Ringbelles’ Women Of Wrestling Podcast interviews Maria Kanellis about a range of topics incorporating her current status with Ring Of Honor, which she clarifies following reports that she and fiancé Mike Bennett were looking to finish up with the promotion:
“I never said that I was done with Ring Of Honor. I just said that WWE had contacted me… Ring Of Honor is still me home.”
As part of the interview, Maria discusses how far down the road she got with negotiations for a return to WWE, and her thoughts on rumours that her proposed return was nixed:
“I don’t think that the Bella Twins could be so immature – I always found them to be very mature and business minded so I can’t imagine them doing that. Unfortunately we may never know the truth unless we get it from the horse’s mouth. I try not to play too much into rumours because that can get you into a lot of trouble.”
Maria explains why she publicly apologised to Barbie “Kelly Kelly” Blank on Twitter earlier this week:
“As you get older you start looking at things… you kinda leave all the stupidity of past angers behind. It’s about making peace with everything that I’ve ever had a problem with in the past and I think that Barbie’s extremely talented; I think that she’s a fan favourite and I just don’t want any negativity in my life anymore. I want to apologise for any time there was an argument.”
They also cover her time after the Diva Search in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where she was under the wing of Paul Heyman:
“Paul’s a great friend of mine. I always say that I’m a Paul Heyman lady. That’s really where my career began – when he started working with me, and really started believing in me is when I started believing in myself.”
They talk about Sara Del Rey training the next generation of WWE Divas and hear all about her relationship with Mike Bennett (including wedding details and their engagement story). They discuss how she got her start in wrestling via the Diva Search, and developing the ditzy character that eventually became her trademark in WWE. They talk Fit Finlay‘s influence on the Divas Division, some of her favorite WWE memories, including where her Slammy Award is now.
