of him becoming a main event heel. Unfortunately, the two had zero chemistry and DiBiase regressed immensely.

Miz and Maryse started dating in real life at some point during this timeline and have been together ever since. WWE finally allowed them to be an item on television when Maryse returned in 2016.

10 The Undertaker and Sable

The idea of The Undertaker being involved in romantic storylines seems ridiculous given the nature of his character. Undertaker did bring his wife Sara to WWE as his manager during part of the American Badass era. However, there was once a bizarre idea that would have seen him have a surprising girlfriend on WWE television during the Attitude Era and it almost became official.

Vince Russo pitched an idea for Undertaker and Sable to become the next big couple in WWE. Sable was starting to grow popularity as Marc Mero’s manager and needed something more important on the show. Russo was enamored with Sable and wanted her to be involved in upper card angles. Plans were made for Undertaker and Sable to start dating to add new importance for both wrestlers.

The plans were so certain that WWE Magazine even published a story about the two wrestlers being an item. It ended up being for nothing as the storyline was canceled. Undertaker’s wife Sara was against the idea of her husband portraying a relationship with someone else in the company. Vince McMahon’s respect for Undertaker saw him take Undertaker’s request to end the romantic storyline with Sable before it even started.

9 Stevie Richards and The Kat

The Right to Censor was among the most hated acts for WWE towards the end of the Attitude Era. Stevie Richards led the cult-like faction running down WWE fans for enjoying the violence, offensive language and sex appeal that the company was known for. It was meant to spoof the organizations attempting to censor WWE from airing such content on television every week.

Richards convinced Val Venis to ditch his adult star life and The Godfather to ditch his pimp life to join him in changing the company. It was meant to be revealed afterwards that Richards’ cult mentality led to him brainwashing these wrestlers into joining his group. Another wrestler to have work with Right to Censor was Stacy “The Kat” Carter. She was known for taking her off clothes and showing it all throughout her run.

Right to Censor attempted to prevent Carter from doing this, and a match stipulation saw her join the group against her will. Carter was originally supposed to be brainwashed into loving the RTC and becoming the new love interest of Richards. However, she had a real falling out with the company leading to her and then husband Jerry Lawler leaving WWE. Right to Censor ended shortly afterwards.

8 Torrie Wilson and Chris Masters

Torrie Wilson had a successful career in WWE despite never liking the wrestling part of the job. Various interviews have seen Wilson admit that she hated taking bumps and doing wrestling matches. The on-screen storylines and romantic angles were her cup of tea as she didn’t like the physical element. Wilson found her way into romantic angles with Tajiri, Billy Gunn, Billy Kidman and even Dawn Marie.

There was at least one storyline pitched for Torrie to start dating another wrestler that never came into play.

Carlito and Wilson were involved for a short time when both personalities needed something new. Torrie was starting to lose relevance in the divas pecking order and Carlito was becoming another forgettable mid-carder. WWE paired them together but there was little chemistry.

Carlito entered a feud with Chris Masters during his time with Wilson. It was supposed to lead to Torrie turning on Carlito to become the heel girlfriend of Masters. Many of the promos of Masters featured him bragging about his physique. The idea would have been that Torrie being his love interest would give him even more to be arrogant about. This plan was scrapped and all three went downhill as the company had no significant stories for them.

7 Edge and Kristal Marshall

Edge had one of the all-time great WWE careers. It is tough to find a wrestler that accomplished as much in different roles. From heel to babyface, singles work to tag teams and serious character work to comedy, Edge knew how to succeed in every situation. A real-life love scandal featured WWE putting him and Lita together as a heel couple for the fans to use their genuine disdain towards them as heat.

Edge benefited greatly from this as his career progressed to the next level. His character having a girlfriend added an element that played a big role in him becoming WWE Champion for the first few times. Vince McMahon wanted Edge to have another romantic partner on screen when Lita decided to leave WWE and retire.

Kristal Marshall was the first choice due to her great looks and lack of a spot on the show at the time.

The idea was for her to play a character like Lita did. Marshall turned down the idea due to feeling uncomfortable with this portrayal. The lack of experience on the roster saw her receive heat for saying no to a big push. Kristal was released shortly after and Edge moved into a different romantic storyline with Vickie Guerrero shortly after.

6 Katie Lea and Paul Burchill

A truly bizarre idea of Vince McMahon would have seen Paul Burchill and Katie Lea Burchill become a couple on Raw. Both wrestlers had a lot of hype in developmental with the potential to evolve into big stars. However, the big idea of McMahon was to have them debut as siblings. This brother and sister relationship provided an odd vibe as their first few promos implied there was something romantic going on.

McMahon reportedly wanted Paul and Katie Lea to reveal they were lovers as part of an odd storyline. This isn’t the first time Vince considered this controversial form of storytelling. The Burchill siblings were finally going to be Vince’s chance to tell this bizarre story. However, it found the same roadblocks as fan and sponsor reaction was overwhelmingly negative. The tension ended and the two wrestlers started acting like normal siblings before being split up. Katie Lea delivered impressive work in the women’s division for a few years while Paul ended up leaving the industry shortly after the gimmick failed.

5 The Rock and Trish Stratus

It is often rare that the biggest male star and female star on the WWE roster will get involved in an on-air relationship. The idea behind romantic angles will often see a wrestler lacking something involved. Whether it is someone needing another person’s charisma or just a spark to get their career trending forward again, relationship tend to add something a person is missing.

WWE however almost went with mega-relationship in 2001. Vince McMahon made enemies out of The Rock and Trish Stratus among others as an evil authority figure. Rock made the save for Stratus against Vince on a handful of occasions. This culminated in a backstage segment between the two where they started getting intimate with each other. Plans were made for the two to be involved romantically. Vince felt it would lead to an interest increase to see two major stars together.

However, the plan was canceled, and the kiss ended up being for nothing. Rock and Trish were positioned as friends on the roster with a common enemy. Considering Rock was getting ready to leave the company to shoot movies at the start of his acting career, it was likely scrapped due to not having a long-term future. Trish’s popularity would have been hurt if dumping or getting dumped by Rock.

4 Rob Van Dam and Stephanie McMahon

The career of Rob Van Dam could have been so much more in WWE. Despite having a Hall of Fame run, RVD lacked the main event push at his peak of popularity during his first few years in the company. The fact that he felt comfortable voicing his opinion and turning down ideas hurt Van Dam in the political world of WWE. One specific instance saw RVD say no to a storyline that could have made him a bigger deal.

Stephanie McMahon was an established top heel at the time and her storylines were usually very important. WWE considered the idea of Van Dam being involved with Stephanie while Triple H was injured and off television. During their time together in The Alliance, Stephanie flirted with RVD in a few backstage segments after he got the better of Chris Jericho to defend her honor.

Bruce Prichard revealed on his podcast that Vince McMahon wanted a romance between Stephanie and Van Dam.

RVD turned down the idea saying he flat out he didn’t want to do it. His wife was not happy about the idea leading to it never happening. Van Dam refusing a major storyline was a strike in Vince’s book that likely played a role in RVD remaining in the mid-card for years.

3 John Cena and Maria Kanellis

John Cena’s relationship with Nikki Bella ending has seen things dramatically change for him. The moment of him proposing at WrestleMania 33 has gone from an iconic memory to an extremely awkward segment. Cena has had a few small romantic moments on WWE television through the years aside before he dated Nikki. The romance with Mickie James is one fans discuss, but there was another one teased.

Cena had a few intimate moments with Maria Kanellis on Raw. The two united against common enemies on an episode of Raw. Cena was feuding with Edge and Lita at the time. The heel actions of Lita towards Maria saw those two clashing. It set up a mixed tag match with Cena and Maria defeating the heels in the main event of Raw showing good chemistry along the way. There was even a backstage segment featuring Cena and Maria embracing one another.

WWE considered the two becoming an official couple on the show. Cena was in the early stages of getting booed by fans for his face character. Some people backstage thought having a girlfriend would make him cooler to the male demographic that didn’t like him. The plan never worked out and we barely saw much interaction between Cena and Maria again.

2 Owen Hart and Debra

The late Owen Hart is remembered as one of the all-time great in-ring performers in wrestling history. Owen was ahead of his time and truly delivered incredible matches against a variety of opponents. The character work of Hart was also impressive as he knew how to get the reactions he desired from fans. We never saw him in a romantic storyline, but it almost happened on one occasion.

Owen teamed with Jeff Jarrett for a short in the Attitude Era with Debra as their manager. Jarrett brought Debra to WWE with him as his manager and implied love interest. Vince Russo reportedly wanted to have a love triangle break the team up. The angle would have been that Debra turned on Jarrett. A long search by Jarrett would have finally saw him realized his tag partner Owen was the one stabbing him in the back.

The couple of Debra and Owen would have been together on WWE television going forward.

It is unknown why the angle never took place for sure, but a safe bet is that Owen was against it. As a family man, Owen was not happy about a lot of the content in WWE at the time. There is no way he would have wanted to be in a romantic angle like this one.

1 AJ Lee and Dean Ambrose

A potentially huge relationship on WWE television to never happen would have featured AJ Lee and Dean Ambrose. Both wrestlers ended up having hugely successful WWE careers, but it took them each a bit of time to get a role at all. Lee was on the main roster following the NXT competition struggling to get television time, let alone a storyline. Ambrose was in developmental longer than anyone could have expected.

The two wrestlers were almost placed together due to their mutual issue of needing something to get on television. A former WWE writer revealed that the creative team had an idea to debut Ambrose as the boyfriend of AJ. Both wrestlers would have been shown in vignettes together in a mental institution. It would have been revealed that they each had mental illness issues leading to them falling in love at the asylum.

The storyline never happened due to Lee shutting it down.

Due to her battles with mental illness and her mother having even harder issues, AJ felt it would have been disrespectful to mock something so real in a comedic way. Her autobiography indicates WWE punished for saying no to this angle. Both wrestlers ended up being better off for it, but Ambrose and Lee were almost a romantic couple on WWE television.