50
Lita & Kane
Wrestling has a rich history of romantic couples. But to clarify the criteria up front: This is 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. 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:
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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.
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Were they involved in memorable storylines?
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Regardless of whether stayed together a few weeks or a few years, was there genuine emotion invoked by their interaction?
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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!
49
Cheryl & Jake Roberts
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, being WCW, Torrie quickly turned on him). In WWE, the two became a couple again on SmackDown for several months until Torrie left Billy in favor of Tajiri.
48
Linda & Vince McMahon
46
Tori & X-Pac
45
Maria Kanellis & Santino Marella
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.
44
Peggy Sue & The Honky Tonk Man
43
Robin Green & Rick Steiner
42
Lori Fullington & Raven
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.
41
Sensational Sherri &
Shawn Michaels
40
Stephanie McMahon & Test
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. However, the wedding ended in a schmozz on account of Triple H marrying Stephanie earlier that week.
39
AJ Lee & Dolph Ziggler
When Santino Marella first arrived in WWE in 2007, he quickly found himself with Maria Kanellis 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.
38
AJ Lee & Daniel Bryan
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 also sided with Raven.
37
AJ Lee & CM Punk
During The Honky Tonk Man's legendary Intercontinental Champion reign in 1988, he began bringing his girlfriend Peggy Sue to ringside. Peggy Sue was actually Sensational Sherri under a wig and poodle skirt.... but when manager Jimmy Hart was banned from HTM's matches, he dressed up as Peggy Sue!
36
Daffney & David Flair
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.
35
Diana Hart & Davey Boy Smith
34
Torrie Wilson & Billy Kidman
The off-screen romance (and marriage) between Jimmy Uso and Naomi first surfaced on Total Divas, which spilled over into an on-screen story in 2015. When The Miz began bothering Naomi, Jey and Jimmy came to her aid, making her their manager for a while and pairing the couple in the Mixed Match Challenge.
33
ODB & Eric Young
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.
32
Bertha Faye & Harvey Wippleman
31
Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero
A brief relationship storyline 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.
30
Billy & Chuck
Davey Boy Smith first involved his wife Diana Hart in wrestling at SummerSlam '92. 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.
29
Naomi & Jimmy Uso
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.
28
Trish Stratus and Christian
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 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.
27
So Cal Val & Black Machismo
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, The Show Off left Vickie in favor of AJ Lee.
26
Molly Holly & Spike Dudley
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.
25
Sable & Marc Mero
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.
24
Marlena & Goldust
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.
23
Karen & Kurt Angle
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.
22
Brooke Hogan & Bully Ray
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 somehow convinced Val to turn on Machismo.
21
Tammy Sytch & Chris Candido
20
Beth Phoenix & Santino Marella
19
Natalya & Tyson Kidd
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.
18
Maria & Mike Kanellis
17
Karen & Jeff Jarrett
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, such as when Kidd teamed with Cesaro, with Natalya in their corner.
16
Mark Henry & Mae Young
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.
15
Chyna & Eddie Guerrero
While Chris Candido 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.
14
Nikki Bella & John Cena
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.
13
Brie Bella & Daniel Bryan
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 used their controversial relationship to be hated heels throughout TNA, AAA and GFW.
12
Rebecca & Matt Hardy
While Maria Kanellis was known primarily as a ditzy backstage interviewer during her first WWE run, she broke out of that shell as the valet to boyfriend (now husband) Mike Bennett. In fact, their scheming ways in Ring of Honor led to steady work both in Impact Wrestling and back to the WWE, as of 2017.
11
Lana & Rusev
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).
10
Queen Sharmell & King Booker
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/wife teams in wrestling.
9
Vickie Guerrero & Edge
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.
8
Beulah & Tommy Dreamer
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.
7
Lita & Matt Hardy
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.
6
Precious & Jimmy Garvin
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!
5
Lita & Edge
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.
4
Kimberly & Diamond Dallas Page
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 resulted in Lita leading Edge to his first WWE Championship the next year.
3
Maryse & The Miz
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 Vince McMahon and stay married, a relationship still played on screen to this very day.
2
Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
1
Elizabeth & Randy Macho Man Savage
47
Trish Stratus & Vince McMahon

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 -