Don't take your love away from me. Don't you leave my heart in misery; if you go then I'll be blue, cause breaking up is hard to do. – Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Welcome to the he said, she said part of wrestling programming. The one where honesty and reality tend to skew the lines of this business. While love is a common theme of this business, it does not always mean a happy ending. Love breeds contempt, especially when a huge superstar gets hurt in the process.
There have been rocky roads traveled (Kevin Sullivan-Nancy Benoit), sad stories written (Debra McMichael and Steve Austin) and of course the ones we don’t dare talk about these days (John Cena and Micki James).
It wouldn’t be professional wrestling unless there was a bit soap opera, a bit of drama and a whole lot of sadness. And to top it all off, Vince McMahon has used this to make money and prey upon his employees’ feelings.
We list them out:
#1 Lita and Matt Hardy
When Lita Essa Rios burst onto the scene in WWE, it did not take long for the creative team to discover how great a talent she is on her own. In the meantime, she struck up a relationship with Matt and Jeff Hardy, with Matt and Lita having an on and off air romance.
While everything seemed cozy between the two, Lita struck up a romantic relationship with Edge, which was played out once again on television with some of the most salacious scenes on WWE programming. Hardy’s hatred and hurt played out for everyone to see, which was great for ratings and bad for him in terms that he did not get the girl back.
#2 Triple H and Chyna
It’s the shot to the heart for the 9th Wonder of the World, Chyna. The amazon female wrestler and a member of D-X was a key figure in the Attitude Era and the major love interest of Triple H. While Chyna was beating men, winning the Intercontinental Title, their relationship grew – until there was Stephanie McMahon. The only problem was Vince McMahon had one rule – don’t date his daughter.
To make a long story short, their love affair played out on Raw, drawing huge ratings as the bratty couple tried to take over daddy’s company. In the end, Chyna was left out in the cold, and this may have been part of the reason she dealt with demons long after she left the company.
#3 Karen Angle and Kurt Angle
It’s certainly one of the better angles in TNA history. We all know the relationship of the Angles, who at one time were the biggest power couple the company ever had. Kurt Angle’s friendship with Jeff Jarrett took a wrong direction, leading Karen and Jarrett down a road of romance.
The culmination of this love triangle was an on-air feud between the two which led to some of the best “real life” brawling Impact Wrestling and its fans ever witnessed. Angle and Angle are now divorced and Karen married Jarrett and are still married to this day.
#4 Randy Savage and Elizabeth
One of the greatest couples in WWF/E history were not the happy-go-lucky couple all the time. There were plenty of ups and downs off screen, which helped make the situation between the two on-screen even more enticing. While Elizabeth was the queen of the managers in the Hulkamania era, she was also Savage’s greatest liability.
She became a distraction in and out of the ring. Add to the fact that Savage was a controlling individual, as outlined in Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair’s autobiographies, and there were a lot of issues off screen. A reconciliation did not work and when the two were part of WCW, it still seemed a bit cold.
#5 Sable and Marc Mero
Having met both of them out of wrestling circles, I can tell you that you won’t meet two nicer people. On screen, though, there were issues. Mero was a mid-card wrestler who did not get the huge push. Sable was the sexy manager/valet who followed Elizabeth in the company.
Mero’s star did not shine as bright as his real life wife, who also became the first WWE Diva to pose in Playboy. The result was only part of their rocky relationship and led to a divorce. Sable – or Rena Mero – is now married to Brock Lesnar. It would be nice to see her as part of a wrestling angle.
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