Maria Kanellis Compares WWE Departures From 2010 & 2020
Maria Kanellis has reflected on her two WWE releases, explaining how her 2020 departure was a "terrifying" period in her life.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced WWE to release several of its stars, including Kanellis and her husband, Mike Bennett. Kanellis, who had previously been released by WWE in 2010, detailed on "Wrestling Life Online" why her second release was tougher on her.
"2010, not so much. 2020, yes," she said when asked if the releases had a significant impact on her. "I had a 9-week-old at home. We had two babies. We both lost our jobs on the same day. And it was terrifying."
Kanellis revealed that Bennett was worried about not having anything to do after his release from WWE, while she had other options on the table. She then contrasted her two releases from WWE and further explained how her most recent release in 2020 was a tough one to navigate. What made matters worse for her was that ROH, which she joined after her WWE release, had to wind down operations due to the pandemic.
"2010 was more of a 'me' thing. I was offered a contract, I just didn't accept it because 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. I was on every single house show, I was every single TV show. They wanted to start bringing me in for double, so I would be doing Raw, SmackDown and then they had like another show on Tuesday and I was like, 'I cannot [do this]. You have to pay me more. Like, I'm losing money.' And they were like, 'No,'" she added. "2020 came out of nowhere, and I was scared. And then everything happened with Ring of Honor, and that was even scarier because with Ring of Honor, we didn't have like a backup plan."
Kanellis said that she and her husband had to spend their entire savings after their release from ROH, explaining how the pandemic was a scary time
