5 WWE romance storylines that ended abruptly

Alexa Bliss; Emma and Santino Marella
Alexa Bliss; Emma and Santino Marella

Romance storylines have been a key part of WWE television ever since the days of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth.

The majority of WWE’s weekly storylines revolve around titles and match outcomes, but the sports entertainment side of Vince McMahon’s product is also just as appealing to many WWE viewers.

While some on-screen relationships have gone on to last for several years, it is not uncommon for WWE’s higher-ups to suddenly turn sour on a storyline and go in a completely different direction with the same Superstars.

In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE romance storylines that came to an abrupt end.


#5 Lana and Liv Morgan (WWE RAW)

youtube-cover

The December 30, 2019 episode of WWE RAW ended with the wedding of Bobby Lashley and Lana.

In a shocking twist, Liv Morgan sabotaged the ceremony by revealing that she used to be in a relationship with Lana. Rusev then jumped out of a cake and began to attack Lashley – the man who stole his wife.

The storyline came to an end when Lashley and Lana joined forces to defeat Rusev and Morgan on the January 20, 2020 episode of WWE RAW.

However, the revelation about Lana and Morgan’s past relationship was hardly mentioned on WWE television again.

Speaking in an interview with Chris Van Vliet in September 2020, Miro (fka Rusev in WWE) said there was never supposed to be any follow-up to Morgan’s comment during the wedding ceremony.

According to Miro, the dramatic revelation only happened because WWE RAW’s Executive Director at the time, Paul Heyman, wanted to create a memorable moment.

“No plan – one-time pop. A lot of things were made for one-time pops. People thought it was the worst thing and it meant all these things. No, it was a one-time thing that was going to get people talking. At that time, the showrunner [Paul Heyman] was about getting people talking and controversy.” [H/T Comic Book]

Miro said the storyline succeeded in creating controversy, but he questioned why WWE’s decision-makers wanted to book a moment that ultimately did not lead to anything.

#4 Emma and Santino Marella (WWE RAW and WWE SmackDown)

youtube-cover

In January 2014, Emma made her WWE main-roster debut when she danced around amongst the crowd during an episode of RAW.

The Aussie Superstar combined her work on RAW and SmackDown by continuing to appear in NXT, where she produced an impressive performance against Paige in February 2014 at NXT Arrival.

Emma soon left NXT and became a permanent member of WWE’s main roster when she aligned with one of WWE’s top comedy characters, Santino Marella.

It initially looked as though Emma and Marella were only going to be a comedy duo. However, the storyline took a twist when Marella made it clear in various backstage segments that he had feelings for the up-and-coming WWE Superstar.

Unfortunately, Marella had to announce his retirement in July 2014 due to a neck injury, meaning his storyline with Emma abruptly ended.

As a result, Emma was left without a meaningful storyline on RAW and SmackDown in the summer of 2014, and she was mostly booked in matches on less important WWE shows, including Main Event and Superstars, for the rest of the year.

#3 Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville (WWE SmackDown)

youtube-cover

Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville have both mentioned in out-of-character media interviews that they would be interested in taking part in a relationship storyline with each other on WWE television.

After the storyline was teased earlier in 2019, WWE appeared to finally be heading in that direction when Deville stroked Rose’s hair and looked into her eyes on the June 25 episode of WWE SmackDown.

Deville, who came out as gay in 2015, continued to join forces with Rose as tag team partners in the months that followed, but an on-screen romance between the real-life best friends never came to fruition.

Speaking to Uproxx in March 2020, Deville gave her thoughts on the WWE RAW storyline between Lana and Liv Morgan.

“So obviously, Mandy and I were upset momentarily. It was something that we really pushed for, but never say never and I think that it’s definitely still a possibility that it will or could happen in the future. I think representation in different storylines and stuff like that is awesome. I think it’s good. There’s a lot of different ways you can do it. There’s not just one way to do it and it’s not just Mandy and I that have to do it.”

Deville also confirmed that she had meetings with LGBT organization GLAAD about writing and directing a relationship storyline involving her and Rose.

#2 Lilian Garcia and Viscera (WWE RAW)

Lilian Garcia proposed to Viscera at WWE Vengeance 2005
Lilian Garcia proposed to Viscera at WWE Vengeance 2005

Nowadays, Lilian Garcia conducts in-depth interviews with WWE Superstars and other inspirational people on her Chasing Glory podcast.

During her time as a WWE ring announcer and backstage interviewer, Garcia also made occasional appearances in some outlandish WWE storylines.

One of those storylines took place in June 2005 when she got involved in a romance angle with WWE Superstar Viscera.

Garcia said in a Reddit AMA in 2017 that WWE did not originally plan the storyline, but they went ahead with it after her one-off segment with Viscera on RAW was received well by fans.

“It was never supposed to be a thing. I loved working with him. Such a big teddy bear, a loveable guy. He always thanked me for getting him a part in that storyline, and I always laughed and thanked him. I miss him. May he rest in peace. What a beautiful soul.”

The storyline culminated in Las Vegas at the WWE Vengeance 2005 pay-per-view, where Garcia proposed to the 487-pounder.

Just as Viscera was set to answer the proposal, The Godfather made his return to WWE television alongside five female acquaintances.

The Godfather encouraged Viscera to choose wisely between Garcia and a life of women and partying, and Viscera ultimately decided to reject the marriage proposal.

#1 Enzo Amore and Nia Jax/Enzo Amore and Alexa Bliss (WWE RAW)

youtube-cover

Enzo Amore was one of the most featured Superstars on WWE television before he was fired by the company in January 2018.

Not only did Big Cass’ former tag team partner hold the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at the time, but he had also started a relationship storyline with Nia Jax.

Amore revealed on the Store Horsemen podcast in June 2018 that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wanted him to use Jax as his bodyguard, setting up another romance involving him and Jax’s best friend, Alexa Bliss.

“I'm using Nia as a heater to keep my title and I get caught hooking up with her best friend backstage. Bang, that's how you do it. Nia didn't know that. Alexa didn't know it. I knew that because Vince told me. I was just toying along with her. I wanted her to win me matches, I wanted her to be like Chyna." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

The Bliss vs. Jax match still happened at WWE WrestleMania 34, but the focus of the storyline revolved around Bliss bullying Jax instead of the two women fighting over Amore.

2 more stars coming from AEW to WWE? More details right here