Maria Kanellis is opening up about her 2020 WWE release, but there’s one part of the story wrestling fans shouldn’t forget.
While speaking to Wrestling Life Online, Kanellis compared her WWE exits in 2010 and 2020. She said her first WWE departure was more of a business decision, because she didn’t feel the contract offer matched what she was doing for the company. Her 2020 release, however, hit very differently. When asked if her 2010 exit was a crushing blow, Maria made it clear that wasn’t the one that shook her.
“So, 2010, not so much. 2020, yes.”
Maria was released by WWE during the company’s April 2020 cuts, right in the middle of the COVID shutdown. She and Mike Bennett were both let go on the same day, with two young children at home.
“It was I had a 9-week-old at home. Um we had two babies. We both lost our jobs on the same day. And it was terrifying.”
That is a rough spot for any family, no matter how anyone spins it. Two incomes gone, a newborn at home, and the wrestling business basically frozen during the pandemic. Maria said she and Mike handled the news in completely different ways.
“Um Mike always jokes because I had He’s like, ‘Maria had a million things that she wanted to do within a couple of days of getting released and he was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ And he thought maybe he was going to they have to leave wrestling and maybe he wanted to quit because he got fired and he like had to go through this whole thing and for me I was just like, ‘All right, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this.’”
That said, this wasn’t exactly a situation where Mike and Maria had been thrilled with WWE the whole time. Back in January 2019, they were trying to get out of the company themselves.
Ringside News reported at the time that Mike and Maria Kanellis had asked for their WWE releases. It was stated that the decision had apparently been made weeks earlier. This came during a period where The Revival had also asked to leave WWE, and several talents were frustrated with how they were being used.
Mike and Maria had been unhappy in WWE for a while. Maria had been vocal on social media about Mike not being on television, and the couple was eventually moved to 205 Live instead of getting a stronger spot on Raw or SmackDown.
Mike had also gone through a major physical transformation, but that still did not lead to a bigger television role. At the time, a WWE release could have opened another door for them, especially with the wrestling business heating up outside the company.
So yes, Maria can say the 2020 release was terrifying. That part makes sense. But fans should also remember that a year earlier, Mike and Maria were asking WWE to let them go. The real difference was the timing. Wanting out when the industry is hot is one thing. Getting cut during COVID, with two babies at home, is a completely different nightmare.
Maria also explained why her 2010 WWE exit didn’t scare her the same way. She said WWE offered her a new deal, but she didn’t feel the money matched her workload.
“2010 was more of a me thing. I was offered a contract. I just didn’t accept it because it wasn’t it wasn’t as much as I deserved at the time. And I was working a ton. Like I was on the same schedule as Cena.”
Maria said she was working house shows, television tapings, and being asked to take on even more dates. At that point, she felt WWE needed to pay her more.
“Like I was on every single house show, I was on I was uh working every single TV show. They wanted to start bringing me in for um double, so I would be doing Raw, SmackDown and then they had like another show on Tuesday and I was like, ‘I cannot. This is You have to pay me more. Like I I’m losing money.’”
According to Maria, WWE wouldn’t increase the offer, and she chose not to accept less.
“And they were like, ‘No.’ And so then I get the call, ‘We’re not going to renew your contract.’ But I could have accepted less. I just chose not to um in 2010. 2020 came out of nowhere and I was scared.”
Maria also brought up Ring of Honor later shutting down under Sinclair, saying that hit hard because she and Mike had already gone through their savings during the pandemic. TNA eventually gave them another landing spot with the Honor No More storyline, but those years were clearly brutal.
Maria Kanellis has every right to say the 2020 WWE release scared her. Losing both jobs during COVID with a newborn at home would scare just about anyone. Still, the full picture is more complicated, because Mike and Maria were already trying to leave WWE in 2019. The timing just changed everything.
What do you think about Maria Kanellis saying her 2020 WWE release was terrifying after she and Mike Bennett previously asked to leave WWE? Does that change how you see the story? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.
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