The 10 best on-screen couples in wrestling history

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and love is still in the air. To be clear, love should always be in the air, regardless of the day, because it’s a powerful emotion.

Especially in wrestling.

We’ve seen many couples come and go in wrestling over the years—some of them in legit, honest-to-God relationships, others not so much. Regardless of what circumstances brought them together, the best pairings get us to invest in their relationships’ ups and downs.

What are the best ones, you ask? You’re in luck because that’s exactly what this list is for. These are on-screen romances only, so while those of you who worship at the feet of Charlotte and Andrade may shed a tear or two at them not being here, understand they just don’t qualify. These are the couples with storylines devoted to or built around their relationships, for better or worse.

Without further rambling, let the list begin.

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1. Miss Elizabeth and the ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage

The most obvious number one of all-time. You know why it’s here. I know why it’s here. Let’s not waste anymore ink on it.

2. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H

I didn’t want to put them this high on the list, but it’s hard to put them any lower. Stephanie and the man formerly know as Hunter Hearst Helmsley are a part of possibly WWE’s longest ongoing storyline. What started as a pretty damn gross story in 1999 (par for the course) is now a 20-year on-screen marriage. We’ve seen them as heels who rule with iron fists, faces who give the people what they want, and everything in-between.

Some couples are all about showing the world how much they love each other. These two pride themselves on showing how much they love having power over everyone else.

3. Chyna and Eddie Guerrero

This relationship gave us ‘Latino Heat’ and we can all be thankful for that. On paper, Eddie and Chyna look like a match made in purgatory; not quite heaven, not quite hell, and pleases nobody. But paper isn’t everything. These two made an incredible couple and added a few layers to their established characters. We saw the side of Chyna who liked to be wined and dined, while never losing her competitive edge. Eddie became a romantic heartthrob, putting him in a different light for wrestling fans and paving the way for the rest of his career in WWE.

Plus, Chyna and Eddied literally rolled into Backlash in a drop top with hydraulics because they were partying too hard at Eddie’s “prom.” Adorable.

4. Booker T and Sharmell

This is love at its most royal. Booker and Sharmell are more than lovers; they’re clearly best friends. They look like two people who laugh at each other’s jokes constantly and understand each other completely. No disrespect to their time in TNA, but their best work came as King and Queen of SmackDown.

Sharmell was integral to Booker T taking his King of the Ring win to the next level, allowing him to fully embrace a different side of his character. The idea of Booker T as the pompous, arrogant ruler doesn’t work without Sharmell by his side. To quote the man himself, “She enhanced King Booker to the point to where people loved him, or they really hated him. And a lot of that was due to her.”

Behind every good king is a great queen. Booker and Sharmell took that adage a step further saying a good king and a great queen rule together.

5. Kimberly and Diamond Dallas Page

At the height of his his feud with Randy Savage, DDP had his real-life and on-screen wife by his side, Kimberly Page. They served as an interesting contrast to Savage and Elizabeth. Kim was more assertive than Elizabeth, complementing DDP’s controlled rage when matched against Savage’s uncontrollable madness. Like every person couple on this list, they made one another look good and were always better together than they were on their own.

6. Edge and Lita

Those friends of yours who seemingly can’t help but show the world how hard it is to keep their hands off each other? That’s Edge and Lita. WWE used real life to its advantage when these two came together, fundamentally altering their characters and foreshadowing things to come. They became villains who reveled in lying, cheating, and daring anyone to do anything about it. As an on-screen couple, they were two broken people who found each other, meaning it was never going to last. Plus, they had a damn sex celebration in front of a live audience.

But a thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts and the brightest comets aren’t meant to burn bright forever. Of course you’re expecting the video of the sex celebration to be here. But come on, why not defy those expectations?

7. Brandi and Cody Rhodes

These two are just sweet together. Wherever they’ve been post-WWE, they are a true team and seemingly need each other to make the thing go right. They make their personal lives a part of their on-screen personas. We know about their trials and tribulations. We know about their victories. And we know they have each other’s backs, full-stop. Whether as heels or faces, they bring the same energy to every arena they walk into.

Plus, when Cody does something stupid, like get massive neck tattoo, Brandi calls him out. We all did, but it means more coming from the Mrs. If their relationship can withstand that thing, the sky is the limit for these two.

8. Maryse and Miz

In another example of WWE letting art imitate life, Maryse and Miz were, and still are from time-to-time, WWE’s “it couple.” While other couples on the list display their love and affection for each other openly and can be sweet about it, these two operate on a different wavelength. They both have an air of confidence where they don’t need to be on top of each other. “Of course we’d be into each other. duh” is something they convey to the audience through their personas and body language. In actuality, they may be the healthiest couple on this list. They complement each other without “completing” each other. They are completely themselves and never fear losing their individuality when part of the whole.

But at the same time, they’re annoying AF.

9. Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty

WWE.com

Whew, these two right here. Beulah and Tommy are a story seemingly made just for the ‘90s. Girl meets boy, girl loves boy, boy ignores girl, boy breaks girl’s heart. girl grows up, boy grows up, girl poses for Penthouse, boy becomes wrestler, their paths cross in ECW.

The realest example of “love conquering all,” Tommy and Beulah put each other through a lot of hell, and went through just as much hell for each other. She teamed with his mortal enemy, he put her through more piledrivers than any person should be allowed, and yet somehow, it was always obvious these two belonged together. Dreamer calls himself “the innovator of violence” and McGillicutty proved time and time again there’s no amount of punishment she can’t withstand. Is it the healthiest relationship? Hell no. But it’s two people seemingly made for each other. The couple that none of us would truly understand how they make it work, but we respect them because it does.

10. Torrie Wilson and Billy Kidman

Opposites attract. Hard to imagine a member of a group associating themselves with being filthy could get into a relationship with Torrie Wilson, but here we are. They’re on the list purely because they’re a cute couple and on first blush, don’t seem to have much in common. But love makes strange bedfellows and it's often found in places we least expect.

Torrie managed Kidman towards the end of WCW, and drew a newfound aggression out of him. Of course, since it was late ‘90s wrestling, their relationship was merely a conduit for the jealousy-ridden Kidman to find himself in feuds thanks to his own jealousy and paranoia. While neither could get out of their own respective ways, they clearly cared about each other.

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What say you, Cagesiders? Who should be on the list? Who shouldn’t be on the list? Is there another indisputable number one? You know where to sound off.