WWE Confessional Stories 2001-2019: 2005 Love Triangle preview

Sep 2026

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Hi Reader! So this article isn’t quite the second in this series – instead, consider this a teaser for the two-part video essay on the 2005 Love Triangle, which is coming soon. It’s taking a little time to edit said video essay in between my other commitments, but rest assured it’s well on the way to completion. So I thought this week I’d share a preview of this work. I’m going to share the structure plus a few images examined within the essay, and a summary of why I think this angle is so unique. If you’re not totally familiar with the events of the 2005 Love Triangle between Lita, Matt Hardy and Edge, I’d recommend reading my summary of events. Also, if you’d like to read the first in this series, examining a 2004 Eddie Guerrero promo about his addiction issues, then click here. Thank you for reading, so without further ado…

Why is the 2005 Love Triangle pro-wrestling’s most unique confessional storyline?

The double retelling of the infidelity story – first, Lita/Edge versus Kane (stand-in for the fired Hardy), then Lita/Edge versus Hardy (all the real actors in place).
The simple moral poles of pro-wrestling (face/heel) and to some extent, even in 2005, the code of kayfabe, deny Amy Dumas the chance to perform guilt, regret, shame and sorrow.
The unusual way that the WWE crafted the parasocial relationship between Lita/Hardy and their fans, across different medias, led to a stronger crowd reaction.
Given Lita’s premature retirement in November 2006, the 2005 Love Triangle demonstrates the unique ways in which kayfabe can re-traumatise, re-provoke and re-exhaust its performers in the WWE’s pursuit of profit.

Structure of my video essay coming soon

Part 1:

Cultural climate in 2005 – celebrity culture and privacy, linked to new technology
Pro-wrestling climate in 2005 – WWE’s monopoly status after buying out WCW, plus trying to engineer the illusion of its own competition via brand split
Defining the ‘confessional’
Confessional examples in wider culture – literature, including autofiction, TV drama, reality TV
Creating the parasocial relationship between the fans and Lita/Hardy as a couple – literature (Lita’s autobiography plus the coffee-table book WWE Unscripted) and Lita’s photoshoots

Here are some of the images I’ll be talking about in this first part:

Part 2:

An examination of Lita’s ‘indirect’ confession: Monday Night Raw May 23, 2005 (includes analysis of commentary, staging, religious and confessional motifs)
An examination of Lita’s ‘direct’ confession: Byte This! July 13, 2005 (includes analysis of Dumas performing as Dumas rather than Lita, self-referentiality or breaking kayfabe, parallels with internet ‘cam’ sites and reality TV)
Conclusion – events leading to Lita’s retirement, including live sex celebration with Edge, plus Lita’s recent-years reflections on the angle

And again, some images: