Maria Kanellis has been a common name throughout professional wrestling since 2004. She made her television debut under WWE’s Diva Search competition. She participated in the inaugural Diva Search competition in 2004 and she was the youngest participant (22) of the year.
Maria Kanellis was given a contract under WWE for wrestling and kayfabe backstage roles. She became an instant favorite among the fans because of her stunning looks. She worked in WWE for six years and she was let go in 2006.
Maria Kanellis Wants More Female Action Throughout Wrestling
Since then she worked in various promotions and kept improving. One thing that improved by a large margin was her mic skill. In 2017, she returned to WWE along with her husband Mike Bennett. But like many other WWE workers, she could be utilized by WWE at all and she was let go again in 2020. She returned to Ring of Honor in the same year and she is going quite strong there.
One complaint she made during her Wrestling Inc. Daily appearance about lack of women’s action throughout wrestling. Something that former WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Carmella also complained about earlier. Maria said;
“It does in the sense that there aren’t many of us, but they do exist. Madison [Rayne] was doing a great job with writing over at Impact. Gail [Kim] is the foundation of the women’s wrestling division over there. I know that Brandi [Rhodes] was starting to do a lot with Heels. There is a movement of creating more roles.
“It started with the commentary positions, and now it’s starting to broaden out. I mean Renee [Paquette] really revolutionized what it was to be a female commentator in this industry, and she broke down barriers in that sense and gave more of a voice that has transitioned to a voice backstage.”
She also said that Paul Heyman once addressed her as the most creative mind in wrestling;
“That’s very kind of Paul. I think that this is just the next step in my career. I think that after having 17 years in this business, and trying to be a sponge, and listening to some really great mentors, taking all of that knowledge and giving it to other deserving women that are trying to find their place in this industry, so in that sense, in kind of a motherly role, I’ve held that for a while.
“I don’t know if you know this, but my two other children are Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, so I’ve had the role of Mama Bear for a while. Now it’s just on a bigger scale, and this is what I love to do. Everybody always asks me, ‘Did you ever want to win the Divas Championship?’ or ‘Did you ever want to win the Women’s Championship?’
“And sure, it was in the back of my mind, but the more important thing for me was to create more opportunities for others. So if I was this babyface that was okay with losing back in 2004 – 2006, then there were other opportunities for these great heel competitors to form. People like Michelle McCool and Beth Phoenix using me as the sympathetic babyface really helped bolster the entire division at that time. I like the role of a stepping stool for others.”
Maria Kanellis is indeed has an excellent creative mind which is the reason she has been vastly praised throughout the world of wrestling. We hope she keeps doing what she does best for a long time.