5 Current WWE stars you didn't know were best friends

There are many WWE superstars whose friendships have been used on WWE TV to make much more compelling storylines. The likes of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, as well as Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, have been able to have show-stealing feuds on NXT because their chemistry has carried the rivalry.

There are also several friendships including Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose and Sasha Banks and Bayley who have proved that their friendship is strong enough to withstand the harsh realities in WWE.

Much like relationships, WWE chooses to spotlight many friendships and not others, so here are some interesting friendships from outside of the ring that have been overlooked by both WWE and the WWE Universe.

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#5. Sheamus and Rusev

Rusev is over on Monday Night RAW at present, stuck in a storyline that revolves around the fact that his wife cheated on his with Bobby Lashley, whilst Sheamus has recently made his return on Friday Night SmackDown and has since targetted Shorty G in what was a random way to bring the Irish star back into the fold.

Even if Sheamus and Rusev were on the same brand, this would still be a random friendship, but even so, it appears that both men have a joint love of working out and in recent months have been spending a lot more time together. The above image proves that the two men don't only meet up for sessions at the gym, so their friendship must go much deeper.

Rusev has updated a number of posts on his Instagram page that include the former World Champion, so despite traveling in different directions with different brands, these two men have still found time to work out together.

#4. Ricochet and Apollo Crews

Ricochet is the current number one contender to the WWE Championship, which sits around the waist of Brock Lesnar, but it doesn't seem to have fazed the company's resident superhero as he looks to dethrone The Beast in Saudi Arabia next week.

Many fans may not be aware that when Ricochet was working on the indie scene, he shared a house with Apollo Crews and his girlfriend at the time, Tessa Blanchard. The three stars seemingly lived together and their combined love of wrestling has since pushed them to the highest of platforms in the business.

It has been revealed in a number of interviews that the two stars were good friends before joining WWE and decided to get a house together when Apollo was signed to WWE because he then relocated to Orlando.

Things have changed in the past few years with Crews welcoming his first child, Ricochet moving on to a relationship with Kacy Catanzaro and the two men now being on WWE's main roster together, but it appears that despite these changes, they still remain close friends.

#3. Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez

On Sunday night the WWE Universe were witnesses to Raquel Gonzalez's NXT debut when she made her way out to the ring and attacked Tegan Nox, which then cost her the match against Dakota Kai.

Raquel has been around NXT for a long time now and has actually been training with current NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley. The two women have been working out together for a long time and fans believed that at one point they would become a dominant tag team on the developmental brand, but this wasn't the case.

Raquel's debut means that she will now be appearing on the same show as her best friend and possibly in the not too distant future, she could be one of the women that are chosen to challenge Rhea for the NXT Women's Championship.

This obviously depends on how long Rhea holds that Championship since Gonzalez only recently made her debut, so it could be a while before she's ready to take on The Nightmare in one-on-one competition.

#2. Sasha Banks and Kalisto

Sasha Banks is one of the most popular female wrestlers in the WWE at present and it appears that she prefers to spend her time outside of the ring with Kalisto, rather than women from her division.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing since it appears that Kalisto is close to Banks' husband Sarath Ton and so Kalisto and Banks have become close as well. The two stars are often seen on Instagram fooling around backstage together and proving that they make their own fun outside of the ring.

Banks has definitely improved in the ring with the input of Kalisto, since she has been Lucha training with the former United States Champion recently, which looks to have made a huge difference.

Banks hasn't been seen on WWE TV since before The Royal Rumble last month as rumors continue to circulate surrounding a match between Banks and Bayley at WrestleMania in April, whilst Kalisto hasn't been used very much either since The Lucha House Party seem to be unable to be added to a decent feud on WWE TV.

#1. Shelton Benjamin and Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar may seem as though he doesn't have or need any friends in WWE, but there is one man who has been beside him throughout his lengthy career after the two stars met back in their college days.

Shelton Benjamin and Brock Lesnar were roommates in college and were both part of an amateur wrestling team. At one point Benjamin was even allowing Lesnar to stay with him at his parent's house when he was running low on money because the two men were so close. Lesnar then went on to be signed by WWE not long afterward, before he then helped his long time friend to make the move over to WWE as well.

The two men have had lengthy careers with Lesnar obviously being the one in the spotlight but it's probably no coincidence that both men have ended up back in WWE again at present. Their careers have been pushed side by side and since Benjamin recently signed a new lengthy contract with WWE it looks as though both men could be set to end their careers in Vince McMahon's company as well.