6 female wrestlers who followed their partners to WWE
Over the past few years, some male wrestlers have followed their ladies to WWE. Karrion Kross, for example, joined the Stamford-based company in February 2020, four months after his then-girlfriend, Scarlett Bordeaux, signed a developmental contract.
Also, Nikki A.S.H's husband, Killian Dain, joined WWE about two months after his wife reported to the Performance Center.
Likewise, a few female superstars followed their significant others to WWE. One of these ladies recently returned to the ring after more than a year of absence from joining her husband on Monday Night RAW.
Here are six female wrestlers who followed their partners to WWE.
#6. Former Women's Champion Stacy Carter
In the early 1990s, Jerry Lawler started dating Stacy Carter (aka The Kat). Although Lawler was then a well-known name in the wrestling business, his girlfriend was not.
The Hall of Famer was the one who got Carter into the industry. In the mid-1990s, she started working for Lawler's United States Wrestling Association. Lawler then brought his girlfriend to WWE, where he worked as a part-time wrestler and commentator.
In his autobiography "It's Good to be The King-- Sometimes," Lawler revealed how he got his partner into the Stamford-based company.
"I never even thought about involving Stacy in the WWE until all the Divas stuff started. In 1996-1997 the girl thing was busting open and started to get really hot. We were in a little rut in Memphis. It was very difficult to get any female talent down there but I thought it would be good to have a pretty face on the show in some capacity. I didn't have to look too far from home to find one of those," he wrote in his book.
Carter officially joined WWE in 1999. She spent about two years in the company, during which she won the Women's Championship once. However, WWE released her from her contract in February 2001, about a year after she married Lawler. Two years later, the couple divorced.
#5. Former WWE Hardcore Champion Terri Runnels
Dustin Rhodes had a short stint in WWE between 1990 and 1991 before leaving to join WCW. While working for Ted Turner's promotion, he met Terri Runnels. The two dated for a while before tying the knot in 1993.
About two years later, Rhodes returned to WWE, adopting the Goldust gimmick. Five months later, his wife followed him to the Stamford-based company. The 55-year-old debuted as Goldust's manager, Marlena, at the 1996 Royal Rumble.
In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Runnels stated that she was the one who created the Marlena character.
"WWF never pitched Marlena, I created Marlena. So Dustin's on the road, I have a year and a half-year-old daughter. I'm laying in our tanning bed, and I'm thinking, "What is it that WWF doesn't have?" They had Sherri, Tammy Stych, and I'm thinking they're missing real glamour. [...] I'm like, oh my God, Dustin is supposed to be this androgynous actor. So I started thinking about Hollywood, androgyny, glamor, old school. So Marlena Dietrich was one of the first women to ever wear pants. [...] I come up with this whole concept. Everything that I think Marlena should be," she said.
In 1999, Rhodes and Runnels divorced. Meanwhile, the former Hardcore Champion continued working for WWE until 2004, when the company released her from her contract.
#4. Miss Elizabeth
While working at International Championship Wrestling, Miss Elizabeth first met Randy Savage. The two tied the knot in 1984. About a year later, Savage signed with WWE.
Nearly a month after joining the Stamford-based company, Savage introduced Elizabeth as his manager. The Kentucky native spent about seven years in WWE alongside her husband, during which the two had an on-screen wedding at SummerSlam 1991. However, it ended in chaos after The Undertaker and Jake Roberts attacked Savage.
In 1992, however, Savage and Elizabeth divorced in real life. After they split, The Macho Man continued working for the company. Meanwhile, his ex-wife left and retired for a few years before joining WCW in 1996.
Miss Elizabeth tragically passed away in 2003, aged 42. Eight years later, Savage also sadly died aged 58.
#3. Former Women's Champion Sable
WWF studio shot of the day - "Wildman" Marc Mero with Sable! 📸 Photo from 1996. @MarcMero #WWF #WWE #Wrestling #Sable #MarcMero
📷 WWF studio shot of the day - "Wildman" Marc Mero with Sable! 📸 Photo from 1996. @MarcMero #WWF #WWE #Wrestling #Sable #MarcMero https://t.co/Dw7EcE3dtp
Although she initially wanted to become a singer or a model, Sable started pursuing a wrestling career after tying the knot with Marc Mero in 1994.
Mero worked for WCW for about five years, between 1991 and 1996. WWE then offered the former WCW World Television Champion a contract. In an interview with the It's My House Podcast, Mero disclosed that one of his demands to sign with the Stamford-based company was to have his wife travel with him everywhere.
"He [Vince McMahon] said to me, 'What is it going to take to get you here?' and I said , 'Vince, this is what I want' and I laid it out. I said I wanted a guaranteed contract, with at least a $50,000 bump every year and a big signing bonus and I want my ex-wife Sable to travel with me wherever I go and he agreed to those terms," he said.
In another interview with The Steve Austin Show, Mero revealed that former Chairman Vince McMahon was fascinated by Sable's beauty when they first met and decided to hire her immediately.
"We fly in, and we walk into Vince's office, and he sees her. He goes, 'I've got to put her on television.' And that's how it started. And so, he gave us a list of these names for her and we came up with the name, Sable. And that's how it was started," Mero explained.
Sable signed with the Stamford-based company in 1996. She spent about three years there, during which she won the Women's Championship, before leaving in 1999. The Florida native returned to the company in 2003 before leaving again in 2004.
Mero and Sable officially divorced in 2004. Two years later, she married Brock Lesnar.
#2. Mia Yim
While competing on the independent circuit, Mia Yim fell in love and started dating Keith Lee.
The couple squared off against each other in a one-on-one match at an independent event in May 2018, just a few days after Lee officially signed with WWE. In August of that same year, Lee made his televised debut on NXT.
About a month after her boyfriend's debut, Yim followed in his footsteps and signed with the Stamford-based company. Over the next three years, the couple teamed up in three mixed tag team matches on NXT. After defeating Kona Reeves and Vanessa Borne, they lost twice to Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae.
However, the company released Yim and Lee from their contracts in November 2021. Three months later, the couple tied the knot. Lee is currently an active competitor in AEW. Meanwhile, his wife is under contract with IMPACT Wrestling.
#1. Former Women's Tag Team Champion Candice LeRae
After meeting while working on the independent circuit, Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano started dating. The couple tied the knot in September 2016, about five months after Gargano officially signed with WWE.
While Gargano became an active competitor on NXT, LeRae continued performing on the independent circuit for nearly a year before joining her husband on the Black and Gold Brand in May 2017.
In an interview with the company's official website, LeRae spoke about the benefits and challenges of working alongside her husband in the same promotion.
"A massive positive is that we can travel together! There were times before I got here where I would be wrestling in Japan or the United Kingdom for weeks at a time. Trying to talk to each other when I was basically a day into the future was challenging. I half joke with him that my biggest challenge is trying to keep up with him. He's just so talented. It puts this added pressure on me because I don't want to be an embarrassment to Johnny. Plus, my husband worked so hard for his name, and I absolutely refuse to ride his coattails. I know I have a challenge in proving to the fans and my peers that I belong here too. I want to make a name for myself here in NXT because of my own work and not because of who my husband is," she said.
After Gargano left the company in December 2021, his wife followed in his footsteps last May after her contract expired. The former NXT Champion, however, returned to WWE last month.
On the 26th September edition of Monday Night RAW, LeRae again followed her husband to the company as she made her red brand debut against Nikki A.S.H.