SK Exclusive: Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis on the verge of signing with the WWE
What's the story?
As broken on the “Dirty Sheets’ Podcast, via our “DS Breaking News” show, former TNA superstar Mike Bennett and his wife, former WWE and TNA superstar, Maria Kannelis Bennett are on the verge of signing for the WWE.
You listen to the Podcast, below (length, 3 mins and 26 seconds):
In case you didn't know...
Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis Bennett left TNA several months ago, along with the Hardy Boyz and Drew Galloway. Much like Galloway and the Hardy Boyz, the pair failed to agree on terms with TNA's new owners, Anthem Sports.
Maria left the WWE back in 2011, after 7 years with the company. One thing stopping Maria returning sooner may have been her issues with the Bella sisters. Maria has accused the sisters of having no real talent and getting by solely on their romantic real-life connections.
Maria claims that the problems with the Bellas may have started after she annoyed Nikki several years ago by dancing with her then-boyfriend, Dolph Ziggler.
Maria in an interview with WrestlingInc said, “We were all hanging out, having fun and dancing. I was dancing with him. I was dancing with the girls. I was dancing with the other people that were there. So all of a sudden when I'm dancing with Dolph I get a tap on the shoulder and it's Nikki Bella going, 'what are you doing?' And I said, 'uh, dancing with my friend?' And she's like, 'oh, he's with me.' I said 'okaaaay, sure.”
The heart of the matter
We have been informed by our sources that both Bennett and Maria have either signed or all but signed their new WWE deals. It is believed that there was some debate as to whether they would be used on SmackDown Live or NXT, however, that issue seems to have been resolved now. Look for the pair to debut shortly.
What's next?
SmackDown Live's first PPV since WrestleMania will be Backlash on Sunday 21st May. We are told that planned card for that PPV already looks pretty full, so if the pair debut on SD Live, it's likely to be after Backlash. However, if they go to NXT, it could be as early as the next set of tapings.
Author's take
Much like Drew Galloway/McIntyre and Booby Roode, Mike Bennett doesn't need to go through a developmental promotion, however, with the NXT now being a touring brand, Bennett's star power will be the reasoning behind him winding up on NXT if that is where he and Maria wind up.
However, with Miz and Maryse moving on to Raw, I feel the perfect spot has opened up for the pair to debut on SmackDown Live and it wouldn't surprise me to see the pair skip NXT and go straight to Tuesday nights.
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