Top 50 On Screen Wrestling Couples

The Great Khali & Natalya

Definitely an odd coupling to start things off - The Great Khali and Natalya were mid-card performers on SmackDown in mid-2012 when it was revealed that they were having a relationship. Natalya managed Khali for a few months and they eventually added Hornswoggle (the son?) to their group.

Wrestling has a rich history of romantic couples..... but let's be clear up front about what this list is not. We are NOT looking at real-life wrestling couples whose relationships haven't been openly acknowledged on camera. While it may be fun to gossip about, say, Batista's backstage conquests, it would be damn near impossible to rank them (unless of course, you're Batista).

This is also NOT a listing of platonic male/female couples in wrestling, regardless of whether they're giving each other high spots off-camera. For example, Triple H and Chyna once dated in real life, as do Rusev and Lana now..... but there has been no effort to show a romantic relationship on television. If they were a couple both on-and-off screen.... fine, but for this particular list, we're really focusing on what Raw, Nitro and Impact and other programs have shown us.

In selecting the Top 50 On Screen Wrestling Couples, Canadian Bulldog's World looked at the following criteria:

Did the couple show chemistry on-screen? Don't laugh; you'll see on this list that some real-life couples ranked lower because they didn't.
Were they involved in memorable storylines?
Regardless of whether stayed together a few weeks or a few years, was there genuine emotion invoked by their interaction?
How big a stage did their act play out on?

One final note: Although they certainly would qualify for this list, we made the conscious decision to not include the WCW couple of Chris Benoit and Woman (Nancy Benoit), for hopefully what are very obvious reasons.

Ready? Here we go!

Maryse actually began as a managed for the younger Ted DiBiase when the two were getting their start together in Florida Championship Wrestling. When both were in WWE, DiBiase fired his father's bodyguard in favor of Maryse, who became a gold-digging love interest, with the couple constantly bickering.

Ted DiBiase & Maryse

Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson first became a couple in WCW, when it was revealed they were dating during a feud with Shane Douglas (and of course, Torrie turned on him). In WWE, the two became a couple again on SmackDown for several months, before Torrie left Billy in favor of Tajiri.

Any picks missing or misplaced? Leave your feedback in the Comments section below...

This relationship was more hinted at than truly played out on camera, but it had a lot of promise. John Cena and Mickie James started out as friends and tried to quell rumors that they were anything more, but after it became tough for Cena to hide things such as giving back Mickie's underwear from the previous night.

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In 2000, David Flair dumped his girlfriend Daffney in favor of Stacy Keibler, who had previously been known as Miss Hancock. The two quickly planned a wedding on WCW Nitro after it was revealed that Keibler was pregnant; however, she announced mid-wedding that the baby wasn't actually David's.

David Flair & Stacy Keibler

As D-Generation X were re-forming (and as heels) in mid-1999, X-Pac caused dissention between his former partner Kane and Kane's girlfriend Tori. After The Big Red Machine lost a match in which Tori would have to spend the weekend at X-Pac's, she became enamored with The Kliq member and dumped Kane.

In 2007, Karen Angle appeared on TNA programming to warn Samoa Joe that her husband Kurt Angle was emotionally abusive. It was a swerve designed to gain an advantage over Joe, and about a year, she stuck around as Kurt's manager and even participated in a love triangle storyline with AJ Styles.

Kurt & Karen Angle

Leading up to Stone Cold Steve Austin's heel turn in 2001, it was revealed that WWF manager was also Austin's wife. The two began interacting on camera, particularly when Austin was aligned with Vince McMahon, with Debra baking terrible cookies and tolerating her husband's tone-deaf musical stylings.

Stone Cold Steve Austin & Debra

In 1988, Ravishing Rick Rude always picked a woman out of the audience to give his patented "Rude Awakening" kiss to. But at one television taping, the woman refused, acknowledging that she was Jake "The Snake" Roberts's wife Cheryl Roberts. After that, she became a part of the long-running Roberts vs. Reud feud.

Jake & Cheryl Roberts

In 2004, Kane courted Lita the old-fashioned way - by forcing her to marry him after The Big Red Machine defeated her boyfriend Matt Hardy in a match. Reluctantly, Lita went along with the marriage and was even said to be pregnant, a status that was ended by Snitsky (although.... it wasn't his fault).

Kane & Lita

How Vince and Linda McMahon, who have been married in real life for almost FIFTY YEARS and on screen for the past twenty or so, be ranked so low on this list? Simply put, they have very little chemistry in a wrestling context. So much so that Vince once drugged Linda so that she would be institutionalized.

Vince & Linda McMahon

When Shawn Michaels turned heel in 1992, he was quickly paired with Sensational Sherri, who claimed to be in love and even sang his theme song "Sexy Boy". Sadly, the relationship ended a year later when, as it happens all too often, Michaels allowed Sherri to get hit in the head with an errant full-view mirror.

Shawn Michaels &

Sensational Sherri

John Cena & Mickie James

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Stephanie McMahon went on a date with Test because, simply put, her father Vince McMahon didn't want her to do. The two quickly became an item and planned a wedding that would take in the ring on Raw (see a pattern developing here?), which wasn't completed because Stephanie had already married Triple H.

Test & Stephanie McMahon

When Santino Marella first arrived in WWE, he quickly found himself with Maria as his girlfriend. While they got along well at first, Marella's jealously (leading to a gradual heel turn) frustrated her, and Santino's anger at Maria posing in Playboy ended the couple dating after just a few months.

Santino Marella & Maria

In 1996, Raven was embroiled in a bitter feud with The Sandman in ECW. Raven soon figured, what better way to get into his opponent's head that by brainwashing Sandman's ex-wife Lori Fullington and convincing them to hook up. To add insult to injury, Sandman's son Tyler Fullington also sided with Raven.

Raven & Lori Fullington

The Honky Tonk Man was Intercontinental Champion in 1988 and decided to bring his girlfriend Peggy Sue to ringside. Peggy Sue was actually Sensational Sherri under a wig and poodle skirt, though few fans knew it at the time. When manager Jimmy Hart was banned from HTM's matches, he dressed up as Peggy Sue!

The Honky Tonk Man & Peggy Sue

Rick Steiner was coming into his own as a WCW babyface in 1987 when he noticed Robin Green -- a nerdy wrestling fan -- admiring him from ringside. The two eventually went on a date (with dating advice from Jim Ross!) and Steiner noticed a wild side to Robin, who would eventually reveal herself as Woman.

Rick Steiner & Robin Green

Billy Kidman & Torrie Wilson

The off-screen romance (and marriage) between Jey Uso and Naomi first surfaced on Total Divas, which spilled over into an on-screen story in 2015. When The Miz began bothering Naomi, both Jey and Jimmy Uso came to her aid, and she's been the tag team's manager ever since that point.

Jey Uso & Naomi

In 1999, David Flair's character began to slip into insanity, and he began dating the equally maniacal Daffney on WCW programming. The two (who were also aligned with Crowbar) were riding high when David joined Vince Russo's New Blood faction and shortly thereafter, dumped Daffney in favor of Stacy Keibler.

David Flair & Daffney

Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee

A brief relationship between AJ Lee and John Cena ended when she abandoned Cena for not "caring enough about her" and latched on to Cena's rival at the time, Dolph Ziggler. At the TLC pay-per-view in 2012, Lee turned on Cena and made it clear that she was now in a relationship with Ziggler instead.

Although Vince McMahon and Trish Stratus were having an affair (Vince was married in storylines and in real-life to Linda McMahon), it was very public, with their entire relationship playing out on television. Eventually, Trish had enough of Vince making her "bark like a dog" and dumped him at WrestleMania X-7.

Vince McMahon & Trish Stratus

Davey Boy Smith first involved his wife Diana Hart in wrestling at SummerSlam '92. But by 1995, she was a semi-regular character at ringside, finding new ways to plot on behalf of her husband. She once claimed that Shawn Michaels assaulted her in an attempt to give Davey Boy a psychological advantage in their match.

Davey Boy Smith & Diana Hart

Eric Young and ODB have to be the only couple in professional wrestling history to have captured a championship together! This happened in 2013, when the couple became TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions for well over a year. This led to Young proposing to ODB and a televised wedding in April of that year.

Eric Young & ODB

Spike Dudley and Molly Holly's romantic storyline was actually a play (of sorts) on Romeo and Juliet. The two began dating despite the disapproval of their respective families - Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley and Hardcore and Crash Holly. In 2001, Spike stood up for his Molly when she was taunted by Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Spike Dudley & Molly Holly

In 2010, Dolph Ziggler was drafted to SmackDown and immediately caught the attention of General Manager Vickie Guerrero. Once they became a couple, she increasingly gave Dolph more and more power and helped him briefly win the World Championship. Eventually, Dolph left Vickie in favor of AJ Lee.

Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero

In 1995, Harvey Wippleman stopped managing the likes of Well Dunn and Adam Bomb and began guiding the career of Bertha Faye, his acknowledged girlfriend. Harvey even sang Bertha's entrance music and helped lead her to the WWF Women's Championship, defeating Alundra Blayze in the process.

Harvey Wippleman & Bertha Faye

In 1996, a few months after Goldust's WWF debut, he began being accompanied to the ring with his "director" Marlena, who was later acknowledged by the WWF as being his wife. The on screen relationship had some rocky moments, such as Marlena/Terri Runnels becoming Brian Pillman's slave for a month.

Goldust & Marlena

Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix had wrestled each other on Raw in 2008 before "accidentally" kissing and starting a relationship. The power couple became known as Glamarella and captured Intercontinental and Women's gold during the same match (from Kofi Kingston and Mickie James) at SummerSlam.

Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix

In 1996, Marc Mero arrived in the WWF and during his very first on-screen segment, he saved Sable from Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who just happened to his be on-screen (and real life) wife. The two were a power couple for about a year, before going their separate ways when Sable was becoming too popular.

Marc Mero & Sable

Black Machismo, the Jay Lethal-inspired of version of Randy "Macho Man" Savage, began courting So Cal Val as his Miss Elizabeth in 2008. He even proposed to So Cal Val, who accepted the offer. Unfortunately, Sonjay Dutt stopped their nupitals and convinced Val to turn on Machismo.

Black Machismo & So Cal Val

Interestingly enough, The Bella Twins once argued over which of them would date Daniel Bryan in 2010 before Bryan chose Gail Kim as his girlfriend. Later, Total Divas revealed that Daniel and Brie Bella were an off-screen couple and it was carried over to WWE storylines, including Brie defending Daniel in 2014.

Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella

Daniel Bryan's on screen romance with AJ Lee was actually more compelling than his real-life/storyline relationship with Brie Bella. The two went through a series of ups and downs, including Bryan blaming Lee for losing the World Title in 18 seconds, and a failed wedding ceremony on the 1000th edition of Raw.

Daniel Bryan & AJ Lee

Towards the end of 2012, it was revealed that Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan were secretly dating behind the back of her father, TNA official Hulk Hogan. The Hulkster found out, was furious, but eventually gave his blessing for them to marry, which ended up backfiring on him after Bully Ray turned heel.

Bully Ray & Brooke Hogan

In 2004, Chris Jericho pursued Trish Stratus, first as a joke but then developed real feelings for her; he was even willing to abandon his partner Christian for Trish. Little did Jericho know that at WrestleMania XX, Stratus would align with Christian, becoming one of the more controversial couples of that era.

Christian & Trish Stratus

FACT: Tyson Kidd and Natalya have been a couple (on and off screen, at various points) since 2001. Natalya managed Tyson upon his ECW debut in 2009 but after Total Divas exposed them as a couple it began to carry over into WWE storylines, where their relationship is still played up quite well presently.

Tyson Kidd & Natalya

When Billy and Chuck began teaming in late 2001, the inference began that they were lovers. However, unlike many wrestling storylines before it, it led to wrestling's first same sex marriage being set for the fall of 2002. Of course, it all ended up being a publicity stunt - but still progressive by wrestling standards.

Billy & Chuck

While Chris Canadido and Tammy Sytch weren't acknowledged as a couple during their SMW and WWF characters, in ECW and WCW it was acknowledged that they were more than manager and client. As a result, they became one of the better husband and wife acts in wrestling over time.

Chris Candido & Tammy Sytch

One of the more bizarre yet touching wrestling storylines to come from The Attitude Era was the 400-plus pound Mark Henry hooking up with the octogenerian Mae Young. Soon, Young somehow became pregnant and even more shockingly, she ended up giving birth to a hand (?) backstage on Raw.

Mark Henry & Mae Young

While Kurt Angle and Karen Angle managed to have some success as an on screen couple, it's paled in comparison to the act by Jeff Jarrett and Karen (now Jarrett, as the relationship also happened in real life). They've used their controversial relationship to become hated heels, both in TNA and in Mexico.

Jeff & Karen Jarrett

While Maria Kanellis was known primarily as a ditzy backstage interviewer in her WWE days, she broke out of that shell as the valet to her on and off screen boyfriend (now husband) Mike Bennett. In fact, their scheming ways as part of The Kingdom have made one of the best acts going today in Ring of Honor.

Mike Bennett & Maria Kanellis

Although Beulah was introduced to ECW fans in 1995 as the fat girl from camp that Dreamer ignored, they eventually found their way to each other in storylines when Beulah dumped Raven. After that, she was in Dreamer's corner for many of his biggest matches (and the two are also married off screen as well).

Edge & Vickie Guerrero

Booker T owes a lot of success late in his career to his wife Sharmell. In 2005, she helped him win the U.S. Title, followed by the King of the Ring and eventually the World Title. As King Booker and Queen Sharmell, they ruled SmackDown with an iron fist and became one of the best husband and wife teams in wrestling.

King Booker & Queen Sharmell

Edge reinforced his reputation as "The Ultimate Opportunist" by starting a relationship with SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero in 2007 to advance his career. The two had a controversial wedding (of course) and controlled the World Title through their La Familia faction before the couple imploded.

Tommy Dreamer & Beulah

Lita began managing Matt and Jeff Hardy in 2000, and it wasn't long before a storyline developed with Matt Hardy and Lita falling in love (which also happened off screen). While both versions of the relationship ended in 2004, it was a couple that many fans got behind because they had great chemistry.

Matt Hardy & Lita

Early in his wrestling career, Jimmy Garvin had a valet named Precious, it was the second Precious (Patti Williams) who followed Garvin into the AWA, NWA and WCW as both his wife and manager. Precious also managed Garvin and Michael Hayes when they were The Fabulous Freebirds.

Jimmy Garvin & Precious

What began as a rivalry between Eddie Guerrero and Chyna blossomed into a relationship in 2000 when Chyna turned against Chris Jericho and helped Eddie win the WWF European Title. Guerrero and his "mamacita" Chyna even faced each other for the Intercontinental Title while still an on screen couple!

Eddie Guerrero & Chyna

Although Kimberly began appearing as Diamond Dallas Page's manager in 1994 as "The Diamond Doll", it wasn't until 1997 that they were acknowledged on camera as being husband and wife. The two kept WCW storylines interesting, with Kimberly dumping DDP on two different occasions over the years.

Diamond Dallas Page & Kimberly

While Matt Hardy and Lita had a fan favorite storyline as lovers, Edge and Lita became an on screen couple after word leaked in 2004 that they had hooked up offscreen, unbeknownst to Lita's then boyfriend Matt Hardy. The controversy electrified WWE storylines, with Lita leading Edge to his first WWE Championship.

Edge & Lita

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon began as a storyline in late 1999, with HHH drugging Stephanie to get her to marry him in a Las Vegas drive-through wedding chapel. Instead of enulling the marriage, McMahon turned on her father Vince McMahon and stay married to The Game. Although they'e broken up and got back together numerous times on screen, their current role leading The Authority is one of the best parts about wrestling today.

Triple H & Stephanie McMahon

Randy "Macho Man" Savage & Elizabeth

XPac & Tori

Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Miss Elizabeth were wrestling's equivalent of a royal couple. When Savage first came to the WWF in 1985, he chose Elizabeth to manage him. By 1988, they were acknowledged as a couple and in 1991, had an in-ring wedding that (shockingly) went off without a hitch - unless you count the reception, I guess. While they separated and reconciled several times, it was clear that Savage and Elizabeth were meant to be together, which is what made their combined storylines so exciting and different than anything else before it.