Wrestling romances are a great source of entertainment on-screen when a promotion books them effectively. Couples like Triple H and Stephanie McMahon or Chyna and Eddie Guerrero allowed talents to show new sides and tell great stories. However, there are plenty of misses for every idea that leads to success.
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Quite a few couples either made little sense together or just came off poorly as an act. Multiple variables in play have seen the wrestlers in question not being able to make it work. Each story is different and requires a deeper look at what caused the similar results. The following wrestling couples would have been better off just not getting together.
10 Sable & Vince McMahon
WWE pulled off a risky move by having Sable enter an on-screen romance with Vince McMahon when she returned in 2003. Sable left during the Attitude Era and sued the company for multiple things, including sexual harassment.
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The return saw both sides mending fences, but Vince decided to book himself in a relationship with Sable. It did help add to the feud between Sable and Stephanie McMahon, but Vince making out with someone that once felt uncomfortable due to sexual advances in WWE was a bad look.
9 Stacy Keibler & David Flair
WCW made a mistake by putting Stacy Keibler with David Flair when both characters were better off elsewhere. David was actually having his greatest success in WCW after developing a relationship with Daffney and forming a tag team with Crowbar.
The betrayal of David towards Daffney saw him having an affair to start that new romance. Keibler getting pregnant and their wedding being interrupted added various twists and turns. David was way better with Daffney, and Stacy was over enough to warrant her own character thriving.
8 Lana & Dolph Ziggler
WWE trying to keep Rusev and Lana apart caused both of their careers to suffer. Lana turning face and getting pushed in a new light was the main reason WWE broke them up the first time. Dolph Ziggler entered a romance with Lana as a face character to feud with Rusev.
Some of the actions by Ziggler felt more heel-like than the actual villain Rusev in that angle. WWE saw the entire thing getting out of hand and turning into a huge disappointment. Lana and Rusev reunited at the end of that angle to show how much WWE realized their mistake.
7 Alicia Fox & Noam Dar
The cruiserweight division and 205 Live brand turned into a huge failure for WWE. Various reasons went into fans not caring about the product, but the company tried to reboot multiple times. Characters from Raw and Smackdown joined 205 Live to help make it feel like part of the bigger WWE.
Alicia Fox received a new role as the love interest of Noam Dar for a short time. There was even a mixed tag feud with Sasha Banks and Rich Swann feuding against them. WWE didn’t keep them together long since there was minimal chemistry there.
6 Miss Elizabeth & Lex Luger
Miss Elizabeth joining WCW added another chapter of her career, but there were some negative moments. It was strange to see Elizabeth in roles that didn’t involve managing Randy Savage given their iconic WWE run together.
Programs with Ric Flair, the New World Order and even Savage saw her fitting into the new company as a heel. However, it was the last angle of her real-life romance with Lex Luger becoming part of the show. Luger and Elizabeth playing a heel couple never connected as it felt odd to see Elizabeth romantically involved with another wrestler.
5 Natalya & The Great Khali
Natalya has been one of the most respected female wrestlers for WWE throughout her entire run. However, that doesn’t mean she’s avoided being placed in terrible storylines. The Great Khali dating Natalya may be the worst overall idea she’d had to endure.
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WWE placed Hornswoggle with Khali and Natalya to turn them into a complete variety act. Natalya unfortunately suffered from this pointless angle holding her back. The future changes to women’s wrestling thankfully allowed Natalya to rebound and have a strong career.
4 Torrie Wilson & Shane Douglas
WCW went a bit too far when trying to replicate ECW’s successful Franchise act for Shane Douglas. The signing by WCW saw Douglas being promised a strong push that did come his way. However, one idea was to have Torrie Wilson turn on Billy Kidman to become the new love interest of Douglas.
Fans enjoyed the authentic relationship between Kidman and Wilson as beloved face characters. Torrie felt off as a heel and couldn’t play the character that Francine did in ECW. Douglas didn’t benefit much from having Wilson as his manager and love interest.
3 AJ Lee & Primo
AJ Lee started off in the third season of NXT with Primo as her main roster pro. WWE decided to book a romantic angle there and have Lee join the main roster as Primo’s love interest. There was little chemistry there and the idea felt forced.
Lee struggled to breakout and was a secondary player in the women’s division during this time. It wasn’t until the later couple act with Daniel Bryan that AJ was given the chance to break out. Lee had many romantic angles after that all felt more successful than the Primo run.
2 Brooke Hogan & Bully Ray
TNA came up with one of their strangest ideas ever when Bully Ray started dating Brooke Hogan. The signing of Brooke originally saw her running the Knockouts division, but TNA pivoted towards her having a romance with Bully against Hulk Hogan’s wishes.
There was even a wedding segment interrupted by Aces & Eights delivering an attack. Few fans had any emotional investment in the Brooke and Bully couple. The heel turn of Bully revealing he was conning the Hogan family was the only positive from this storyline.
1 Stacy Keibler & Randy Orton
The idea of two major stars dating will usually work out, but that isn’t always the case. Randy Orton and Stacy Keibler were two of the biggest names in WWE when they entered a relationship angle in late 2004 and early 2005.
WWE felt Orton badly needed something to save his face act, and a relationship with the top female face was their call. Stacy and Orton didn’t have much chemistry, nor did they have much storyline advancement. WWE dropped the plan when Orton attacked Keibler to turn heel for his feud with The Undertaker.
