I hate Vince Russo's domestic abuse angles for the mentality they portray. Every single domestic abuse angle Russo has ever written always ended with the revelation that the woman faked the whole thing. Every single one.
Well I mean you can rebuild a woman who's been revealed as faking abuse. It's hard as hell but it's doable. Once a man is outed as an abuser, he is unsalvageable.
@@Schu1tzeyGaming In wrestling, maybe. But something similar to that storyline has happened in real life. Most notably with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
I wouldn't say Vickie and Edge was bad, just very vile. It did have some great moments like Vickie cheating on Edge too which led to a hilarious segment with Cena. The way Hell in a Cell match was set up was also great too.
I don't know, I kind of liked Edge and Vickie's relationship but that may just be pure nostalgia as it was one of the first storylines I watched when I became a wrestling fan and it made me despise both of them so I think it was good heel heat. Also everything they did to Zack Ryder is the reason why it annoys me when people say that the young guys "aren't getting themselves over".
I got my first real girlfriend thanks to wrestling. She was wearing a Dean Ambrose shirt (we were in middle school) and I was too, I dapped her up and the rest was history.
I was expecting to see Stephanie McMahon on this list, but then I realized how good she was at romance angles. Her engagement to Test felt organic and wholesome and the two had great chemistry. Her and Triple H, of course, made the best heel couple in WWE history. And even her relationship with Jericho, while it made no sense based on their interactions in 2001, made for some good segments and the two had heat. So yeah, I guess Stephanie deserves her due for being the master of romance in wrestling.
i'm STILL pissed that she didn't actually marry Test. I legit wanted them to be a couple and I was crushed for Test when the angle was finished. hated steph ever since
@@user-fe8gx3ie5v if you watch the tapes and read the IWC boards from the time, it seemed obvious that Chris was actually gunning for Stephanie in kayfabe and IRL (though he insists to this day he wasn't, to protect his ego), but he never got anywhere with her due to being a delusional egotistical shit-stirring loudmouth mark for himself. HHH may be also be a mark for himself as well as a brownnoser and a cheating so-and-so, but he quietly politics well and plays his position at least, which is something Chris would never have managed--and that is a requisite to be a partner of a McMahon and to stay in the family. So they rewrote the angle and retconned/memory-holed the original intent to protect the reputations of all parties. In terms of a spouse, Steph made the right decision for her brand/business and her family stability, though frankly (conjecture on my part) I doubt the conjugal romance and passion is much to write home about. Then again, in one's fifties does one really care about hanging from the chandeliers? Chris is still acting like a twenty-something, but it just looks sad.
I actually hoped, that the whole Buddy and Aliyah thing would lead into a push for him. Like I did seriously expect him to team up with Dominic for the Tag Titles. Buddy could have used the momentum, the association with a big name like "mysterio" brings with, and Dominic could have learned something from a guy with Buddy's talent. They could have actually build up a Mania-match between Rey and Buddy by just throwing Alexa Bliss, you know.... Buddy's Ex and former on-screen partner, in the mix. It basically writes itself Vince!
14:30 One of the best parts of the Edge and Vickie storyline was when she announced she was bringing The Undertaker back and Edge had an "I'm gonna die" look on his face especially when Vickie announced it was a Hell In A Cell match.
The only good thing to come out of Vince’s on screen flings with the divas was that GIF that came from Stacy Keibler’s table dance where Vince creams himself
I really hate that this is how people remember Stacy--well, that and bearding for Cl00ney. Per her socials and interviews she's done since retirement she seems a lovely woman, and a fantastic mother, and as a feminist she's tried and worked to make a life for herself outside of wrestling so she can put this image behind her.
Any time Cena was put into a romantic angle with anybody it looked weird. Even when they brought the real life relationship with Nikki into storylines something seemed off about it.
The whole Cena and Nikki vs Miz and Maryse feud is ironic looking back with Cena accusing Miz of firing blanks when Miz made fun of him and Nikki for not having kids. Now Miz and Maryse have 2 kids but Cena and Nikki fell apart, she ended up marrying and having a kid with someone else and Cena's married again.
@@Xehanort10 c'mon dude Cena obviously didn't wanna marry Nikki, she seems like the type to immediately divorce for half his shit and child support. Bellas only open their legs for paychecks
13:06 Nah man. I’m gonna have to disagree with that pick. Edge and Vickie were a good on screen heel couple. Sure, nowhere near as good as Edge’s romance with Lita, but still it was entertaining watching Vickie coming out every week yelling “EXCUSE MEEEE!!” and the fans showering her in endless boos 😂😂
@stop deleating my channel... Edge ended up breaking up with Lita after she Retired. And Edge went on to marry Beth Phoenix and Matt went on to marry Reby Sky. And both couples have kids now. Meanwhile Lita is still single and all alone. So in reality she’s the real loser here.
Putting Lita in as Edge's sexy rocker valet girlfriend seriously damaged her image as a competent, tough, likeable and technically-gifted wrestler who could hang with the guys (like she was with the Hardyz), and instead encouraged the audience to treat her in the most vile misogynistic way imaginable, like a useless sexd0ll and a scarlet woman to be st0ned at the city gates rather than just as a heelish bitchy girl. Lita/Amy has said as much about the angle since. It was abominable, and clearly motivated by petty sexist psychology. Mining Amy's personal life so deeply for a damn storyline should have been grounds for sueing, imo. Arguably, the ageism and sexism in the comedic spin on Edge/Vickie was also horrible and offensive for women working in and watching wrestling, but I'd venture it was probably easier for Vickie to take and less offensive by a few clicks., because it wasn't linked to obvious observable reality, and no-one was making d eath threats or the like over it.
@@FaysalIsGoated only if you count getting a male life partner and incubating/nursing his offspring as the ultimate 'win' and measure of success in this life🙄I'm sure that isn't the case for you, so why do you presume it's the case for women?
I really thought you were going to bring up Austin beating up Debra in real life. A real life woman beater that people seem to forget and brush under the rug when Steve Austin's name comes up.
I have a feeling that commercial was written in mind for the girl to be a little kid, which would make the whole “you’re my present this year” less suspect
“Canoodling”? “Boinking”? “SCHTUPPING”!? This kind of graphic and sexually explicit language has no place on a normally family-friendly channel like this. I’m so disappointed in you Zane, why can’t you get back to covering more wholesome topics like the Ultimate Death Match movies or JCW’s Bloodymania?
At around 14:42, if you look at Test's facial expression, in some ways it almost looks like he is thinking "oh shit, there goes my push!" RIP Andrew "Test" Martin.
It really is astonishing to think about just how often rape, sexual assault, stalking and domestic violence was played for laughs back in the old days of wrestling. I don't know about anyone else, but I thought that most of this was unacceptable THEN let alone now. God knows how they got away with it.
@@richardtherichard26 How about the infamous kidnapping and implied drugging of Stephanie McMahon by Triple H? Or Angelina Love's jarring drugged slave zombie storyline with Winter in TNA where it was revealed Winter did it to be with Love, even showing Winter kiss Love on screen while she was in a drug-induced state, which counts as oral sexual assault. Winter even did Love's makeup while she was paralyzed. There's two HUGE examples. Where's my money?
@@richardtherichard26 Dude I don't need to. The examples are all over UA-cam and Google. Don't worry, I won't make you pay me because I doubt that you will ever acknowledge it. Tbh I sense you are the sort of person who thinks that MeToo is a dirty word.
"How do we honor a recently departed legend? Humiliate his widow on TV week after week. Book it, pal!" Look, it's commendable to give Vicki a job so she can support herself in the wake of tragically losing her husband. But man, couldn't it have been done in a classy and respectful way?
I remember the whole AJ Lee thing back when I was in high school. It's funny to see the part where she got run over by the dude who was known as Big Show, because that was first time I had ever seen SmackDown. Not to mention, when DB was left at the altar at Raw 1000, he was confronted by Punk, and then The Rock returned, all of that on the same segment. Then there was that match at MITB 2012 between DB and Punk with AJ as the referee. A pretty good match, looking back. 2012 was pretty wild with AJ
She did an amazing job with the absolute trash they gave her. Getting over in the main event scene with that gimmick & script, at that time as a woman no less, was nothing short of spectacular.
Don't know if this falls under "romance" but Miss Atlanta Lively. and Jimmy Valiant were part of the great '85 year NWA had. And while the Atlanta Street Fight (Starcade '85) they were involved in with the Midnight Express might not be a 4 star match, I found it entertaining. The match had a good storyline with everyone hitting their spots and the crowd was into it.
Didn't Vince say in a Playboy interview that his mother sexually abused him when he was a child..? Must just be a *massive coincidence* that there's a bunch of Incest stories in WWE... has nothing to do with that man's emotional trauma I'm sure...
@@KalmoK I'm not sure. I think the abuser may have been described as 'an older female relative,' and they were implied to have been his mother, but it's been a long time so I'm not 100%. As far as I recall, he didn't grow up with his father, so I doubt it was a mother in law.
The thing that bothers me most about Murphy and Aalyah was that Austin Theory had disappeared from Seth Rollins' group just prior to this. He would've been way more believable as Aalyah's forbidden lover.
That's what my friend and I had discussed. He was younger and it would have been a little more believable. But like the other person said, The Way helped his career more.
Given that wrestling has given us toxic relationships both on and off camera for years including Kane's various character breaking ones and Rusevs various blues I can tell this will be an interesting list!
Well, he DID call himself the Genetic Jackhammer. I think their ratings shift is the only reason it hasn't gotten more egregious. Oh, that Folger's reference is gold. I'm still amazed that happened. Honestly, they'd have likely gone for the reveal that they're not real siblings and simply are role playing, but how do you say that in a PG way? WWE, who tend to play fast and loose with kayfabe when it suits them, repeatedly punished Miro and CJ purely for the fact that they revealed their engagement. Honestly, I want CJ to debut for AEW if only so they can be on screen and happy without some storyline bullshit getting in the way.
You mentioned how there were on screen couples who had pretty good chemistry. Would be nice to have a companion video to this of wrestling's best on screen romances.
Sorry I'm bringing it up lol Kane and Tori was one of my favorite couples. It broke my heart when they broke them up. It was a swerve just for swerve sake.Also Lana and Dolph Ziggler. There was something there with them.
Sidenote the AJ Lee/Cena relationship in the beginning was a rip off the early stages of the TNA Claire Lynch storyline: Two of the biggest stars in the company (Cena in WWE, AJ Styles in TNA) are alleged to have an affair with the boss (Lee in WWE and Dixie in TNA)
Nice intro package. Made me feel pretty dumb that I never realized the wrestling Steve Migs is the same guy on KISW here in Seattle. I'm sure I'd have realized that sooner if I'd listened to the radio show any time in the last few years.
Am I the only one who remembers the Samuel Shaw-Christy Hemme storyline in TNA? The one where Mr. Anderson found out that Shaw was pursuing Hemme because he had an Oedipus complex? At least it laid the groundwork for Index, I guess.
Kane is such a prolific lover, he appeared twice on this list even after Zane barred all his "major" romances from being options. The Big Red Love Machine! I'm surprised Billy and Chuck isn't on the list. Apparently implied relationships (Katie Lee and Paul) count, so... Also, in defense of the Rusev/Lana/Dolph/Summer angle, it was that angle which got the fans behind Rusev, including me. Both because we felt sorry for him, and because he was legitimately hilarious and it was the first time he got to show any character beyond "stoic brute". Before that story, it was all "We Want Lana!" chants at him, afterwards people were behind him. Yet another example of WWE unintentionally striking gold (and then squandering it, of course).
At first, I was very appreciative that you mentioned you were going to skip all the usual/obvious ones. But after watching, now I'm really upset to be reminded of so many of these lol
You forgot Layla & William Regal. On paper, the two are not a good match. They didn't have any chemistry. And this didn't fit Regal's character. It just didn't make any sense
Ooh I actually disagree with the aj Lee love triangle being on this. Oddly enough, it was that angle that brought me back into wrestling. I took a hiatus from 2004-2014, but noticed punk db and aj on TV and thought it was fresh. Fresh talents, good talents, good wrestling...it worked
I agree with you about seeing The Rock in any type of romance, I feel like any potential "romance" storylines would have just been a distraction from everything he was doing (and doing so well). For some reason I just can't see any romance storyline "clicking" or doing anything at all for his career, he got tons more traction out of his story with Hurricane than he ever would have if they'd tried to hook him up with someone. There's something almost funny about saying this but despite how jacked and "perfect human condition" he is now (and even how great he looked back when, I prefer slimmer Rock), nothing about him has ever felt even remotely sexual. It just...doesn't work. Same with Stone Cold, nobody is interested in seeing the Rattlesnake deal with relationship problems. That's not what they watch him for.
There's varying stories of Cena burying the up and comers, mostly the Nexus. However Cena, despite him being a pretty decent guy, went full company man and protecting his spot with Ryder. Cena literally beat up a guy in a neck brace and on crutches and was portrayed as the good guy. So if a parapeligic headbutts your shin and you beat the shit out of him when you stole his girlfriend you're the hero. Go home WWE, you're drunk.
One of the most forgotten gimmicks was right before Burchill got released they had him come out in a funny mask and he was called “The Ripper” and Katie was The Beautiful Nightmare. Man that was bad.
On a “down the UA-cam hole” of old videos and this one comes up… looking back how did we not all know there was something else going on with VM?! Bold enough to do that on TV, what was he doing off TV?! At least we know the tip of the iceberg now.
I enjoyed the love triangel between AJ Lee, Punk, and Bryan at the time until it got out of control with the wedding, and Kane and all that other stuff.
Only in pro wrestling where two people who are essentially actors revealing their engagement to each other that an entire storyline could be killed off (am admittedly awful one). It just seems so weird to me in a post "kayfabe is technically dead" world. Like, would a TV show or film series cancel itself or radically shift direction if two actors on set played intense enemies but on insta revealed they're actually decent buds irl?
Because it wasn't a 'romance'. It was the wake of an ugly break-up of a real (and bad) relationship via a fling, that was then mined for reality TV fuel and a shipping war, then put on blast in the most sexually-exploitative and female-degrading way possible.
What about: -Assault on Devil's Island -Assault on Death Mountain -Summer Rae's main WWE roster run -Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation -Shawn Michaels in Baywatch
Its sad to realize that marianna , which was her real name, who was also a bodybuilder, died at a young age. Not of what many wrestlers die of. Like drug. But breast cancer. She was even survived by all of her grandparents. How horrible
I liked a few of these. Parker and Sherry was fun, and I thought Edge and Vickie ended up being really good together. Really dug the whole AJ/Bryan arc. The continuity and character development was something that was rarely seen in WWE over that long a period, they all had good chemistry, and right up until they tried to use Cena to leech off of AJ's heat (same thing they did with Ryder), everybody came out the other end looking better. Plus it led to Team HellNo.
Thank you for finally giving kane a break here. There is so much of his career that could sadly be placed in these countdowns and my heart just can't stand to see it anymore. Edit: 5:16 welp
10:35 At least David isn't an egomaniac like his sister is in both real life and character. And apparently he was engaged to Stacy in real life at the time of this storyline.
Sounds like Zane's voice is still out... but on the bright side, it makes his Hogan impression even better.
God damn man it was uncanny
Too bad he shaved off his Hogan stache a year ago
It was scary good 😮😮
I noticed it too... it was spot on because of the grovel in his voice
Maybe he should pull a Lucille Ball and start smoking three thousand packs a day 🚬 then, the rasp will be permanent
Everytime I see Kane push that wheelchair off the stage I always wonder how Ryder didn't break his ankles on the landing.
Yeah that was a miracle
Facts
His legs should've turned to jelly.
That would’ve been more heartbreaking
“Here’s that push you wanted, pal!”
Mae Young gets all the credit in the world for bumping like a madwoman in her 70s.
And apparently encouraging Bubba to powerbomb her.
@@elneco4654 oh really? Damn
@@Cheyenne_Hayden I've heard Bubba talk about it. Mae was "do it you pussy" lol
@@chrisbuttonshaw2088 Mae Young. Bumping like a boss in her mid 70s.
@@Cheyenne_Hayden yes, when bubba was getting ready to go out, she had told him when he put her through the table, to "treat her like one of the boys"
9:24 David Flair is Charlotte's half brother, not step-brother
Was gonna say this, too.
@@mfdixon1985 exactly
"we'll never know how far they planned to go with the idea but my guess would have been, too far"
🤣🤣🤣
LMFAO the honesty is what got me
I loved the Bully Ray reveal. That whole "Hulk I used you! And Brooke, I screwed you! And each and everyone of you, I fooled you!" Was great
"You may have love for certain wrestlers" accompanying a picture of John Silver is like this video was targeted at me
"Never forget how hard it was for the crew of a multi million dollar company to clean up all that cake."
Yay! The cake came back!
Cakeamania, the sequel
I hate Vince Russo's domestic abuse angles for the mentality they portray. Every single domestic abuse angle Russo has ever written always ended with the revelation that the woman faked the whole thing. Every single one.
"Bro, it's a work within a work!"
And even now it's very painful to sit through.
Chaz and Marianna in particular is even worse.
@@FIXTREME "Also, women are no good, bro! Yes, I'm married with kids, bro, why are you asking, bro?"
Well I mean you can rebuild a woman who's been revealed as faking abuse. It's hard as hell but it's doable.
Once a man is outed as an abuser, he is unsalvageable.
@@Schu1tzeyGaming In wrestling, maybe.
But something similar to that storyline has happened in real life. Most notably with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
I wouldn't say Vickie and Edge was bad, just very vile. It did have some great moments like Vickie cheating on Edge too which led to a hilarious segment with Cena. The way Hell in a Cell match was set up was also great too.
I don't know, I kind of liked Edge and Vickie's relationship but that may just be pure nostalgia as it was one of the first storylines I watched when I became a wrestling fan and it made me despise both of them so I think it was good heel heat.
Also everything they did to Zack Ryder is the reason why it annoys me when people say that the young guys "aren't getting themselves over".
It was not bad at all, I don't know what Brian is on
Vickie sold it and played her heelish part fantastically, to be fair.
I got my first real girlfriend thanks to wrestling. She was wearing a Dean Ambrose shirt (we were in middle school) and I was too, I dapped her up and the rest was history.
I was expecting to see Stephanie McMahon on this list, but then I realized how good she was at romance angles. Her engagement to Test felt organic and wholesome and the two had great chemistry. Her and Triple H, of course, made the best heel couple in WWE history. And even her relationship with Jericho, while it made no sense based on their interactions in 2001, made for some good segments and the two had heat. So yeah, I guess Stephanie deserves her due for being the master of romance in wrestling.
i'm STILL pissed that she didn't actually marry Test. I legit wanted them to be a couple and I was crushed for Test when the angle was finished. hated steph ever since
@@user-fe8gx3ie5v if you watch the tapes and read the IWC boards from the time, it seemed obvious that Chris was actually gunning for Stephanie in kayfabe and IRL (though he insists to this day he wasn't, to protect his ego), but he never got anywhere with her due to being a delusional egotistical shit-stirring loudmouth mark for himself. HHH may be also be a mark for himself as well as a brownnoser and a cheating so-and-so, but he quietly politics well and plays his position at least, which is something Chris would never have managed--and that is a requisite to be a partner of a McMahon and to stay in the family. So they rewrote the angle and retconned/memory-holed the original intent to protect the reputations of all parties.
In terms of a spouse, Steph made the right decision for her brand/business and her family stability, though frankly (conjecture on my part) I doubt the conjugal romance and passion is much to write home about. Then again, in one's fifties does one really care about hanging from the chandeliers? Chris is still acting like a twenty-something, but it just looks sad.
Can't wait to see all of Vinces different gimmicks degrading women being discussed in his eventual SA trial.
I actually hoped, that the whole Buddy and Aliyah thing would lead into a push for him. Like I did seriously expect him to team up with Dominic for the Tag Titles. Buddy could have used the momentum, the association with a big name like "mysterio" brings with, and Dominic could have learned something from a guy with Buddy's talent. They could have actually build up a Mania-match between Rey and Buddy by just throwing Alexa Bliss, you know.... Buddy's Ex and former on-screen partner, in the mix. It basically writes itself Vince!
Nice
Apparently Vince doesn't like long term booking
it was good up until you brought up alexa bliss. i think we all learned from the matt and lita thing that vince will turn buddy into a cuck
Can almost guarenteed that the backlash finally got to Vince’s desk and wwe went into damage control at that point.
14:30 One of the best parts of the Edge and Vickie storyline was when she announced she was bringing The Undertaker back and Edge had an "I'm gonna die" look on his face especially when Vickie announced it was a Hell In A Cell match.
QT Marshall is to Cody Rhodes what Brutus Beefcake is to Hulk Hogan - a nobody who happened to know a somebody.
LMAO
The only good thing to come out of Vince’s on screen flings with the divas was that GIF that came from Stacy Keibler’s table dance where Vince creams himself
I really hate that this is how people remember Stacy--well, that and bearding for Cl00ney. Per her socials and interviews she's done since retirement she seems a lovely woman, and a fantastic mother, and as a feminist she's tried and worked to make a life for herself outside of wrestling so she can put this image behind her.
Man, that abuse angle with Chaz and Marianna is kinda hard to watch nowadays.
It doesn't help that Marianna is no longer with us.
@@emanuelespinoza9325 Yea.
R.I.P. Marianna
It was hard to watch back then too.
It should be, any abuse angle should be. That's how you know your morality compass still works.
The fact that your voice is low makes that Hulk Hogan impersonation strangely spot on
Any time Cena was put into a romantic angle with anybody it looked weird. Even when they brought the real life relationship with Nikki into storylines something seemed off about it.
Cena’s character just does not give off “romantic” vibes in general.
The whole Cena and Nikki vs Miz and Maryse feud is ironic looking back with Cena accusing Miz of firing blanks when Miz made fun of him and Nikki for not having kids. Now Miz and Maryse have 2 kids but Cena and Nikki fell apart, she ended up marrying and having a kid with someone else and Cena's married again.
The only good thing about the Nikki/Cena being on-screen is when Miz and Maryse impersonated them.
@@Xehanort10 c'mon dude Cena obviously didn't wanna marry Nikki, she seems like the type to immediately divorce for half his shit and child support. Bellas only open their legs for paychecks
The stuff with Cena and Mickie in 2008 was pretty fun.
13:06 Nah man. I’m gonna have to disagree with that pick. Edge and Vickie were a good on screen heel couple. Sure, nowhere near as good as Edge’s romance with Lita, but still it was entertaining watching Vickie coming out every week yelling “EXCUSE MEEEE!!” and the fans showering her in endless boos 😂😂
@stop deleating my channel... Edge ended up breaking up with Lita after she Retired. And Edge went on to marry Beth Phoenix and Matt went on to marry Reby Sky. And both couples have kids now. Meanwhile Lita is still single and all alone. So in reality she’s the real loser here.
Putting Lita in as Edge's sexy rocker valet girlfriend seriously damaged her image as a competent, tough, likeable and technically-gifted wrestler who could hang with the guys (like she was with the Hardyz), and instead encouraged the audience to treat her in the most vile misogynistic way imaginable, like a useless sexd0ll and a scarlet woman to be st0ned at the city gates rather than just as a heelish bitchy girl. Lita/Amy has said as much about the angle since. It was abominable, and clearly motivated by petty sexist psychology. Mining Amy's personal life so deeply for a damn storyline should have been grounds for sueing, imo.
Arguably, the ageism and sexism in the comedic spin on Edge/Vickie was also horrible and offensive for women working in and watching wrestling, but I'd venture it was probably easier for Vickie to take and less offensive by a few clicks., because it wasn't linked to obvious observable reality, and no-one was making d eath threats or the like over it.
@@FaysalIsGoated only if you count getting a male life partner and incubating/nursing his offspring as the ultimate 'win' and measure of success in this life🙄I'm sure that isn't the case for you, so why do you presume it's the case for women?
I really thought you were going to bring up Austin beating up Debra in real life. A real life woman beater that people seem to forget and brush under the rug when Steve Austin's name comes up.
Ironic this pops on my feed on the day I hear Lana and rusev are separated. Sadness indeed.
I love that you randomy took a shot at that creepy Folgers commercial. Whoever wrote and directed that commercial needs to be on a list.
I have a feeling that commercial was written in mind for the girl to be a little kid, which would make the whole “you’re my present this year” less suspect
“Canoodling”? “Boinking”? “SCHTUPPING”!? This kind of graphic and sexually explicit language has no place on a normally family-friendly channel like this. I’m so disappointed in you Zane, why can’t you get back to covering more wholesome topics like the Ultimate Death Match movies or JCW’s Bloodymania?
At around 14:42, if you look at Test's facial expression, in some ways it almost looks like he is thinking "oh shit, there goes my push!"
RIP Andrew "Test" Martin.
Poor Test. Still had the best Big Boot.
Oh yeah, but he was a good mid-carder tho. RIP Andrew “Test” Martin
I will always be a proud Testicle.
The eternal boy, the boy of boys
Surprised no one caught the substitution of ‘black guys’ for ‘one of the boys’ referencing the racist Hogan rant @ 15:35. That was great lmaoo
It really is astonishing to think about just how often rape, sexual assault, stalking and domestic violence was played for laughs back in the old days of wrestling. I don't know about anyone else, but I thought that most of this was unacceptable THEN let alone now. God knows how they got away with it.
You couldn't be more correct; its definitely not just you.
@@richardtherichard26 How about the infamous kidnapping and implied drugging of Stephanie McMahon by Triple H? Or Angelina Love's jarring drugged slave zombie storyline with Winter in TNA where it was revealed Winter did it to be with Love, even showing Winter kiss Love on screen while she was in a drug-induced state, which counts as oral sexual assault. Winter even did Love's makeup while she was paralyzed.
There's two HUGE examples. Where's my money?
@@richardtherichard26 Dude I don't need to. The examples are all over UA-cam and Google. Don't worry, I won't make you pay me because I doubt that you will ever acknowledge it. Tbh I sense you are the sort of person who thinks that MeToo is a dirty word.
Only snowflakes get offended by those things
As a little girl, I watched TNA & WCW. That was a lot of misogyny to unlearn.
That Hogan impersonation was literally spot on. Damn!
"How do we honor a recently departed legend? Humiliate his widow on TV week after week. Book it, pal!" Look, it's commendable to give Vicki a job so she can support herself in the wake of tragically losing her husband. But man, couldn't it have been done in a classy and respectful way?
27:44 In March of 2024, this is depressing when they just announced their separation. 😢
I’m shocked that Billy and Chuck weren’t mentioned.
also BreezAngo? they were in love and we never talk about it anymore????
There's been a lot of bad ones. The ratio of bad to good is pretty sad
Incest angles: where wrestling goes to die, and anime goes: hold my beer.
Also, to a certain degree, soap operas.
@@justinhillenburg9286 Also, to a larger degree, the town of Burnley
I remember the whole AJ Lee thing back when I was in high school. It's funny to see the part where she got run over by the dude who was known as Big Show, because that was first time I had ever seen SmackDown. Not to mention, when DB was left at the altar at Raw 1000, he was confronted by Punk, and then The Rock returned, all of that on the same segment. Then there was that match at MITB 2012 between DB and Punk with AJ as the referee. A pretty good match, looking back. 2012 was pretty wild with AJ
She did an amazing job with the absolute trash they gave her. Getting over in the main event scene with that gimmick & script, at that time as a woman no less, was nothing short of spectacular.
27:45 well that aged poorly.
I was just about to comment that
the chaz storyline: " I did not hit her, its not true, its bullsh*t, i did not hit her, i did nottttttttt. oh haii Thrasher!"
Don't know if this falls under "romance" but Miss Atlanta Lively. and Jimmy Valiant were part of the great '85 year NWA had. And while the Atlanta Street Fight (Starcade '85) they were involved in with the Midnight Express might not be a 4 star match, I found it entertaining. The match had a good storyline with everyone hitting their spots and the crowd was into it.
How about Big Mama and Jimmy Valiant? They fit together, but really...he pimped her out to Dusty Rhodes at one point!
@@JMFabiano 😂😂😂
Didn't Vince say in a Playboy interview that his mother sexually abused him when he was a child..?
Must just be a *massive coincidence* that there's a bunch of Incest stories in WWE... has nothing to do with that man's emotional trauma I'm sure...
Wasn't it his mother-in-law tho?
@@KalmoK I'm not sure. I think the abuser may have been described as 'an older female relative,' and they were implied to have been his mother, but it's been a long time so I'm not 100%.
As far as I recall, he didn't grow up with his father, so I doubt it was a mother in law.
The story where he was about 8 and wanted to put "crushed leaves" in a girl is more telling.
Ugh and now in the future, CJ and Miro are getting divorced. It really was like Marc Mero and Sable...
You are absolutely right, Mr. Zane. As a professional wrestler, I found love through the sport. My lady and I have been together for 2 years.
The thing that bothers me most about Murphy and Aalyah was that Austin Theory had disappeared from Seth Rollins' group just prior to this. He would've been way more believable as Aalyah's forbidden lover.
It wouldn’t have given us his time with The Way though. Which I think reinvented Austin for the better
Theory is a homosexual tho
@@dadeo98 He has a girlfriend?
@@dinofacedindividual9462 The Way is my favorite things in old NXT
That's what my friend and I had discussed. He was younger and it would have been a little more believable. But like the other person said, The Way helped his career more.
That number 12 hits different in 2024. We knew Vince was nuts and a weirdo, but couldn't believe the shit he pulled behind closed doors.
“the shit”….i see what you did there
Mark Henry deserves an Oscar for the salmon jacket fake retirement speech
Watching the Vince section of the video a mere five months later...
Given that wrestling has given us toxic relationships both on and off camera for years including Kane's various character breaking ones and Rusevs various blues I can tell this will be an interesting list!
Right, I'm surprised the Kane and Terri one wasn't mentioned.
Well, he DID call himself the Genetic Jackhammer. I think their ratings shift is the only reason it hasn't gotten more egregious.
Oh, that Folger's reference is gold. I'm still amazed that happened. Honestly, they'd have likely gone for the reveal that they're not real siblings and simply are role playing, but how do you say that in a PG way?
WWE, who tend to play fast and loose with kayfabe when it suits them, repeatedly punished Miro and CJ purely for the fact that they revealed their engagement. Honestly, I want CJ to debut for AEW if only so they can be on screen and happy without some storyline bullshit getting in the way.
For #8, you missed Val Venis’ steamy affair with Nicole Bass. For that, we thank you for not going down that road.
Honorable mention, Bryan Zane and the five knuckle shuffle
🤣
You mentioned how there were on screen couples who had pretty good chemistry.
Would be nice to have a companion video to this of wrestling's best on screen romances.
Something else positive toward AJ Lee is...she married CM Punk in real life and Both have Likely Cut Ties Forever with WWE.
Ryder's burial is when fans and (hopefully) talent realised 'the brass ring' was just gaslighting and a joke.
Yes what happen to him was a grade A burial.
"gaslighting" fuck off
@@SteRDLK Nope.
@@scottotd Yes. You don't know what gaslighting is.
Murphy lee has a point WWE made a 30 year old dude kiss a 19 year old….
Fairly standard in the noncey world of pro wrestling
Seth: “Becks, tell ‘em I’m not impulsive.”
Becky: *beatboxes*
Feeling pretty depressed today. And for the past week. This honestly brightened up my day. Thank you Brian ❤️
Me too. Hopefully we find a way through this to something better🤝
Sorry I'm bringing it up lol Kane and Tori was one of my favorite couples. It broke my heart when they broke them up. It was a swerve just for swerve sake.Also Lana and Dolph Ziggler. There was something there with them.
Someone call Lady Gaga, sounds like Brian is caught in a bad romance.... list
Sidenote the AJ Lee/Cena relationship in the beginning was a rip off the early stages of the TNA Claire Lynch storyline: Two of the biggest stars in the company (Cena in WWE, AJ Styles in TNA) are alleged to have an affair with the boss (Lee in WWE and Dixie in TNA)
"Seems to be the new fad if your name's AJ"
@@ManiaxOnYT I laughed so hard when he said on Impact
Why the hell would they want to rip off arguably one of the worst if not the worst angle in TNA history 😆
@@ziahamm1603 that's WWE and Vince McMahon for ya
Also David Flair was actually dating Stacy Keibler off screen for a bit
Nice intro package. Made me feel pretty dumb that I never realized the wrestling Steve Migs is the same guy on KISW here in Seattle. I'm sure I'd have realized that sooner if I'd listened to the radio show any time in the last few years.
Am I the only one who remembers the Samuel Shaw-Christy Hemme storyline in TNA? The one where Mr. Anderson found out that Shaw was pursuing Hemme because he had an Oedipus complex? At least it laid the groundwork for Index, I guess.
That storyline was creepy as f***.
That was Beyond creepy
Kane is such a prolific lover, he appeared twice on this list even after Zane barred all his "major" romances from being options. The Big Red Love Machine!
I'm surprised Billy and Chuck isn't on the list. Apparently implied relationships (Katie Lee and Paul) count, so...
Also, in defense of the Rusev/Lana/Dolph/Summer angle, it was that angle which got the fans behind Rusev, including me. Both because we felt sorry for him, and because he was legitimately hilarious and it was the first time he got to show any character beyond "stoic brute". Before that story, it was all "We Want Lana!" chants at him, afterwards people were behind him. Yet another example of WWE unintentionally striking gold (and then squandering it, of course).
And Summer Rae's momentum was a big casualty in the process.
At first, I was very appreciative that you mentioned you were going to skip all the usual/obvious ones. But after watching, now I'm really upset to be reminded of so many of these lol
You forgot Layla & William Regal. On paper, the two are not a good match. They didn't have any chemistry. And this didn't fit Regal's character. It just didn't make any sense
Or Trish Stratus and Jeff Hardy. They definitely had potential, but the chemistry wasn't there
Noam Dar and Alicia Fox is was blink and you miss it.
Thankfully didn't mention the Lana/Enzo storyline.
How about Enzo and that KFC in the Show Ad?
He really wanted to get with that chicken!!!
#1 is spot on, especially with the Lana/Bobby Lashley part.
Man…the Vince McMahon stuff feels very, very awkward now…
Oh yeah...
"You can't get married twice, Dewey!"
"WELL WHAT ABOUT IF YA FAMOUS?!"
Ooh I actually disagree with the aj Lee love triangle being on this. Oddly enough, it was that angle that brought me back into wrestling. I took a hiatus from 2004-2014, but noticed punk db and aj on TV and thought it was fresh. Fresh talents, good talents, good wrestling...it worked
Last entry aged poorly
Boy #12 has aged real well, huh?
I agree with you about seeing The Rock in any type of romance, I feel like any potential "romance" storylines would have just been a distraction from everything he was doing (and doing so well). For some reason I just can't see any romance storyline "clicking" or doing anything at all for his career, he got tons more traction out of his story with Hurricane than he ever would have if they'd tried to hook him up with someone. There's something almost funny about saying this but despite how jacked and "perfect human condition" he is now (and even how great he looked back when, I prefer slimmer Rock), nothing about him has ever felt even remotely sexual. It just...doesn't work. Same with Stone Cold, nobody is interested in seeing the Rattlesnake deal with relationship problems. That's not what they watch him for.
i mean let's face it, The Rock's (kayfabe) true love, is himself
The only thing the Rock puts his hands on longingly each day is a barbell
Calling mutual attraction between him & Trish a romance is an interpretation lacking in nuance.
@@nygma619 Why do you think "romance" was in quotation marks? And frankly nobody cares anymore.
There's varying stories of Cena burying the up and comers, mostly the Nexus. However Cena, despite him being a pretty decent guy, went full company man and protecting his spot with Ryder.
Cena literally beat up a guy in a neck brace and on crutches and was portrayed as the good guy.
So if a parapeligic headbutts your shin and you beat the shit out of him when you stole his girlfriend you're the hero. Go home WWE, you're drunk.
Oh yes, amazing heel behaviour by the top baby-face of the company.
Zane a week ago: "Sorry about my voice guys!"
Zane now: "LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BROTHER!"
One of the most forgotten gimmicks was right before Burchill got released they had him come out in a funny mask and he was called “The Ripper” and Katie was The Beautiful Nightmare. Man that was bad.
On a “down the UA-cam hole” of old videos and this one comes up… looking back how did we not all know there was something else going on with VM?! Bold enough to do that on TV, what was he doing off TV?! At least we know the tip of the iceberg now.
I enjoyed the love triangel between AJ Lee, Punk, and Bryan at the time until it got out of control with the wedding, and Kane and all that other stuff.
Stumbled onto this video right after the news that Miro and Lana have divorcedouch.
Only in pro wrestling where two people who are essentially actors revealing their engagement to each other that an entire storyline could be killed off (am admittedly awful one). It just seems so weird to me in a post "kayfabe is technically dead" world. Like, would a TV show or film series cancel itself or radically shift direction if two actors on set played intense enemies but on insta revealed they're actually decent buds irl?
Kinda surprised the Matt Hardy/Lita/Edge wasn't on this list
It was a real life drama that went into tv
Because it wasn't a 'romance'. It was the wake of an ugly break-up of a real (and bad) relationship via a fling, that was then mined for reality TV fuel and a shipping war, then put on blast in the most sexually-exploitative and female-degrading way possible.
Hoping to eventually see a WWW of:
-Top 8 worst Vince Russo ideas
-Lex Express
-Lita 2004-2006
-Top 8 worst Hulk Hogan backstage politics
-Top 8 worst Kliq backstage politics
-who was the better champion (Kofi Kingston 2019 or HBK 1996)
-Every tough enough winner
-WWE in 1995
Also
-Dixie Carter
-TNA/Wwe Monday Night Wars
What about:
-Assault on Devil's Island
-Assault on Death Mountain
-Summer Rae's main WWE roster run
-Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation
-Shawn Michaels in Baywatch
I like the hype package for Steve Migs at the beginning. Nice touch! Keep up the great work Brian!
Vince McMahon and the divas still makes me cringe to this day
@@BorislavVeselinov At least that was better then al Wilson and dawn marie storyline
@@Dwainecurtis2001 at least al/Dawn Marie made me laugh. Can't say the same about Vince/Divas
“Can you BELIEVE this a**hole?”
Honestly, it would be hysterical if this quote was added to David Flair’s Wiki.
Wonder how many Vince gave his personal stamp of approval: That's good shit pal!
Its sad to realize that marianna , which was her real name, who was also a bodybuilder, died at a young age. Not of what many wrestlers die of. Like drug. But breast cancer. She was even survived by all of her grandparents. How horrible
Its the magic of
Bryan zane: NOOO...NOOOO NOOO
5:19 Guess what hasn't aged well!
I liked a few of these. Parker and Sherry was fun, and I thought Edge and Vickie ended up being really good together. Really dug the whole AJ/Bryan arc. The continuity and character development was something that was rarely seen in WWE over that long a period, they all had good chemistry, and right up until they tried to use Cena to leech off of AJ's heat (same thing they did with Ryder), everybody came out the other end looking better. Plus it led to Team HellNo.
I’m shocked that Scott Steiner and Kimberly Page, Luger and Miss Elizabeth never made this list
How have I seen this video so many times but only now just heard the immaculate “peanut butter and piss” line?😂😂😂
Thank you for finally giving kane a break here. There is so much of his career that could sadly be placed in these countdowns and my heart just can't stand to see it anymore.
Edit: 5:16 welp
Rock x Trish was just a diversion from Rocky's one true love, Mick Foley.
I love the Edge and Vicky relationship.
They were such despicable heels, it was great!
Oh boy Zane your voice is still rough. Don't be afraid to take a few days of rest. Your contents are very welcome but your health is more important.
Always nice to see Brian Zane featured on the J Biggs channel! Wish we could see more of him
Man there were a lot of bad romances. Great video Brian!
10:35 At least David isn't an egomaniac like his sister is in both real life and character. And apparently he was engaged to Stacy in real life at the time of this storyline.
David Flair and Charlotte are half siblings not step siblings. They have different moms, but Ric is the biological father of both.
Come ooon, we got so many amazing memes from Vince, watching Stacy dance! The man is a legend!