8 Weirdest WWE Romances Ever
Mark Henry didn't know what he was signing up for in 1996, did he?
In the 90s, a wrestling promotion called WAR was founded in Japan. Pretty badass name for a company, right? Well, it is until you find out that WAR stood for Wrestle Association R or, bizarrely, Wrestle and Romance. Considering WAR was about brutal violence, cutting-edge high-flying and appearances from wrestlers of the past, there wasn't much time left over for hugs and kisses.
WWE, on the other hand - now there's a promotion that could justifiably be named Wrestle and Romance. Over the years, as WWE moved further away from 'sports' towards 'entertainment', they've devoted a significant amount of time towards the portrayal of on-screen relationships, often to the point where they take precedence over championship tussles.
Look at the late summer/early autumn of 2000 and build to the Unforgiven pay-per-view, for example. The storylines getting the lion's share of the attention were the Kurt Angle/Triple H/Stephanie McMahon love triangle and the breakup of Eddie Guerrero and Chyna. WWE Champion The Rock? Oh, he was defending his title in a cobbled-together multi-man match that nobody remembers.
There have been some great romances in WWE over the years - Edge/Lita, Spike Dudley/Molly Holly and Chris Jericho/Trish Stratus come to mind - but there have also been some overtly weird ones that exist for the sole purpose of either shocking people or grossing them out. The following are the weirdest...
8. Terri Runnels & Kane
The tiny Terri Runnels and the monstrous Kane both had their fair share of love interests during their time in the 'E. The former Marlena was linked with Goldust, Val Venis, Shawn Stasiak and then Perry Saturn before she settled into a backstage interviewer role. Kane, for his part, has locked lips with Tori, Lita, AJ Lee, Kelly Kelly and Trish Stratus over the years. Not a bad return for a raving psychopath.
The two very briefly got together in late 2002 when Kane planted a liplock on Terri after she had interviewed the new World Tag Team Champion. Ace reporter Gregory Helms was thankful for the scoop. Explaining the attraction, uber-babyface Kane simply said that 'chicks dig the mask'. The two continued their weird relationship until the whole Katie Vick reveal, at which point it was abruptly dropped, save for a segment where Terri tried to comfort him.
I am not sure if there was a real end game for this one, or if it was only ever meant to be brief and make Kane a more traditional babyface, but it was bizarre regardless. Few remember it, and those that do only remember it for how odd it was and how suddenly it ended.