Maria Kanellis has been in the wrestling industry for almost two decades now. The role of women changed so much that Maria had a few noteworthy changes. Most fans would agree the consensus is that Kanellis did better in other promotions. Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling and New Japan all found ways to show Maria’s best skills.
WWE still had Kanellis in quite a few interesting scenarios that deserve a glance back today. Maria started off in the 2000s trying to find her way in wrestling and returned in the 2010s with her husband Mike Bennett. Each stint featured various ups and downs that came with the challenges in WWE. The following aspects of Maria’s WWE tenure will shine a retrospective light on her career.
10 Unexpectedly Won Best Diva Slammy Award With Fan Vote
The Slammy Awards are a fun aspect of WWE that doesn’t always get used each year. Most fans love the concept and wish that it would become a fixture again. Maria Kanellis benefited immensely from the Slammy Awards taking place in 2009.
The Diva of the Year was solely a fan voted award with management having no control over it. Maria won the fan vote despite not being one of the more heavily pushed faces. The audience connected with Maria’s character and made it clear with the upset award victory.
9 First Diva Search Runner Up Called Up
WWE signed a few women from the first season of the Diva Search since they viewed potential in some of the runner ups. Christy Hemme won the season and was instantly part of the Raw brand since a guaranteed contract was the prize.
Maria Kanellis, Joy Giovanni, Amy Weber and Michelle McCool were the standout runner ups to get developmental deals. WWE called Maria up first for a ring announcing role to show how much they believed in her, with Joy and Amy coming a few weeks later on the Smackdown brand.
8 Became Good At Interviews When Asking Intentionally Bad Questions
The first main roster role for Maria Kanellis was a backstage interviewer that intentionally asked bad questions. Maria’s character was a ditz that asked obvious things or confused the wrestlers by having a lack of common sense.
The segments eventually became quite entertaining when Kanellis figuring out her character. Even when she kept asking dumb questions, it set up a talking point to give the wrestler promo material. Maria’s interviewing run started off as a silly idea and led to character development.
7 24/7 Championship Is Her Only WWE Title Reign
Maria Kanellis never held any of the women’s titles in WWE despite being one of the most popular female talents. The lack of in-ring skills is something Maria would be the first to admit, but it was still surprising given how little WWE factored in wrestling at the time.
WWE bringing Kanellis back in the 2010s led to her winning her first belt in the company as the 24/7 Champion. This was done when Maria was pregnant to add to the story of it all. Kanellis’ biggest title win came in TNA as the Knockouts Champion.
6 Was Not Allowed To Have Red Hair In First Run
One interesting backstage note about Maria Kanellis’ first WWE run was why she had blonde hair. Maria has gone with the natural red hair look since leaving WWE and even used it in her return since fans associate her with that look.
WWE requested that Kanellis have blonde hair for most of her first run due to Lita and Christy Hemme also having red hair. The belief was that Maria would be lost in the shuffle having a similar hair color as two women already on the roster, even though more had blonde hair at the time.
5 Helped Paul Heyman Book Developmental Shows
Paul Heyman has gone on the record multiple times that Maria Kanellis is one of the smartest minds in the wrestling business. This started back in OVW development when Maria first started working with Heyman running that for WWE.
Kanellis’ ideas and different mindset to wrestling impressed Heyman to have her pitching ideas for various wrestlers. Mr. Kennedy doing his own ring introductions was one of the more known Maria ideas since he used it on television to instantly get over on the main roster.
4 Romance Angle With Dolph Ziggler Ended Abruptly
Maria Kanellis didn’t get placed into as many storylines as someone with her character skills to spend that much time in WWE would. One of the few romantic angles came when Maria entered a unique relationship with Dolph Ziggler.
This was a rare couple with Maria remaining face while dating a hated heel character. WWE didn’t get to pay this off as the breakup came right before Kanellis went to film Celebrity Apprentice. Maria and Dolph breaking up in that one segment was the end of the angle.
3 Final WWE Female Talent To Pose For Playboy During Their Working Relationship
WWE and Playboy had an unofficial agreement working together for years since it helped both sides. Playboy had some of their hottest selling issues when Sable, Chyna, Torrie Wilson, Ashley Massaro, Christy Hemme and Candice Michelle all posed.
Maria Kanellis was the next name on that list in 2008 when getting that elusive cover spot many WWE women hoped to gain. This ended up being the final one of the official partnership since WWE pivoted towards a PG rating and magazines became less popular.
2 Played Role In Vince McMahon Firing Raw GM Eric Bischoff
WWE made Eric Bischoff the most credible hated authority figure since Vince McMahon as the Raw General Manager. Bischoff did many awful things to face wrestlers, but he kept his job for years to make him feel bulletproof.
Maria Kanellis felt his wrath when she was forced to face Kurt Angle in a match after laughing at Bischoff. This actually had a great pay off when McMahon put Bischoff on trial with his job on the line. The previous ditzy Maria spoke brilliantly and had one of the arguments that made Vince fire Bischoff.
1 Teamed With John Cena In Big Mixed Tag Match
The biggest WWE storyline for Maria Kanellis only lasted a few weeks when working with legendary names John Cena, Edge and Lita. Maria getting bullied by Lita and Edge led to Cena making the save since he was feuding with Edge at the time.
There was even a noteworthy backstage segment with Cena and Kanellis sharing a kiss. WWE booked them to beat Edge and Lita in a mixed tag match with Maria scoring the pin. Nothing else came from this night beyond Lita getting her win back over Kanellis in a singles match.