Maria Kanellis-Bennett has shared that she is cancer-free after battling a tumor that she’s been dealing with for much of 2024. In July, doctors found a mass on her adrenal gland, and in October, she had a retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy in order to remove the mass.
Taking to X, Kanellis-Bennett shared the positive news that the tumor was not cancerous. Maria shared her gratitude to be going into the holidays cancer-free and appreciated the fans support throughout this ordeal.
Kanellis-Bennett’s mass was a Pheochromocytoma, a rare kind of tumor that affects between 3-8 people out of a million, according to the pro wrestling veteran. A Pheochromocytoma can affect a patient’s mood, metabolism, blood pressure, and heart rate, Maria added, and shared that she’s “blessed” that it was found when it was.
With this health scare behind her, Kanellis-Bennett can enjoy the holiday season with her family, though questions remain as to her status with AEW/Ring of Honor. Maria shared in October that her contract was due to expire that month, and despite reaching out to the promotion, she had not heard anything at the time. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from Maria as she continues to bounce back from this recent health scare.
In October 2022, Maria Kanellis-Bennett arrived in AEW alongside her husband Mike and Matt Taven, shortly after exiting Impact Wrestling. As well as AEW, the trio have also appeared and competed for Ring of Honor, but Maria’s time working with Tony Khan may be ending within a matter of days.
On Instagram, Maria shared an update on her retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy, sharing that she has been consulting with a surgeon and will undergo an operation soon. Maria was diagnosed in July of this year after a mass was found on her adrenal gland.
Addressing her AEW future on Instagram, Maria shared that her contract is due to expire on October 31 and despite reaching out to AEW about whether she’ll be re-signed, “I haven’t heard anything yet”. Maria said she’s trying not to dwell too much on her health concerns or her worries about her AEW future, but is instead getting into the ‘spooky season’ by setting up some Halloween decorations.
With over 20 years in the wrestling business, Maria has proven herself in a variety of roles from being an in-ring talent to an interviewer to a manager of other wrestlers. Ultimately, it will be Tony Khan’s decision as to whether Maria is presented with a new contract, and if so, her choice as to whether she’ll remain with AEW/ROH or try herself in a different promotion. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on Maria and other contracts in the world of professional wrestling.
Maria Kanellis-Bennett will go under the knife later this year to deal with a concerning matter regarding her adrenal gland. Earlier this month, Kanellis-Bennett shared that she had visited a doctor after showing symptoms that had her concerned. The ROH performer learned that a mass had been found on her adrenal gland and urged fans to listen to their bodies if they suspect something is wrong.
In an update, Maria shared that she has had blood work done and is expected to undergo surgery this September. The former WWE 24/7 Champion will undergo a retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy and doctors will biopsy the mass after.
A retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy typically requires the potential to lie face down on the operating table. The surgeon then places a small lighted camera into the back through a series of small incisions so they can view and access the adrenal glands. Small surgical tools are used to remove the entire adrenal gland if it is wholly infected or if possible, only a portion of it.
Maria’s announcement comes days after she appeared at ROH Death Before Dishonor where Mike Bennett and Matt Taven retained the ROH World Tag Team Championships against The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii.) Maria also appeared at AEW Battle of the Belts XI where the Undisputed Kingdom (Mike, Taven, and Roderick Strong) lost to the Von Erichs and Dustin Rhodes in a match for the vacant ROH World Six-Man Tag-Team Championships.
We here at SE Scoops are continuing to send our very best to Maria at this difficult time.
AEW/ROH’s Maria Kanellis-Bennett is urging fans to listen to their bodies after discovering a recent cancer scare on her adrenal gland.
In a tweet, Maria shared that she got her adrenal glands checked earlier this year after experiencing some symptoms that had her concerned. Maria added that insurance would not cover the tests, but she got them anyway to be safe. This week, the scans showed that she is dealing with a mass that has been found on her adrenal gland.
Kanellis-Bennett noted that she is set to meet with an endocrinologist surgeon and at this time, it is too early to tell if this is cancer or not. Maria did treat herself to some French fries and a concrete mixer milkshake and told fans “Moral of the story… listen to your body.”
This is a concerning situation for Maria and shows the importance of people making sure they’re okay if they sense something is wrong. In February of this year, WWE alum Maryse shared that she had been diagnosed with pre-cancer of the ovaries. Thankfully, the issue was spotted early on and the two-time Divas Champion underwent surgery. In March, Maryse shared that she was tumor-free and encouraged women to advocate for their own health and trust their instincts.
In May, Brandi Rhodes discovered that she was battling Endometriosis after years of living in pain. Rhodes was inspired by Maryse’s openness about her own health issues which gave her the courage to deal with the matter head-on. Rhodes has since undergone surgery and is said to be feeling much better. On her Instagram Stories, Maryse said she was touched that her story had inspired Brandi to seek out help.
We here at SE Scoops would like to send our absolute best wishes to Maria, her husband Mike, and their family at this unfortunate time.
Maria Kanellis-Bennett is not ashamed to be considered a WWE Diva, despite the stigma that era of women’s wrestling has with fans.
In 2015, WWE began its ‘Women’s Revolution’ and has made a concerted effort to treat women’s wrestling with more respect.
This revolution has resulted in female wrestlers being referred to as Superstars, the introduction of Women’s Tag Titles, and 2018’s all-female event WWE Evolution.
Proud
Maria debuted during the heights of WWE’s Divas division in 2004, and her first match the following year would be a Lingerie Pillow Fight.
This era of women’s wrestling has often been ridiculed by fans, especially compared to the more athletic competition seen today.
Speaking to SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall, Maria admitted to having mixed feelings about the Divas era for a long time.
“It was a different time. I’ve gone through so many transitions of loving that time, hating that time and now I’ve come to a really happy place where I love that I was able to come from that generation of women.”
Maria Kanellis-Bennett.
Kanellis-Bennett’s time in the Divas era would end in February 2010 when she was released, and by the time of her return, the Women’s Revolution was two years in effect.
Respect
While Maria may have come to terms with her part in the Divas era, many fans still believe that this era was detrimental to women’s wrestling.
Addressing the apparent lack of respect, Maria said the idea made little sense given how many women of the time remain big names in wrestling today.
“You have the people that were considered Divas, the Beth Phoenixes who have come and gone back and forth with NXT and have had matches on WrestleMania just recently. The Divas have done a lot and we really set the stage for everything moving forward. Whether people want to respect that or not that’s up to them.
“The facts are the facts and the facts are that Beth is still relevant. Maryse is still relevant. Mickie [James] is still relevant. I’m still doing my thing. Go down the line. The [Bella] Twins have had kids and come back. We’re still a part of this industry and we are still part of this generation. Love us or hate us but you got to respect us.”
“Love us or hate us but you’ve got to respect us.”
Maria Kanellis
Death Threats
While WWE treats their women with much more respect now, there are some fans who didn’t get the memo.
Kanellis-Bennett captured the 24/7 Championship in July 2019, the first pregnant person to hold gold.
Speaking about working with WWE while pregnant, Maria recalled the incredibly rude comments she received.
“I was having so many problems of like getting into the mode of motherhood, and like seeing all the comments of like, ‘oh your husband is just this and you’re just that and how dare you have a kid!’ and saying things about my daughter. She was like a couple of days old and I’m getting like death threats.”
Maria and her husband Mike would welcome their son Carver Mars Bennett into the world in February 2020.
The Kingdom has become the newest team to be All Elite, after signing full-time deals with AEW.
The group currently consists of Matt Taven, Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett and debuted for AEW during the October 14, episode of Rampage.
The group has previously worked in Ring of Honor and recently finished up with Impact Wrestling.
All-Elite
Despite debuting close to two weeks ago, The Kingdom were not signed to AEW at that time.
Fightful Select reports that Taven and Bennett lost the Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Championships during the Bound for Glory tapings, but the match hasn’t aired yet.
This means that given delay, the group were in canon, still Impact’s top team when they appeared on Rampage.
The report adds that all three members of The Kingdom have signed multi-year deals with AEW.
WWE
Before appearing on the October 14, Rampage, it was reported that WWE had been interested in signing Matt Taven.
In their report, Fightful notes that both Mike and Maria had conversations with WWE, but clearly did not reach an agreement.
It is not currently known if a firm offer was made by Head of Talent Relations Triple H.
All three signings had been part of Impact’s Honor No More stable, alongside Vincent, who was backstage at a recent Monday Night Raw.
Friends
The Kingdom debuted by challenging FTR for the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championships, but the two groups aren’t enemies.
In fact, Fightful’s report noted that it was FTR who were pushing backstage for Taven and the Bennetts to be hired.
While Maria has openly discussed helping Tony Khan with the ROH Women’s division, she is contracted solely as an on-screen performer.
Impact Wrestling’s roster has shrunk after the most recent tapings, as four stars have reportedly finished with the company.
Impact held its eighteenth annual Bound for Glory this week, and has confirmed the date and location for their next pay-per-view Hard to Kill 2023.
Departures
PW Insider reports that Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis-Bennett, Vincent, and Matt Taven are believed to have finished with the company.
Bennett, like his wife, returned to Impact this past January at the Hard to Kill pay per view, after being released from WWE in 2020.
Bennett’s departure, as well as Taven’s, is unusual as the pair are in their first reigns as Impact World Tag Team Champions.
Vincent also joined Impact Wrestling at Hard to Kill 2022, alongside Bennett, Kanellis and Taven.
Honor No More
The four departing wrestlers all debuted at the same time, and as part of a group, later dubbed by Kanellis-Bennett as ‘Honor no More’ in January 2022
The group, which included PCO, came about during Ring of Honor’s hiatus (which ended in April 2022,) and consisted of prominent former ROH talent.
Later that month, Kenny King, a former ROH and Impact Wrestling star, returned to the latter promotion and joined Honor No More.
The following month, Eddie Edwards would be revealed as the group’s leader.
The recent Bound for Glory event saw a mixed result for Honor No More, as Bennett and Taven retained their tag titles on the show against the Motor City Machine Guns.
On the other side of things, PCO would fail to win the Call Your Shot Gauntlet and Edwards would be unsuccessful against Impact World Champion Josh Alexander.
Vince McMahon is under an immense amount of scrutiny at this time, as he has been accused of inappropriate behavior with several women.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that McMahon is alleged to have had an affair with a female paralegal who left WWE this year, with the ex-CEO reportedly arranging a $3 million hush money payout.
It was later reported that McMahon has allegedly been inappropriate with several women, paying out $12 million in total.
A Change in Management
In 2017, Maria Kanellis-Bennett returned to WWE, alongside her husband Mike.
While both had reigns as 24/7 Champion, they were cut in 2020, and Maria is not interested in making a return at this time.
On Twitter, a fan asked Maria about a possible WWE return, and she refused until there is a change of management or ownership.
— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) July 17, 2022
Past Comments
Maria isn’t interested in working for WWE until the McMahons are no longer in charge, but this is hardly surprising from the former WWE Diva.
Kanellis has previously stated that she hopes to see WWE sold to someone else, who will treat it “like a business and not a boys club.”
The 40-year-old wrestling personality has also claimed that WWE spread lies about her during her pregnancy in 2019.
Maria alleged that she informed WWE that she was pregnant with her second child prior to signing a contract extension with the company, and was told it would not be a problem.
She later claimed that rumors circulated that she did not inform WWE prior to signing a new deal, and that those false rumors came from WWE.
Maria Kenellis-Bennett looks to change the landscape of women’s wrestling with Women’s Wrestling Army.
Her new all-women’s promotion has its first show this Sunday, May 1st from the Fete Music Hall in Providence, RI (tickets).
The veteran performer turned promoter spoke with SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay this week about what makes Women’s Wrestling Army so unique, the challenges of starting a company, plans to crown the first WWA champion and much more.
Below you’ll find the complete interview, as well as highlights from the half-hour discussion.
Maria says she was really nervous at first and questioned how the promotion would be received. There are already a lot of great women’s promotions out there, but she’s excited to give women’s wrestlers another place to work and show what they can do.
She’s been blown away by the reception so far. She’s received support from legends including Mickie James, Lita, Gail Kim, Christy Hemme and Renee Paquette.
Women’s wrestling has come a long way, but it’s still a male-dominated industry, if you look at television time, company executives, employees, camera people, etc.
She doesn’t consider herself a great wrestler, but she can be a great promoter. She spoke about legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick. He always focused on building a team, not just collecting talent. She shares that philosophy.
What is the most challenging aspect of starting a wrestling promotion?
Maria joked, “Flights. I hate flights! I hate them. (Laughs) Um, gosh, and luckily, Bobby Cruz has been amazing, he did all the flights. But, just figuring that situation out, because everybody’s got their own lives, you know, girls are coming in from here and there and everywhere, they’ve got shows the day before. Taya’s a champion, but she’s literally flying from Mexico to do our show on Sunday. So, that’s tough, the logistics of everything.”
Aside from coordinating travel logistics, Maria says it’s been a challenge to narrow down which talent they can work with.
“Beyond that, it’s controlling my own urge to have 50 people on the show, and realizing there is a budget and I cannot be like, ‘She’s great and I want her here!’ so that’s tough too. Bobby [Cruz] has to temper that a lot with me, of me wanting to get far too many people, and he’s like no, that’s not possible, so that’s really tough for me, and just accepting that it’s not gonna be perfect, we’re just going to do our best.”
Profit Sharing with Talent
Women’s Wrestling Army is unique in that it will be sharing profits from shows with talent.
“I didn’t want to own this company. I didn’t want to be a promoter. The only way I felt comfortable doing it was this way.”
Maria added, “Essentially, they own the success, they own the failures, they own their own bumps and that to me is the most important thing.”
She hopes this experiment will become a model that other companies can emulate.
“I really want this to be an example moving forward, that we can profit share with the talent, we can give them a piece of the pie and it will be successful.”
After the first show takes place this Sunday, they hope to release it for streaming purchase within a week. If their production team is unable to get the show edited and released by then, they will at least have a teaser video to show people what they have in store.
Aside from the live wrestling event, they’re also filming documentary footage to give fans an inside look at “how the sausage is made.”
Up for the Challenge
Right now, the focus is on the first even this Sunday. Eventually, they will crown a Women’s Wrestling Army Champion.
The first WWA show will feature champions from other promotions. Maria has no problem with the talent showing off the belts they’ve earned elsewhere.
When they do crown the inaugural WWA Champion, her goal is to hold a Tournament of Champions featuring women’s champions from other promotions.
Building a wrestling company is a tall order, but Maria Kenellis-Bennett is ready for the challenge.
“Will it be controversial and different? Of course, but I do hard things, that’s fine.”
