Wrestling is sometimes referred to as a soap opera. Of course, the main reason viewers tune in is because of the matches, but they’re also invested in the feuds and storylines. One common storyline you’ll find on wrestling television is romance angles. Throughout the decades, we’ve seen plenty of onscreen wrestling couples. Who can forget the iconic Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth? Their onscreen and offscreen love story is one that fans love.

Most of the time, onscreen wrestling couples transition into real life romances. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H’s onscreen relationship is a perfect example. The couple ruled WWE television during the Attitude Era, now they’re running things behind the scenes. However, sometimes there are wrestling couples who are only together onscreen and not in real life. Even though these couples weren’t an actual item in real life, that didn’t stop fans from shipping them and wishing they were really together.

During the peak of her career, AJ was paired with various wrestlers onscreen including Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena. While AJ never dated any of these men in real life, her fans loved her paired with the guys. When a wrestling couple has chemistry onscreen they become a hit with fans. Sometimes it makes the audience wonder if the couple ever dated behind the scenes. Many times there are wrestlers who fans wish would’ve gotten together in real life, yet sadly they didn't.

In this list, we’ll look at 15 fake wrestling couples we wish were real.

15 Charlotte Flair And Bobby Roode

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When WWE announced their Mixed Match Challenge earlier this year, we saw unique pairings. One of the couples to make it to the final round of the tournament was Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode. Calling themselves The Robe Warriors, Charlotte and Bobby became one of the top couples in the challenge.

With their love of sparkly robes and glorious entrances, it’s no surprise why they were paired. During their backstage promos, you can sense the admiration the couple had for each other. Their chemistry was so strong that WWE contemplated doing a romance angle with the couple. Yet, it appears the rumours of a love story between Charlotte and Bobby won’t happen anytime soon. If anyone hopes the two will become a real life couple are in for disappointment because Bobby’s married with children, and family comes first!

14 Carmella And James Ellsworth

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When Carmella and James Ellsworth were paired together on Smackdown, it left a lot of fans confused. They didn’t understand the need of putting Ellsworth with one of their hottest divas. Yet, in due time Carmella and Ellsworth became the most watched stars on the blue brand. The duo provided plenty of comic relief as Carmella proved she was the boss in the relationship and Ellsworth obeyed her every command. Ellsworth also was a big helping in assisting Carmella in winning the Women’s Money In the Bank briefcase.

Yet, like every good thing in WWE, Carmella and Ellsworth partnership came to an end when he was released in November. Despite their onscreen relationship coming to an end, Carmella and Ellsworth remain good friends. In fact, it was her idea to work with him and when she learned that Ellsworth was fired, she called to make sure he was okay.

13 Alexa Bliss And Braun Strowman

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One of the unlikely pairing fans saw during the Mixed Match Challenge was Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman. Again it was an opposites attract angel with petite, blonde beauty Alexa teaming with the nearly 7 foot Strowman. As evidenced during their backstage segments, Alexa was uncomfortable with Braun being her partner. But as the tournament got underway, things changed between the team. Alexa was happy with Braun as her partner and at times it appeared she was flirting with him. Braun even became protective of Alexa and saved her when she took a dangerous bump inside the ring.

Fans fell in love with the team of Alexa and Braun, and immediately began shipping the two as a couple. Yet, fans shouldn’t expect a real life romance because Alexa is engaged to wrestler Buddy Murphy. However, down the line, WWE may want to reignite Alexa and Braun’s relationship for a romance angle.

12 Kurt Angle And Stephanie McMahon

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During the Attitude Era, one of the hottest triangles in WWE revolved around Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Kurt Angle. Angle was a thorn in Triple H’s side as the Olympic medalist wooed The Billion Dollar Princess. Each week, viewers would tune in to see how the love triangle would play out and many fans rooted for Kurt and Stephanie to end up together. They even went wild when Kurt and Stephanie shared a kiss.

In the end, Triple H would win Stephanie’s heart both onscreen and in real life. Yet, fans won’t forget the top triangle of the Attitude Era, which heated up WWE television. While Kurt and Stephanie never ended up together onscreen or offscreen, you have to wonder what it would’ve been like if the two did become a real life couple.

11 Dolph Ziggler And Lana

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Dolph Ziggler has been paired with many women onscreen during his WWE career. One of his most recent pairings involved the ravishing Lana. During their storyline, Lana ended her relationship with Rusev and quickly became infatuated with Dolph. Lana was able to show off a new side of herself as she became the new valet for The Show Off. To add to their kayfabe storyline, Dolph and Lana often posted photos on social media of them hanging out together.

Yet, just as the romance storyline was heating up, it quickly ended. When news broke of Lana and Rusev’s real life engagement, WWE reunited the couple on television. Even though Dolph and Lana’s romance never went any further onscreen, fans loved the couple and were left curious about how the storyline would’ve played out.

10 Seth Rollins And Paige

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Seth Rollins and Paige are two of the biggest stars on the main roster at the moment. With their love of goth and rock music, the two seem like a good match. While they never dated in real life, the two almost had an onscreen romance.

During their developmental days in FCW, the writers toyed with the idea of pairing Paige with Rollins. The first sign of a potential romance came when Paige watched from the stands as Rollins competed in a match. She would even come down to assist Rollins during his match with Brad Maddox. Yet, plans for a romance between Rollins and Paige abruptly came to an end. While fans of Paige and Rollins may never get to see them together onscreen, they can be happy to know that the pair is friends in real life and often hang out together.

9 John Cena And Maria Kanellis

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John Cena is now engaged to Nikki Bella and the couple is featured prominently on Total Divas and Total Bellas. Their relationship was also acknowledged on WWE television when they set up a match between the Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania, which ended with Cena proposing to his lady love.

Yet before Nikki, Cena was paired with a few other WWE Divas on television. The most famous being Mickie James, who he dated in real life. But he also had a brief onscreen relationship with Maria Kanellis. Cena used to flirt with the interviewer backstage, then when they teamed up to take on Edge and Lita, Cena calmed Maria’s nerves by planting a kiss on her. Even though their onscreen relationship was short-lived, that didn’t stop fans from shipping them together.

8 Chyna And Eddie Guerrero

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Throughout most of her WWE career, Chyna was paired onscreen with her real life boyfriend Triple H. Yet, in 2000 Chyna would enter into a romance storyline with Eddie Guerrero. The pairing seemed odd at first, but overtime Eddie and Chyna won over the audience.

Eddie was a sneaky villain who managed to woo the Ninth Wonder of the World, who he affectionately referred to as his “mamacita.” The couple were a force to be reckoned with as they teamed up in mixed tag matches and fought for the Intercontinental championship. But their onscreen romance came to an end when Chyna discovered Eddie had been unfaithful to her. Shortly after the end of their storyline, both Eddie and Chyna would leave the company. Even though they weren’t together in real life, Chyna and Eddie were good friends and enjoyed working together.

7 Kelly Kelly And CM Punk

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Early in her career, blonde beauty Kelly Kelly was involved in a few romance angles. Her first onscreen pairing came in ECW when she was partnered with Mike Knox. However, overtime the couple’s relationship started to falter. Kelly would soon set her sights on tattooed wrestler CM Punk.

She began to flirt with Punk backstage and she even dressed up in punk attire to surprise the wrestler during a Halloween episode of ECW. Yet Punk and Kelly’s romance never went any further than flirting. Like many other storylines, WWE suddenly dropped it with no explanation. Rumours have often swirled that Kelly and Punk dated in real life, but they were never confirmed. It’s obvious the two were friends as evidenced by photos of them hanging out. Yet, any romance between the two was definitely left on television.

6 Trish Stratus And Jeff Hardy

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Two of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era were Trish Stratus and Jeff Hardy. The two were a hit with fans both in and out of the ring, so WWE decided to experiment with having them become an onscreen couple. The two would started off with backstage interactions where they’d flirt with each other, before long they were teaming up in tag matches and they would often come to the rescue whenever one of them suffered a loss after a match. The crowd went wild when after weeks of flirting; the couple finally shared a kiss.

However, fans would soon be left disappointed when Jeff Hardy was fired from WWE and the storyline was dropped. Even though the storyline left viewers hanging about the end result, they’ll never forget the brief romance between Trish and Jeff Hardy.

5 Beth Phoenix And Santino Marella

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WWE loves doing opposites attract storylines and in 2008 they started one with Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella. Their onscreen romance began after Beth beat Santino in a match. Soon The Glamazon developed an infatuation with Marella as she began appearing ringside for his matches. When they shared a kiss, their fate as a couple was sealed.

Calling themselves Glamarella, the couple became a prominent fixture on WWE television. Santino began accompanying his lady love to the ring and helped her win the Women’s Championship. Yet, problems ensued with the couple when Phoenix became annoyed with Santino’s comedy antics. By the time WrestleMania 25 rolled around, the couple had reached their breaking point. Despite their onscreen romance coming to an end, Phoenix and Marella remained good friends and they’ve publicly stated how much they enjoyed working together.

4 Laurel Van Ness And Braxton Sutter

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TNA very rarely does romance angles, but last year they had one of the top storylines thanks to breakout stars. Onscreen Laurel Van Ness and Braxton Sutter became a main attraction of TNA with their cute relationship. Every week, viewers would tune in to see the progression of their relationship.

In February 2017, viewers tuned in to watch the wedding of Laurel Van Ness and Braxton Sutter. Yet, like all wrestling weddings, this one wasn’t without drama. To the shock of fans Braxton broke up with Laurel and revealed he was actually in love with Allie. Following their split, Laurel went crazy and began wearing her wedding dress to the ring for her matches. In real life, Laurel and Braxton aren’t together. He’s married to TNA wrestler Allie, while Laurel is dating WWE star Zack Ryder. Yet, fans will never forget the brief onscreen romance between Laurel and Braxton.

3 Fandango And Summer Rae

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When Fandango debuted on the WWE roster, he had a ballroom dancer gimmick. Every week he would shuffle his way down to the ring escorted by blonde beauty Summer Rae. Summer proved to be a huge asset to Fandango as she helped him cheat to win his matches. Fans could sense the chemistry between the two with their dances and when they teamed up in tag matches.

However, their partnership came to an end when Fandango dumped Summer for Layla. A love triangle soon began when Summer declared her love for Fandango by planting a kiss on him. Yet, WWE decided to swerve fans when they had Summer and Layla team up to get revenge on Fandango. Afterwards, Fandango and Summer Rae’s careers went in different directions. He would go on to join Tyler Breeze as Breezango. As for Summer, a neck injury spelled the end of her wrestling career.

2 Dolph Ziggler And AJ Lee

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Throughout her WWE career, AJ Lee was paired with various male wrestlers. Daniel Bryan was her first, then CM Punk and before long John Cena. In real life, AJ would go on to marry CM Punk, much to the delight of her fans. Yet, it’s one onscreen pairing that was the most popular with audiences.

After her romance with Cena ended, AJ formed an alliance with Dolph Ziggler. AJ showed that she was the perfect choice to play the girlfriend of the heelish Ziggler and she proudly watched as he became the new WWE World Heavyweight champion. Yet, after a couple of months their relationship came to an end as did Ziggler’s title reign. Like many couples in WWE, Dolph and AJ had good chemistry together, which is why some fans believed they were a real life couple despite the denials from the dirtsheets.

1 Zelina Vega And Andrade Cien Almas

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One of the hottest couples in NXT at the moment is Zelina Vega and Andrade Almas. The heelish couple has become a hit with fans, who tune in to see what antics the couple will be up to. Zelina has shown that she’s a huge asset to the career of Almas, who won the NXT championship thanks to her help. With reports suggesting they’ll be called up to the main roster soon, Zelina and Almas are going to heat up RAW and Smackdown like they did NXT.

The chemistry between Zelina and Almas is so remarkable that fans are curious if they’re together in real life. Zelina is in a real life relationship with wrestler Austin Aries. Rumors have circulated that the couple have broken up, yet there’s been no actual confirmation. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from wishing Zelina and Almas would be a real life couple.