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Bobby Lashley and Lana produced one of the biggest WWE shocks of 2019 when they shared a kiss in the closing segment on the September 30 episode of RAW.
Both Superstars had been absent from WWE programming for several months, with Lashley requiring elbow surgery in August and Lana taking a break with her real-life husband, Rusev, midway through 2019, but nobody would ever have predicted that WWE’s decision-makers would turn them into a storyline couple.
Although the majority of modern-day WWE rivalries are based on in-ring action and match outcomes, there have been plenty of stories throughout the years that have revolved around kayfabe romances between two or more Superstars.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five unexpected romances from WWE history to find out what the Superstars really thought about being involved in those storylines.
#5 Jeff Hardy and Trish Stratus
Long-term WWE viewers may remember that the company planted the seeds for a possible on-screen romance between Jeff Hardy and Trish Stratus on two occasions in the early 2000s.
In 2001, Stratus kissed Jeff after he lost a match against Big Show on RAW, but the storyline was quickly dropped and “The Charismatic Enigma” soon found himself in a rivalry with his brother, Matt.
Two years later, it looked as though WWE was going to revive the romance when Stratus and Jeff were involved in a segment with Victoria and Stevie Richards on RAW. However, Jeff was fired shortly after, bringing an early end to the storyline.
Speaking on a Vengeance 2001 episode of the Something To Wrestle With podcast, Bruce Prichard revealed that the original storyline did not go anywhere because Jeff did not feel comfortable taking part in a love interest angle with Stratus, leading Vince McMahon to drop the story.
“Jeff was uncomfortable with it. Trish was always game, man. She always had ideas and she would listen and she would try pretty much anything. There wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry there and Vince looked at it and was like, ‘Not feeling it, next, move on.’ Nobody was going to buy that because there wasn’t any chemistry. He [Vince] didn’t feel it.”
#4 Rusev & Summer Rae and Dolph Ziggler & Lana
Rusev, Lana, Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae were involved in a lengthy romance storyline on RAW and SmackDown in 2015.
The story began when Rusev ended his alliance with Lana after Payback in May, prompting her to slap him. In the weeks that followed, “The Bulgarian Brute” attempted to reconcile with “The Ravishing Russian”, but she had already moved on with new boyfriend Dolph Ziggler.
This led to Rusev finding a new partner of his own, Summer Rae, and the four Superstars went on to feature prominently in various matches and segments over the course of four months.
In October 2015, the storyline developed to such an extent that a possible marriage between Rusev and Rae had been teased, but WWE then suddenly dropped the story after news emerged that Rusev and Lana had become engaged in real life.
Speaking on Ring the Belle in 2019, Rae revealed that the storyline was “Vince McMahon’s baby” and she apologised to the writers when it ended, even though it was not her fault.
“I feel bad that there was never anything for them [the writers]. Like, for us, we’ll all be okay. It was amazing. It was Vince’s baby. I know it got worst storyline of like two-thousand-whatever, but it was Vince’s baby and no girls at that time were really getting any full stories. It was three months or so. It was crazy.”
#3 Zack Ryder and Eve Torres
Nowadays, WWE Superstars including Xavier Woods, Sheamus and Matt Hardy engage with fans around the world by regularly posting new videos on their YouTube channels.
Back in 2011, however, it was less common for the men and women of the WWE roster to share videos and stories about their personal lives on social media, so Zack Ryder took advantage of that by creating his "Z! True Long Island Story" YouTube series.
The popularity of the channel led to Ryder receiving more television time, as well as a run as United States Champion, while he was also involved in a romance storyline with Eve Torres.
Speaking on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast, Ryder explained that, looking back, he should have said something to WWE’s decision-makers about the Torres storyline, which ended up being less about him and more about Kane and John Cena.
“I don’t know exactly what happened. I know, like, creatively and storyline-wise I was involved in something with Kane and John Cena and Eve, but that’s where I should have - that’s the time when I should have knocked on Vince’s door and been like, ‘Hey, what are we doing here?’ And I just assumed, ‘Ah, it’s gonna get better for me. It’s gonna get better.’ But it never did.” [H/T Cageside Seats for the transcription]
#2 Enzo Amore, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss
Nia Jax defeated Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania 34 to win the RAW Women’s Championship for the first time in her career.
The storyline ended up being based around bullying and how some people unfairly judge Jax because of her size. However, it has since emerged that the story was actually supposed to revolve around Enzo Amore, who planned to use Jax as his bodyguard while also starting a relationship with her best friend, Bliss, at the same time.
Speaking on the Store Horseman podcast, Amore – who was fired by WWE in January 2018, shortly after his backstage segments with Jax began – seemed enthusiastic about the storyline and explained that Vince McMahon personally presented the idea to him.
“Nia didn't know that. Alexa didn't know it. I knew that because Vince told me. I was just toying along with her [Nia Jax]. I wanted her to win me matches, I wanted her to be like Chyna.”
While Bliss has never commented on the storyline-that-never-was, Jax told Pop Culture in 2018 that she enjoyed working with Amore when their on-screen interactions began.
"The cool thing about it is I really enjoyed working with him. He has a different kind of personality, but Enzo is who he is, and I enjoyed it and I fed off of it."
#1 Bobby Lashley and Lana
Last but not least, as mentioned in the introduction to this article, Bobby Lashley and Lana now appear to be a storyline couple following their kiss on the September 30 episode of RAW.
It is early days in the on-screen relationship, of course, but “The Ravishing Russian” has already given her thoughts on how much she is enjoying the storyline.
Speaking in a vlog on her YouTube channel, Rusev’s real-life wife said she had a “really good time” on her return to RAW and thanked her fans for always being there for her.
“I’m just extremely, extremely, extremely thankful. Not only that, but I had a really good time. I mean… [laughs]… you know what I mean…
“...I love wrestling so much. I can’t even start to tell you how much I love wrestling. I love this business – words can’t express. I am so, so, so thankful. I’m thankful for all of you.”
Lashley, meanwhile, has not yet given his out-of-character reaction to the storyline, but scenes from Lana’s behind-the-scenes vlog showed him smiling backstage moments before he walked through the curtain ahead of his RAW return.
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