6 of the most controversial WWE love triangles
In the fascinating and sometimes frustrating realm of WWE, we've seen plenty of hearts broken and marriages ruined in often controversial ways. The "love triangle" has become a mainstay in some professional wrestling storylines. When done right, these could do wonders for all involved. When done wrong, the involved parties have a lifetime of regrets.
In this listicle, we dive deeply into 7 of the most controversial love triangles in WWE history.
#6 The Lita/Edge/Matt Hardy saga of 2005 shook WWE to its very core
Lita Reveals She Almost Quit WWE During Storyline With Edge And Matt Hardy stillrealtous.com/lita-reveals-s… https://t.co/CMLHux1RbC
Starting the list with one of the most widely publicized love scandals. The Lita/Edge/Matt Hardy saga of 2005 was the perfect example of WWE using real-life heated elements to tell a compelling on-screen story. The program had everything from authentic, unscripted shoots on web shows to worked shoots to vicious brawls.
Hardy and Lita had been in a real-life relationship since 1999. Over the course of The Hardy Boyz' historic rivalry with Edge and Christian, the couple grew a close friendship with The Rated-R Superstar. However, the camaraderie reached an ugly climax in 2004-05.
The King of Delete suffered a knee injury in 2004 that kept him off the road for a long time. Lita developed an intimate bond with Edge during this time, and the two started a romantic relationship behind the screen. The Tag Team Specialist discovered the affair and went public about the scandal on social media, a move that resulted in his firing due to "unprofessional conduct."
The fans rallied behind Hardy, whose popularity surged, and heckled Edge and Lita with distasteful chants. Ultimately, WWE played the real-life drama off with a scripted on-screen storyline. The 48-year-old AEW star was re-signed, and he went straight after his former friend and romantic partner. By then, the couple had already broken up.
Things ended poorly for one-half of Team Xtreme. The Rated-R Superstar got the better of his rival, including a 'Loser Leaves RAW' forcing Hardy to leave the red brand.
Thankfully, the three parties reconciled, and the whole fiasco seems to be water under the bridge. This one was an underwhelming feud for Hardy because it couldn't serve as his launching pad to Superstardom. Edge, on the other hand, became a headliner for WWE.
#5 Terri Runnels/ Goldust/ Val Venis
Remember Marlena? Goldust's cigar-smoking golden valet, his wife at the time, helped the Bizzare One succeed during the Attitude Era. Portrayed by Terri Runnels, the character was best known for her attractiveness and managerial skills. However, Dustin Rhodes split with Marlena in November 1997 and enlisted Luna Vachon as his new manager.
However, things took a quick downturn for the real-life couple. Terri returned the following year as the romantic interest of Val Venis. Dustin Rhodes, who had abandoned his Goldust character, began feuding with Venis. Amid all the trouble, Runnels caused the on-screen drama after she announced that she was pregnant.
Venis denied any involvement because he had gotten a vasectomy. He dumped Dustin Rhodes' former wife. A desperate Terri Runnels now turned to Goldust as a possible father and tried to return in his good graces. However, Dusty Rhodes' son had been separated from the female manager for a long time, so he couldn't have been the father.
Eventually, Runnels' pregnancy was a ruse that was revealed soon after her atrocious miscarriage angle. The Goldust/Terri Runnels/Val Venis storyline was horrendous because it made zero sense and was absolutely unnecessary. The woman behind the Marlena character also regrets the entire storyline.
#4 The Lana/Bobby Lashley/Rusev storyline in 2019-20
The real-life couple Rusev and Lana have always been mainstays in controversy. From their anti-US rhetoric in The Bulgarian Brute's rookie year to a romantic turmoil in 2015 that involved Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae, the two former WWE stars were always in the spotlight.
However, they gave controversy a new meaning in the latter half of 2019. Lana returned to television on September 2019. The Ravishing Russian interrupted an ongoing match-up featuring her husband and kissed Bobby Lashley on stage. The conundrum was that her marriage with the former US Champion was public knowledge.
A series of non-PG segments followed, which were a throwback to WWE's controversial Attitude Era. Lashley and Lana were also seen in a bedroom together. The new on-screen couple almost tied the knot while The Ravishing Russian filed for divorce from Rusev.
WWE fans heckled the controversial narrative with Lana reporting death threats. They couldn't distinguish reality TV programming from real life, but that didn't prevent interest in the storyline from dwindling.
It was always a preposterous move to incorporate such non-PG elements in the child-friendly PG Era. Furthermore, the fact that Rusev never got his revenge was bewildering. WWE quietly dropped the angle without a definitive payoff.
#3 AJ Lee/Daniel Bryan/CM Punk in 2012
This was one of the best pieces of storytelling in the early 2010s that had a different touch from the conventional face vs. heel dynamics that operated in WWE storylines. Here, the focus is on three people, but Kane was also involved randomly in the mix for a while.
It all started when a good-luck kiss from AJ Lee to her then-boyfriend, Daniel Bryan, cost him the World Heavyweight Championship in eighteen seconds. An egotistical and frustrated D-Bry dumped Lee. Soon, Bryan became the Number One Contender to CM Punk's WWE Championship, the beginning of one of the most confusing yet entertaining love triangles in recent memory.
A central narrative of this love triangle was Lee's apparent mental instability, which came to the fore upon breaking ties with The Beard. The former Divas Champion pursued Punk relentlessly, wishing him "good luck" before matches and wearing his merchandise to capture his attention. This drew some jealousy from D-Bry, whose feelings began to rekindle.
Eventually, Lee drew more confusion when she played tug-of-war between two grown men much older than her. She slapped and kissed both of them on several instances. However, at Money in the Bank 2012, Lee proved her final true allegiances lay with Punk when she handed him weapons and allowed him to pin D-Bry as the Special Guest Referee.
The bewildering relationship dynamics at play made for some incredible and hilarious storytelling that put Lee on the map. Punk later became her real-life husband, and the seeds may have been sown here.
#2 Miss Elizabeth/ Randy Savage/ Hulk Hogan
Just watched VICE the dark side of Macho Man 5 out of 10 ,really good but relied too much on a couple of pictures someone had and believed stories that were half truths and some that were just wrong,what a shame they didn’t check all sources HH
The Mega-Powers were the biggest thing in professional wrestling in the late 1980s, and by extension of her association with Randy Savage, so was Miss Elizabeth. However, real-life tensions grew and translated into a significant on-screen feud. Later, this friction grew into a life-long war.
As Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage ran roughshod through the entire roster while protecting Elizabeth, the latter grew envious of the former, with many suggesting that Savage was a "jealous husband." This occurred simultaneously with WWE's intention to split the tandem once The Hulkster accidentally eliminated The Macho Man from the Royal Rumble match, setting up a bout at WrestleMania 5.
However, tensions only escalated with time. In 1992, Liz filed for divorce from Savage, who was convinced that Hulk and Linda Hogan had turned the couple against each other. The infamous 1993 Miami incident in which the late Hall of Famer was rumored to give his former on-screen partner a black eye was well-documented and saw the rivalry spiral out of control.
Eventually, they reconciled a month before Savage's passing in 2011. However, their real-life rivalry behind the screens is a testament to how personal professional wrestling can get when the circumstances allow for such incidences.
#1 Trish Stratus/ Vince McMahon/ Linda McMahon
The Attitude Era saw Vince McMahon, in the news for all the wrong reasons, engage in a number of egregious acts that wouldn't be tolerated today. The bulk of these maneuvers can be seen in his romantic relationship with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus while his wife was institutionalized (kayfabe).
From passionate kisses to an angry daughter to a woman stripping and barking on live television, McMahon used Stratus and made a fool out of her. His actions caused her immeasurable embarrassment on television, but fortunately, the Hall of Famer recovered to become a trailblazer for today's crop of WWE Superstars.
Linda McMahon might not have been pleased with the storyline. However, she got a sweet measure of revenge when she low-blowed her husband at WrestleMania X-Seven, allowing Shane to hit the Coast-to-Coast and win the match. Stratus also slapped Vince in the same match.
Fortunately, the angle worked out well for the women involved, but it was pretty unnecessary and distasteful to begin in the first place.