Popular WWE Diva Didn’t Want To Return Until Vince McMahon Lost Control

Maria Kanellis is one of the mainstay Divas of the WWE locker room back in the days when they have the least chances available to excel as professional wrestlers. She started her career in WWE during the mid-2000s and picked up really quickly as a universal babyface figure. Being paired up with the likes of Santino Marella or WWE’s franchise player John Cena worked wonders for her career.

For those who don’t know, Maria Kanellis is also the final name from the WWE who graced the cover of Playboy in the year 2008. She eventually left the company and worked with several other promotions like Impact, ROH, and NJPW. Given her huge fanbase, there are always demands of seeing her back on WWE TV but she didn’t intend to return as long as Vince McMahon remains in the charge of things.

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After her first stint, Maria Kanellis eventually returned to WWE alongside her husband Mike Kanellis in 2017. Despite all the hypes, the couple were not utilized and got released subsequently amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, a fan mentioned on Twitter and stated that the so-called First Lady of professional wrestling should return to WWE. In response, she said that she’ll only be interested to make the comeback when Vince McMahon would no longer be running things,

“No. Not until it is under new management/ownership.”

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No. Not until it is under new management/ownership. https://t.co/h2IYWcsF5s

— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) July 17, 2022

Maria Kanellis had been vocal about recent Vince McMahon hush-money investigation

Over the past several months, there have been controversies around Vince McMahon who stepped down as WWE CEO and Chairman over a hush-money scandal. Maria Kanellis commented on the matter wanting Vince to be replaced where the company should be run under new leadership,

“Let’s hope the company is bought out by someone/company that will treat WWE like a business and not a boys club. Health insurance, retirement plans, parental leave.”

Maria Kanellis also added some privileges that the female employees of the WWE should have under their signed deal since they have to work under a tremendous workload,

“Vacation days, child care, and a clear direction for the future. This is going to be an anxiety-filled time for a lot of people that work there. Hopefully, the COMPANY CULTURE will change. And people will still have jobs they love to feed their families.”

Furthermore, Maria Kanellis also commented on Vince McMahon’s first promo segment on WWE SmackDown June 17 episode which aired hours after the first Wall Street Journal story blaming McMahon for paying $3 million to a former paralegal to keep an affair a secret. John Laurinaitis also allegedly had sexual relations with that released employees.

Per Maria Kanellis, McMahon’s appearance soon after the affair story’s release was “disrespectful to the women hurt.”

“Isn’t this disrespectful to the women hurt in this situation? It’s not a joke,” she wrote on Twitter. “WWE’s company culture of fear and abuse of power is not a joke.”

Maria Kanellis spent two stints working for the WWE spanning 2004-2010 and 2017-2020. The second stint was a bit of harsh as part of WWE’s budget cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic starting in April 2020. She was never properly made aware of the release about which she vented out frustrations in the past.