WWE News: WWE wishes TNA Knockout Maria Kanellis-Bennett on her birthday
What’s The Story?
WWE acknowledged ex-employee and current TNA mainstay Maria Kanellis-Bennett on her birthday, by sending her best wishes via WWE’s official Instagram page, in what appears to be more than merely a friendly gesture from the world’s biggest pro-wrestling organisation.
With Maria and her real-life husband cum co-worker Mike Bennett recently entering free-agency in this month, fan speculation began as to which organisation the couple would head to. WWE’s recent Instagram post served to add fuel to the fire.
In case you didn’t know...
Maria Kanellis-Bennett is a former WWE Diva who currently competes for TNA where she has held the TNA Knockouts championship. Maria is best known for her days in the WWE (2004-10), after which she competed in several other regional as well as international pro-wrestling organisations such as ROH (Ring Of Honor) and NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) among others.
The heart of the matter
With Maria celebrating her birthday on the 25th of this month, her former employers pleasantly surprised the ‘Miracle’s’ better-half, by acknowledging her on their official social media accounts. Here’s the company’s Instagram post:
More birthday wishes go out to former #WWE Superstar, @mariakanellis! #HappyBirthdayMaria
Having appeared on the April 2008 cover of Playboy magazine, Maria is one of the most popular female wrestlers of this era, having featured in several prominent storylines during her time with the WWE, ROH, NJPW as well as TNA.
What’s next?
Now although the aforementioned Instagram post seems like a subtle hint that her former bosses want her back, several pro-wrestling pundits feel that the former Knockouts champ and her husband will choose to stay with TNA, at least for another year.
Furthermore, with reports of Jeff Jarrett’s potential return to TNA, several performers are banking on the fledgeling company turning things around this year.
Sportskeeda’s take
It’s essential to note that WWE has several top-notch female wrestlers on its roster as of today. Now, mind you, by top-notch, I mean excellent ring-work, good mic-skills as well as decent athleticism, as compared to the 90s and mid-2000s when most female wrestlers (except maybe Lita and Trish Stratus) were restricted to being noting more than eye-candy. Remember Maria’s pillow-fight and ahem...’Nightgown’ matches?
Since the company is trying to re-build its female roster with performers who can actually wrestle rather than hiring female pro-wrestlers who just look good, it seems that the company would want a less-than-stellar technician like Kanellis-Bennett back. That said, in the world of professional wrestling you should expect the unexpected. After all, we only do ‘What’s Best For Business’.