10 On-Screen Wrestling Couples You Never Knew Existed

9. Taka Michinoku & Sunny

Mickie James Ring of Honor
WWE

It spoke more to her misuse than anything else as WWE's New Generation gave way to the burgeoning Attitude Era, but Sunny ending up as a head cheerleader for Light Heavyweight newcomer Taka Michinoku looked and felt as much like a lame Vince McMahon rib as a new direction for the 'Golden Haired Fox'.

By early 1998, she'd been supplanted by Sable as the company's focussed-upon female when they only had the concentration span for one, and rumoured personal problems appeared to be interfering with the professional qualities that had briefly catapulted her to the top of WWE.

No longer worthy of creative investment in the eyes of the powerful, she was lumbered with ring announcer roles for matches of equal disinterest. This began with whatever Max Mini was up to, but ultimately extended to the Light Heavyweight league and a brief tryst with Taka that was mostly confined to stolen moments on Saturday shows or winks and nudges on Raw.

By the summer, Sunny was gone completely, as was McMahon's interest in heabily promoting Taka as his Light Heavyweight talisman.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett