Maria Kanellis Bennett On The Legacy Of WWE Divas Era

Maria Kanellis has long been vocal about advocating for a better wrestling business for women, publicly doing so since the first interviews she gave after being released from her first WWE contract in 2010. She eventually parlayed that into being in charge — both on-screen and behind the scenes — of ROH’s women’s division at the end of the Sinclair Broadcast Group era, and later starting her own promotion, Women’s Wrestling Army. 

Kanellis started in WWE at the height of the “Divas” era, where female stars were discouraged from having conventionally good wrestling matches, with more emphasis on bikini contests. On the latest “AEW Unrestricted” podcast, she shared her mixed feelings about that time.

“I’m thankful for it now, but I was pissed when they made me ditzy,” she explained. “I fought against that from the time I was young.” 

Her father had a “king of the castle” mentality when she was growing up, so she had long avoided being stereotyped like that. “So as soon as they were like, ‘We’re gonna have you be ditzy and dumb,’ I was like, ‘aaaaahhhh!’ she added. 

“It was my worst nightmare at the time. I’m so grateful now, because of that, and being that kind of character I got to work with everybody, because they could play off of me. They could get their characters over because I was ditzy,” said Kanellis.

Regardless, she consistently had a bigger picture of where she wanted the presentation of women in wrestling to go, with opportunities like more time for matches as well as merchandising, and media opportunities.

“I think of ‘diva’ as a very positive term in terms of wrestling,” she continued. “Because if you think about who was considered a ‘Diva,’ it was Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Melina, Jillian Hall, the Bella Twins; all these people who are still making an impact in this industry were considered ‘Divas.’ So how can that be a bad word?” asked Kanellis.

Maria Kanellis Set To Undergo Surgery

One of the members of The Kingdom has to take a momentary step down to address some health issues. As announced today on her Instagram, Maria Kanellis will be sidelined for two weeks while she recovers from a medical procedure. “Today I am getting thyroid surgery to remove half my thyroid which includes a nodule,” she wrote. “I’ve been have symptoms for the past 2 and a half years. Heart racing, trouble with weight loss, skin changes, exhaustion, mood changes, sore throat, anxiety, period changes, raspy voice, trouble swallowing, brain fog, calcium deficiency, amongst others. But, with having 2 kids, the Pandemic, and multiple times being fired I just didn’t have the time to really focus on it.”

Upon learning that she acquired “abnormal cells” that could turn cancerous and possibly result in atrial fibrillation — an irregular, often rapid, heartbeat that can cause poor blood flow — Kanellis decided to finally take care of the issue. With the “full support” of AEW and boss Tony Khan, Kanellis will soon undergo her surgery, with a plan to return to work in two weeks without any restrictions. Kanellis also showed off her pre-thyroid surgery scar, where the incision will be made. For her hormones to balance, Kanellis noted that will take about a year to recuperate from. 

Prior to her surgery, Kanellis was seen as the onscreen manager for husband Mike Bennett and Matt Taven after The Kingdom joined AEW in October 2022.  Kanellis previously noted that the less-demanding AEW schedule swayed her to sign with the company, as it works best for her family.

Maria Kanellis Explains Why She Decided To Sign With AEW

Maria Kanellis entered the world of pro wrestling by competing in the WWE Diva Search in 2004. Following her initial six-year tenure with WWE, Kanellis appeared for organizations all over the globe, including Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Ring of Honor. She even started her own Women’s Wrestling Army promotion in April 2022. Kanellis recently debuted for All Elite Wrestling with her real-life husband, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven of The Kingdom. The former Impact Knockouts Champion has now explained exactly why she put pen to paper on a deal with Tony Khan’s promotion. 

“I think AEW is the best situation for my family right now. The schedule is the best,” Kanellis said on “Ten Count” for WrestlingNewsCo. “I love growing and building with companies. I mean, I worked for Ring of Honor, I rebuilt the women’s division last year with Bobby Cruise. Building is really interesting to me. I think that for us, it’s the best schedule we could possibly have with two kiddos.”

Kanellis gave birth to her first child in April 2018. Her second pregnancy occurred during her second stint with WWE and would be highlighted on “WWE Raw” when she revealed the news while competing in a mixed tag team match on July 1, 2019. Kanellis has disclosed how things have seemingly changed regarding having a baby while working in the pro wrestling industry. 

“Now we’re making different choices and making different decisions based on family when a lot of women, you know, even ten years ago, once you had a family, you stopped being on the road,” Kanellis said. “But now so many of us are on the road.”

Maria Kanellis Explains Why Being A Manager Is Fulfilling

Paul Heyman, Paul Bearer, and Jimmy Hart are examples of incredible managers who have shown how valuable the role can be in professional wrestling, and that is something Maria Kanellis has taken up throughout her career. 

Kanellis has showcased her ability to draw reactions from the crowd at ringside, and she spoke about what she loves about her role in her recent appearance on the “Just Alyx” YouTube channel. “You can be a direct link from the crowd to the guys that you’re working with,” she said. “Managers get to see everything in a very different way, you get to be close up to the ring, you get to hear what the referee is saying, what everybody around the ring is saying, that’s the part that I really enjoy.”

She has competed in plenty of matches over the years and that has led to her taking bumps as a manager as well, which usually gets a great reaction. While the idea of intergender wrestling is something that often causes debate, Kanellis believes the bigger issue is that there aren’t many female managers in the indies, even though there are plenty in WWE.

“I just think that maybe we’re finding our new balance as far as, what does a female manager mean in today’s society?” she questioned. “I’ve been able to weather the storm, but anybody that started within the last five years, this is a brave new world of what is a manager like now.”

Kanellis stated that she wants to modernize the role of the manager, while also doing things that are acceptable and make sense in the current world of pro wrestling. She, her husband Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven recently signed with AEW.

Maria Kanellis Isn’t Sure If She Would Work With Controversial Star

Maria Kanellis has been involved in the wrestling business since 2004 and has aided in forging the way for the future of female professional wrestling. Now, almost two decades later, she is still doing so through her promotion, Women’s Wrestling Army. The former WWE, IMPACT, and Ring of Honor star began the company in April of this year alongside ROH ring announcer Bobby Cruise and has had several notable names on their shows. However, one person who has yet to show up is Tessa Blanchard and Kanellis has revealed whether or not fans can expect to see her in the company sometime in the future.

“I know of Tessa through passing,” Kanellis said on the “Just Alyx” podcast. “I don’t know her on a personal level. I’ve worked with some of her close friends in IMPACT Wrestling. I’ve worked with people that were at her wedding, but personally, I don’t know her. So, [if] an opportunity to rise, I don’t know”

Blanchard made headlines in January 2020 after allegations were leveled against her for spitting in the face of a Black wrestler and calling her a racial slur. Following this, several other female talents came forward and claimed that they had witnessed Blanchard bullying others. However, Blanchard maintains that none of this ever happened. Blanchard once again made waves in May of this year after she had reportedly been released from Women of Wrestling following a falling out she supposedly had with the company.

Maria Kanellis Thinks The AEW Women’s Division Is ‘Finding Their Groove’

The treatment of the AEW women’s division has been one area of AEW that some fans have complained about over time. The division has made some new additions in the past year and at their most recent pay-per-view, they had three women’s matches, highlighted by Jamie Hayter winning the Interim AEW Women’s World Championship, as well as the in-ring return of Saraya. Former Impact Knockout’s Champion and new AEW star Maria Kanellis discussed the direction she believes the AEW women’s division is headed, in an interview with “Just Alyx.”

“When any division starts, you really don’t know, you know, how they’re going to blend,” Kanellis said.” “They have tons of their own self-made stars, you know, in-house, AEW brand stars and I think that’s incredible. They have such a strong women’s division and they’re really finding their groove. Everybody between Jade and Toni, you just, the stories are starting to come out and it takes time to get there. It takes time to build. I think right now is one of the best times I’ve seen in the AEW women’s division.”

On the most recent edition of “Dynamite,” Baker & Hayter defeated Tay Melo and Anna Jay AS of the Jericho Appreciation Society, and Skye Blue and Willow Nightengale. Before the match, it was announced that Thunder Rosa had forfeited her AEW Women’s World Championship, meaning that Hayter is officially the AEW Women’s World Champion. On the November 25, 2022, edition of “Rampage,” in the only women’s match of the night, Hikaru Shida defeated Queen Aminata.

Three Names Officially Sign With AEW

The AEW roster has now officially been increased by three.

Having debuted for the promotion earlier this month, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis are now reportedly contracted to All Elite Wrestling. While prior AEW appearances took place when this trio were free agents, Fightful Select states how the triumvirate have now penned multi-year deals with Tony Khan’s promotion.

Taven, Bennett and Kanellis – collectively known as the Kingdom – made their AEW bow on the 14 October episode of AEW Rampage from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. There, these new arrivals laid out the challenge to FTR and the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles held by Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood. Interestingly, this Fightful report also notes how FTR had actually pushed to get the Kingdom involved in AEW/ROH.

In terms of interest from elsewhere, WWE were believed to be keen on Matt Taven, whilst Fightful adds how the market leader likewise held discussions with Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis.

Prior to becoming #AllElite, the Kingdom had recently competed in IMPACT Wrestling as part of the invading Honor No More faction. During that time, Taven and Bennett embarked on a 43-day reign as the company’s Tag Team Champions, losing those belts to Heath and Rhino on last week’s episode of IMPACT TV. That same tandem have also held the ROH Tag Titles, the IWGP Tag Titles, and Taven himself is a former ROH World Champion.

The Kingdom Makes Its AEW Debut

This past week on “Dynamite,” Shawn Spears made his return to All Elite Wrestling. The former Chairman of The Pinnacle reunited with his old friends, FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler). The three would team together on “Rampage” last night to take on the team of Brian Cage, Kaun, and Toa Liona of The Embassy. After a hard-fought bout, Spears, Harwood, and Wheeler were able to knock off the heels. However, this would not be the end of their night.

After the main event of “Rampage” concluded, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Maria Kanellis-Bennett, collectively known as The Kingdom, made their AEW debut. Maria told FTR that Taven and Bennett are the real top guys of wrestling, and then a brawl ensued. FTR and Spears would be overwhelmed, as they were not only attacked by The Kingdom, but The Embassy also joined in on the assault. AEW TNT Champion Wardlow, and Ring of Honor Television Champion Samoa Joe came out to even the odds to conclude the show.

The appearance by The Kingdom occurred after reports of WWE being interested in potentially signing Taven. Before showing up in AEW, The Kingdom were in Impact Wrestling as members of the Honor No More stable. The trio, along with Vincent, recently ended their run with Impact, with Taven and Bennett dropping the Impact World Tag Team Title at the latest TV tapings. Vincent was not seen with The Kingdom last night, and reportedly may sign with WWE.

Maria Kanellis Reveals Who Sent Her First Garbage Bag From WWE

After Mickie James was released by WWE last year, she tweeted a photo of a garbage bag containing some of her belongings that the company had sent her. The photo became the talk of the wrestling world, which sparked WWE to fire Mark Carrano, the person responsible for sending the bag. A decade prior, Maria Kanellis also received a garbage bag of her things after her WWE release, and she recently revealed who was responsible for sending it to her.

“I received my first garbage bag … underneath John Laurinaitis,” Kanellis said of the former WWE EVP of Talent Relations on “Interviews With James.” “This situation has been going on for a bit and they really should hire outside HR departments to come in and do some audits on what’s going on within the company. … Hire therapists if people need mental help. I just think they need to take a look within and start dealing with some of these real-life adult problems.”

Laurinaitis is no longer with the company after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that he and former WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon were accused of sexual abuse, harassment, and misconduct.

Maria Kanellis Says Former WWE Gimmick Shielded Her From Backstage Sexism

Maria Kanellis wrestled in WWE under the name Maria from 2005 until 2010, originally getting her start in the wrestling business as part of one of the Diva Searches WWE did back in the Ruthless Aggression era. Kanelils did not find championship success in her first run with the company, however, she did compete in two different WrestleManias, most notably teaming with Ashley against Beth Phoenix and Melina at WrestleMania 24. In her run with WWE, Kanellis did not play the smartest woman in the world, and apparently, that did not stop onscreen. While on an Interview With James, Kanellis described how her gimmick was able to help her backstage when the cameras were not rolling.

“I liked playing my character pretty much full-time,” Kanellis said. “At that time, there was a lot of sexism, there was a lot of things that were kind of flying around and if I was the dumb girl, then people kind of left me alone and for me, it was almost like some shield against everyone else and their crazy.”

Maria returned to WWE in 2016 alongside her husband, Mike Bennett, who wrestled under the name Mike Kanellis during his tenure with WWE. The pairing did not find much success other than a few 24/7 title wins between the two of them, with Maria becoming the first woman in WWE history to win a championship while pregnant. Mike and Maria were released from WWE on April 15th, 2020, following their about four-year run with the company and have not returned since. Mike is currently one-half of the Impact World Tag Team Champions, and both are part of the Honor No More faction.