Maria Kanellis Reveals Her Unlikely WWE Dream
Maria Kanellis hasn’t ruled out returning to WWE.
On February 1, Maria Kanellis announced that she was now a free agent after leaving AEW. The star endured a difficult 2024 after battling serious health problems, but thankfully, she’s recovered following surgery.
As soon as her free agency was confirmed, Kanellis was linked with a return to WWE. The star began her wrestling career with the company after taking part in the Diva Search in 2004. She stayed with the company until being released in early 2010.
Kanellis then headed to Ring of Honor to team with real-life partner Mike Bennett, and after appearing across the independent scene and in TNA and NJPW, among others, they signed with WWE in 2017. However, the pair struggled for momentum and were released in April 2020.
Maria Kanellis: “Never Say Never”
During a virtual signing for Signed By Superstars, Kanellis was asked whether she’d consider returning to WWE for a third spell with the company. She said she’s heard good things from everyone she knows still with WWE while taking a “never say never” approach.
“Never say never. I still chat with people over there. I think that they’ve done an amazing job in the last few years of really, just, making it a more professional show from backstage to what you see and the product is live. A lot of my friends that are over there talk about how well it’s run and so, you know, never say never.”
Kanellis went on to say that she would love to manage The Kingdom, or just her husband, Mike Bennett, at WrestleMania.
“My dream is to manage The Kingdom at a WrestleMania. That’s the only thing that I feel like I just — I didn’t get to do. Or to manage my husband at WrestleMania and experience that together. I’ve had WrestleMania matches and he’s been in a WrestleMania match but we’ve never done it together and I feel like that would be really cool.”
Although Kanellis has departed, Bennett remains under contract with AEW. The star continues to regularly team with Matt Tavern, and the pair were most recently in action at the Ring of Honor tapings on May 3. The match is yet to be broadcast.
H/t to Fightful