| Maria Kanellis | |
|---|---|
 Kanellis in 2012 | |
| Birth name | Mary Louis Kanellis |
| Born | (1982-02-25)February 25, 1982 (age 43)[1] Ottawa,Illinois, U.S.[2][3] |
| Alma mater | Northern Illinois University Johnson & Wales University |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Maria[4] Maria Kanellis[5] Maria Kanellis-Bennett |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[6] |
| Billed weight | 120 lb (54 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Chicago, Illinois[4] |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling[3] Fit Finlay |
| Debut | 2004[1] |
Mary LouisKanellis-Bennett[7][8][9] (born February 25, 1982)[1] is an Americanprofessional wrestler,manager, promoter, singer and model. She is best known for her tenures inWWE,TNA,All Elite Wrestling, andRing of Honor.
Outside of wrestling, she is known for her 2008Playboy magazine pictorial and 2010 appearances on theCelebrity Apprentice television series.
Kanellis' career began as a contestant on the reality showOutback Jack in 2004. In the same year, she placed fifth in theDiva Search, and was later hired by WWE as a backstage interviewer. Kanellis began competing in the ring as a professional wrestler in 2005 and received theSlammy Award for Diva of the Year in 2009. She released her debut albumSevin Sins in 2010 and departed WWE later that year. After departing WWE, she worked forRing of Honor (ROH) andImpact Wrestling - then Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) - often appearing with her husbandMike Bennett. In TNA, she is a formerTNA Knockouts Champion. Along with Bennett, she returned to WWE from 2017 to 2020 and held theWWE 24/7 Championship once.
Kanellis was born inOttawa, Illinois.[3] She hasGreek origins. She has two younger siblings; a brother and sister named Bill and Janny, respectively.[6][10][11] Kanellis grew up with an interest in playing sports, particularlyvolleyball,basketball, andsoftball. She graduated fromOttawa Township High School in 2000, and then went on to study atNorthern Illinois University.[12] Before her career in wrestling began, Kanellis regularly competed inbeauty pageants.[10]
Maria competed in theDiva Search in 2004,[10] deciding to enter the contest after seeing an advertisement while watchingRaw.[13] Even though she only placed fifth in the contest, she was hired by the company.[3] She stood out in the contest by giving fellow contestantCarmella DeCesarethe finger after being eliminated from the contest.[3] Maria began making appearances inOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's then-developmental territory.[3] She contributedbooking ideas, and her work at OVW earned her a spot on theRaw brand roster.[3] Maria was brought on toRaw as a ditzy backstage interviewer and the host of WWE KissCam in November 2004.[14] Hergimmick involved her asking wrong questions, irritating and amusing the roster.[3][10]
In 2005, Maria began wrestling and was defeated in her first official match on the January 10, 2005, episode ofRaw byChristy Hemme in aLingerie Pillow Fight.[3][10] On the March 14 episode ofRaw, one of Maria'sfillingslegitimately fell out after she was slapped by Trish Stratus.[3] She also competed in a Fulfill Your Fantasy DivaBattle Royal atTaboo Tuesday for theWWE Women's Championship, but was the first to be eliminated.[15] On November 14, Maria competed in a non-title Diva Battle Royal at theEddie Guerrero tributeRaw show, where she was one of the last three women left but was eliminated byMelina andTrish Stratus.[16]
On the November 28 episode ofRaw, Maria interviewed then-Raw General ManagerEric Bischoff, and asked him whether or not he thought he was going to be fired. He then booked her in a match withKurt Angle out of spite, where Maria was laid out with theAngle Slam and nearly put in anAnkle Lock while unconscious before being saved byJohn Cena.[17] As a result, one week later, Maria testified in the trial against Bischoff, who was being fired because of his controversial actions as general manager.[18]
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On the January 2, 2006, episode ofRaw, Maria was attacked and stripped of her clothes byVince's Devils (Victoria,Torrie Wilson, andCandice Michelle), but she was saved byAshley Massaro. During a commercial break that night,Vince McMahon announced aGauntletBra & Panties Match forNew Year's Revolution between all five girls.[19] At the event, Maria was the first to enter the Gauntlet match and eliminated Michelle and Wilson before being eliminated by Victoria. The match was ultimately won by Massaro.[15] On the February 6, episode ofRaw,Jonathan Coachman announced thatEdge andLita would have fought the mixed team ofJohn Cena and Maria in the main event, and before the match John Cena kissed Maria, who came into his locker room to express her nervousness for the competition (despite the kiss, any on-screen romance between the pair was born).[3][10][18] Maria scored the victory after aspear meant for Cena hit Lita.[20] The following month, Lita defeated Maria in a one-sided singles match.[21]
On the April 10 episode ofRaw, Maria received title match forMickie James'WWE Women's Championship, but lost. On October 16, Maria won a Fatal Four-Way Bra and Panties match against Victoria, Candice, and Wilson to advance to the semi-finals in a Women's Championship Tournament.[22] Maria, however, lost in the semi-finals to Lita.[23]
On the November 6 episode ofRaw, Maria was forced to compete in a match againstUmaga by Eric Bischoff or be fired. Maria was completely destroyed and rag-dolled by Umaga before the match could begin, suffering aSamoan drop and running hip attack before John Cena ran out to stop the assault.
On the January 1, 2007, episode ofRaw, Maria attempted to interviewKevin Federline, but was instead slapped byMelina. This led to a match between the two later that night, which Melina won. AtNew Year's Revolution, Maria and Candice ran to the ring during the Women's Championship match between Victoria and Mickie James to stop Melina from interfering, helping James retain the title.[24] In the following weeks she faced Melina in two tag team matches, where she won one.[25][26] Maria began anon-screen romance withSantino Marella in June. On the November 5 episode ofRaw, Marella was confronted by the returningStone Cold Steve Austin for criticizing his movie,The Condemned. As a part of the storyline, the argument ended as Marella received aStone Cold Stunner from Austin.
After formerPlayboy cover-girlAshley Massaro's return in early 2008, Kanellis engaged in backstage segments where Massaro suggested Maria should be on the cover ofPlayboy.[3][27] As a part of the storyline, Maria defeatedBeth Phoenix on February 18, to "earn the right" to be on the cover of the magazine.[3] During herPlayboy cover unveiling, Maria's cover was plastered over with images of Marella.[3][13] After Marella offered an ultimatum of posing for the magazine or staying with him as a couple,[28] she then broke up with him.[3] Maria, along with Ashley were defeated by Phoenix andMelina atWrestleMania XXIV in aPlayboy BunnyManiaLumberjill match.[2][3][29] After the match, Maria passionately kissed theMaster of Ceremonies,Snoop Dogg.[18][29] The next night on Raw, Maria wrestled Marella, but the match ended with Maria as the winner. This ended their feud.
As part of the2008 WWE supplemental draft, Maria was drafted to theSmackDown brand. She made her debut on the August 1 episode ofSmackDown by defeatingVictoria.[30][31] On the October 17 episode ofSmackDown!, Maria won a "Las VegasDice on a Pole" match to become the number one contender for theWWE Divas Championship,[32] but lost for the title against then-championMichelle McCool.[33] Maria participated in theRaw vs. Smackdown Divas match atSurvivor Series, where she eliminatedJillian Hall before her team lost the match.[34] On the December 5 episode ofSmackDown!, Maria pinned Divas Champion Michelle McCool, but she was defeated byMaryse in a number one contender's match for the title two weeks later.[35][36] At theArmageddon on December 14, Maria was part of the winning team of aSanta's Little Helper tag team match.[37][38] On the December 26 episode ofSmackDown!, she served as aspecial guest referee in the Divas Championship match between Maryse and McCool, where Maryse became the new champion. After the match, McCool turnedheel and attacked Maria.
On the January 23, 2009, episode ofSmackDown, Maria returned and attacked McCool during a match. On the February 13 episode ofSmackDown, she defeated McCool following interference fromEve Torres.[39] Over the next several weeks, Maria competed in various tag-team matches against McCool, with Maria winning three out of four matches.[40][41] She also competed atWrestleMania XXV for the "Miss WrestleMania" crown, but was eliminated by Victoria. Throughout June, Maria served as the special guest referee in Diva matches. Maria made her in-ring return on the July 3 episode ofSmackDown, teaming with Melina to defeatLayCool (Michelle McCool andLayla).[42] Soon after, she entered into an on-screen relationship withDolph Ziggler, despite her being afan favorite and him being avillainous character.[43][44] AtNight of Champions, Maria accompanied Ziggler to his match withRey Mysterio forIntercontinental Championship.[45] In the following weeks, Melina implied that Ziggler was cheating on Maria, which Maria did not believe.[46] Maria and Ziggler later broke up on the October 6 episode ofSmackDown in a backstage segment, after she cost him his match withJohn Morrison.[47] Maria then took a brief hiatus from the ring to film theCelebrity Apprentice, but returned on the December 4 episode ofSmackDown by helpingMickie James fend off an attack by LayCool. She made her in-ring return the following week, teaming up with James to defeat LayCool. On December 14, Maria won theSlammy Award forDiva of the Year, which was voted for by WWE fans.[48]
Final appearance and departure (2010)
After Mickie James defeated Michelle McCool to become WWE Women's Champion, Maria appeared post-match at theRoyal Rumble with other Divas, to cakeLayCool for revenge. Her last appearance would be in a six-person mixed tag team match on Superstars, in which she, Matt Hardy and The Great Khali were defeated by The Hart Dynasty. Then, Maria was released from her WWE contract on February 26.[49]
Maria confirmed on herTwitter account that she would be appearing atRing of Honor (ROH)'sFinal Battle pay-per-view on December 23, 2011. She accompanied her real-life boyfriend,Mike Bennett, as avillainess, in athree-way elimination match for theROH World Television Championship, where he won.[50]
On January 7, 2012, tapings ofRing of Honor Wrestling, she was dubbed the "First Lady of ROH".[51] At the June 21 tapings ofRing of Honor Wrestling, Kanellis accompanied Bennett andBrutal Bob Evans to the ring, where they lost toEddie Edwards andAdam Cole. After the match, Kanellis, Bennett and Bob attacked Cole and Edwards, but were stopped bySara Del Rey, who Edwards had brought in to neutralize Kanellis.[52] At theBoiling Point on August 11, Maria and Bennett lost to Del Rey and Edwards in a mixed tag team match.[53] In September 2012, Kanellis and Bennett became involved in a storyline withMike Mondo after he kissed Kanellis during one of Bennett's matches. On Glory by Honor in October, Bennett defeated Mondo to end the feud. On December 16 atFinal Battle 2012: Doomsday, Kanellis along with Bob accompanied Bennett to the ring where he defeatedJerry Lynn in his final ROH match before retirement.[54]
On September 19, 2013, Maria and Bennett defeated The Brutal Burgers (BrutalBob Evans andCheeseburger) in anIntergender tag team match.[55] On October 26, during Bennett's match with Kevin Steen at theGlory by Honor XII, Kanellis tried to interfere but was attacked byLisa Marie Varon.[56]
Kanellis and Bennett returned to ROH at the January 4, 2014, tapings ofRing of Honor Wrestling which aired on February 1, with Kanellis helping Bennett defeatCedric Alexander.[57] Throughout the summer, Maria and Bennett would get involved inMatt Hardy's feud withThe Briscoes.[58] During the feud, The Kingdom stole Jay Briscoe's title; Matt Hardy customized it as the Iconic Championship. At All Stars Extravaganza 6, Bennett and Maria customized the title as the Championship of Love. They were interrupted by Jay Briscoe's brother, Mark. Bennett and Kanellis left ROH after the December 19, 2015,Ring of Honor Wrestling taping, after failing to come to terms on a new contract with the promotion.[59]
On February 25, 2012, Maria won a tournament to determine the inauguralFamily Wrestling Entertainment (FWE)Women's Champion. The victory also marked Kanellis' first championship in professional wrestling.[60] She held the championship until March 24, when she lost it toWinter in a three-way match also involvingRosita.[61] In July, Kanellis regained the championship from Winter.[62] Kanellis successfully defended her title againstAngelina Love atFWE: No Limits.[63]
In September 2012, Kanellis made her debut forChikara, managing Mike Bennett andThe Young Bucks to the finals of the2012 King of Trios tournament.[64][65][66] Alongside Gavin Loudspeaker, Kanellis hosted the 2014 National Pro Wrestling Day. On October 4, 2014, Maria lost the FWE Women's Championship againstIvelisse Vélez
On April 6, 2015, Kanellis managed Bennett andMatt Taven to captureNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)'sIWGP Tag Team Championship atInvasion Attack 2015. The following day, NJPW announced that, due to Mike Bennet's politics backstage, the promotion had booked its first match involving female wrestlers since October 2002, which would see Kanellis team up with Bennett and Taven to take onAmber Gallows,Doc GallowsandKarl Anderson atWrestling Dontaku 2015 on May 3.[67] Kanellis pinned Amber to win the match.[68] On July 5 atDominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, Kanellis accompanied Bennett and Taven to their first IWGP Tag Team Championship defense against Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. The Kingdom lost the match and the championship, after Doc Gallowssuperkicked Kanellis, which distracted Bennett, leaving Taven alone to lose the match.[69]
On January 5, 2016, duringImpact Wrestling's premiere onPop TV, Maria made her debut as a heel introducing her husband as"The Miracle" Mike Bennett.[70][71][72] In February, Maria began afeud withGail Kim after Kim refused Maria's help to make her go "mainstream".[73][74] On the April 19 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Maria won aladder match to become the newImpact Knockouts Division Commissioner.[75] During the feud between Maria and Gail Kim, where a singles match was set up forSlammiversary. On June 10, Maria then revealed on herInstagram account that she suffered a broken hand,[76] and therefore she was not medically cleared to compete at Slammiversary and her match with Kim was called off. Kim was therefore added to the Knockouts Championship match, making it a triple threat match.
On the September 1, episode ofImpact Wrestling, Maria berated and forcibly pinned her apprenticeAllie to win theTNA Women's Knockout Championship for the first time in her career.[77] On October 2 at theBound for Glory pay-per-view, Kim defeated Maria for the title, ending her reign at 50 days and Gail Kim also defeated Maria to step down as the new TNA Knockouts Commissioner.[78][79] After being convinced byKevin Owens, the couple didn't re-sign with TNA and, on March 1, they left the promotion.[80][81]
Return and managing Mike Kanellis (2017–2019)
On June 18, 2017, Kanellis returned to WWE alongside her husband Mike Kanellis in his WWE debut atMoney in the Bank, establishing the Kanellis couple asheels for the first time in Maria's WWE career.[82][5][83] On the July 18 episode ofSmackDown, Maria helped Mike defeatSami Zayn in his WWE debut match.[84] In September, Kanellis went on a leave of absence from WWE, following her pregnancy announcement.[85] On January 22, 2018, at the25th Anniversary of Raw, a visibly pregnant Maria was honored as part of a segment involving women considered legends that contributed to the company's success, includingThe Bella Twins (Brie andNikki),Maryse,Kelly Kelly,Lilian Garcia,Torrie Wilson,Michelle McCool,Terri Runnels, andWWE Hall of FamersJacqueline andTrish Stratus.[86]
Nine months later, on the October 10 episode of205 Live, Maria officially made her television return as she interrupted a match betweenLince Dorado andLio Rush, allowing her husband, who attack Dorado.[87][88] Three weeks later, on October 28, in her first match back in WWE since December 2009, Kanellis took part of the first ever all women's pay–per–view,Evolution, where she competed in a battle royal for a future women's championship match but she was eliminated by the eventual winnerNia Jax.[89] Throughout the rest of the year, Kanellis would continue hermanagerial role as she would accompany her husband Mike to his matches on205 Live where both would appear regularly.[90][91][92][93][94] On January 16,Pro Wrestling Sheet'sRyan Satin reported that Maria and Mike recently asked WWE to release them from their contracts.[95] Maria would go on to deny that she asked for her release.[96] Mike Johnson ofPro Wrestling Illustrated reported that they were not backstage at the following episode of205 Live.[97] On January 27, 2019, at theRoyal Rumble, Kanellis returned for the first time since Evolution in the previous year and competed in her first women'sRoyal Rumble match, entering at number 15 and lasting 08:12 minutes before she was eliminated byAlicia Fox.[98] She would not appear on television until the January 29, 2019205 Live, where she accompanied Mike in a match against Kalisto, in which the latter won.[99]
24/7 Champion and departure (2019–2020)
On the July 1, 2019, episode ofRaw, Mike and Maria lost a mixed tag team match againstSeth Rollins andBecky Lynch. During the match, Maria revealed she was pregnant with her and Bennett's second child. On the July 29 episode ofRaw, after Mike had won theWWE 24/7 Championship fromR-Truth, he hid from a crowd of male wrestlers in his and Maria's locker room where Maria instructed Mike to lay down so she could pin him and win the title to become the 24/7 Champion, her first title in WWE. The following week, she lost the title back to Mike when he hugged her on the examination table during Maria'sOB-GYN appointment. She then became the focal point of a story on TV, where she would say that Mike was not the father of her child, resulting in her husband losing matches in a humiliating manner.[100] However, the storyline was dropped. According to her, the storyline would end with Mike being the father.[101]
Kanellis hasn't appeared in WWE since 2019 and on April 15, 2020, Kanellis, her husband and many other employees were released from their WWE contracts due to budget cuts amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic.[102]
On December 20, 2020, ROH announced the return of Maria through their social media platforms, as Maria introduced "The Experience", where fans can discuss and influence about ROH online.[103] On October 27, 2021, she was released by ROH among other wrestlers due to the company closing down.
AtHard To Kill, on January 8, 2022, Maria made her return to TNA, now known asImpact Wrestling, along with Mike Bennett,Matt Taven,PCO, andVincent, where they attackedEddie Edwards,Rich Swann,Willie Mack,Heath and Rhino.[104][105][106]
On October 8, 2022, it was announced that Bennett, Kanellis, Taven and Vincent had leftImpact Wrestling.[107]
Maria made herAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on the October 14, 2022, episode ofRampage, alongside Mike Bennett and Matt Taven, interruptingFTR andShawn Spears' victory celebration. In 2023, Maria quietly left The Kingdom and began managing the team ofCole Karter andGriff Garrison in ROH, now the sister promotion of AEW. On January 31, 2025, Maria announced her departure from AEW.[108]
In 2004, she was a contestant on the reality show,Outback Jack.[12][109] She made it to the final three before being eliminated.[110]
During the week of November 5, 2007, she appeared on five episodes ofFamily Feud with several other WWE superstars.[111] She also appeared on the February 6, 2008, episode ofProject Runway with some of the otherWWE Divas.[12] On August 17, 2008, Maria,Candice Michelle, andEve Torres were on an episode ofSunset Tan. Kanellis later appeared onVH1'sTop 20 Video Countdown, along withJohn Cena. On December 17, 2009, she was a guest host on G4'sAttack of the Show.[112] Kanellis began a new career as amixed martial arts announcer forHDNet on March 26, 2010, at theKing of the Cage event in Reno, Nevada.[113] Kanellis was also a contestant on theCelebrity Apprentice, which premiered in March 2010. She was eliminated on the May 16 episode. She placed fifth out of fourteen contestants.[114]
Kanellis was first asked to pose forPlayboy when she was nineteen years old, but she turned down the offer in fear of embarrassing her sister.[3][14][27] She eventually posed for the cover of the April 2008 issue, with an accompanying nude pictorial.[12] For the pictorial, she chose her own wardrobe and made the black hooded jacket she wore in one of the photos.[13][29] That same year,FHM named her 53rd of 100 on their "The Sexiest Women 2008" list.[115] With WWEtransitioning to PG content a few months after Kanellis's pictorial and WWE dropping its use of the term WWE Diva in 2016 in favor of referring to thefemale talent as WWE Superstars along with the men, Kanellis was ultimately the last active WWE Diva to pose nude for the magazine.
Kanellis is also a singer and released her debut albumSevin Sins on April 13, 2010, with "Fantasy" as the first single.
In early 2011, Kanellis appeared in theFunny or Die web series,Swallow and in March 2011 she launched her own perfume line called Signature. In September 2011, Kanellis launched her DVD line in conjunction with Code Red DVD called Maria's B Movie Mayhem.[116]
In January 2014, Kanellis and Bennett launched a weekly podcast calledMike & Maria in Wonderland.[117]
Kanellis also owns and operates an event design company called Wonderland Event Productions.[118]
Kanellis has appeared in four WWE video games. She made her in-game debut inSmackDown vs. Raw 2009.[119] Maria also appears inSmackDown vs. Raw 2010,[120]WWE 2K19[121] asDLC andWWE 2K20.[122]
In a December 2011 interview, Kanellis confirmed she was datingMike Bennett, and the couple were engaged in November 2012.[123][124] On October 10, 2014, Kanellis and Bennett married.[125] On September 25, 2017, Kanellis announced she and Bennett were expecting their first child.[126] On April 3, 2018, the couple welcomed their daughter, Fredrica "Freddie" Moon Bennett.[127] On the July 1, 2019, episode of Raw, during a mixed tag team match with Kanellis and Bennett againstSeth Rollins andBecky Lynch, Kanellis announced that she and Bennett are expecting their second child. Maria and Mike welcomed their son Carver Mars Bennett on February 3, 2020.
In 2013, Kanellis was announced as one of the recipients of WWE's Talent Scholarship, which she utilized to obtain a degree in Sports, Entertainment, and Event Management fromJohnson & Wales University, graduating in May 2017.[128][129]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Mother Hen | Kelly | [citation needed] |
| 2013 | Army of the Damned | Terry | [citation needed] |
| 2014 | Penance | Girl | Short film |
| 2014 | The Opposite Sex | Hot Mess | [citation needed] |
| 2017 | Saving Christmas | Herself |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Outback Jack | Herself | [12] |
| 2007 | Family Feud | Herself | [111] |
| 2008 | Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed | Herself | |
| 2008 | Project Runway | Herself | [12] |
| 2008 | Sunset Tan | Herself | |
| 2009 | Attack of the Show | Herself | [112] |
| 2010 | Celebrity Apprentice | Herself | [114] |
| 2010 | Cubed | Herself | |
| 2011 | Swallow: The Series | Vicki |
,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database