GFW News: How a current WWE star made GFW's hottest angle work
What's the story?
Ever since the wedding segment featuring Braxton Sutter and Laurel Van Ness aired on Impact, fans were entranced by the charismatic performance of Maria Kanellis, who carried that segment. I was part of a conference call featuring Sienna and Laurel Van Ness, who were both part of the segment, as well as Karen Jarrett, and asked them about Maria Kanellis' role in the same.
In case you didn't know...
Maria Kanellis was a part of GFW until recently, where she was a valet to her husband, 'Miracle' Mike Bennett. The two of them shifted base to WWE recently, where they have been feuding with Sami Zayn.
One of the most compelling storylines on TNA recently featured a raucous crowd that did not want Braxton Sutter to get married to Laurel Van Ness, and choose Allie instead. The Impact Zone was quite deafening.
The heart of the matter
Laurel Van Ness spoke about the evolution of her character, into the crazed, alcoholic woman that we see on screen these days, at one point during the interview. Her character was conceptualized in part by everyone in the back, who offered their suggestions. She said that the wedding segment was a collaborative effort too, and said the following about Maria Kanellis:
Maria was a huge part of it. Leading up to the wedding, it really was 75% of Maria's planning all of this, in the back and cutting promos and things like that.and that's kind of what the build up was all about...Maria.
Sienna offered her views too:
I do think that...people can say what they want...but the fans hated Maria so much...that's why they wanted to see Allie beat her so badly. Even though I was probably the least important person in the entire segment, that was like the rowdiest I've seen the Impact Zone..it felt like the fans were surrounding the ring. They were so loud the entire time. So loud I could not hear Laurel on the microphone.
Karen Jarrett brought up the fact that for a heel to be good, you need a compelling babyface as well. In that regard, she praised Allie for her performance.
What's next?
While Maria Kanellis is no longer a part of GFW, Sienna and Laurel Van Ness are hoping to rebuild the division to its glory days when Knockouts like Mickie James, Gail Kim and Awesome Kong ruled the roost.
Author's note
I love the segment that has been discussed, and it was really cool to hear the women talk about it, with all their heartfelt passion. Maria Kanellis is one criminally underrated woman when she has the microphone in her hand. I do hope she gets to shine on WWE.