Maria Kanellis Explains Why Being A Manager Is Fulfilling

Paul Heyman, Paul Bearer, and Jimmy Hart are examples of incredible managers who have shown how valuable the role can be in professional wrestling, and that is something Maria Kanellis has taken up throughout her career. 

Kanellis has showcased her ability to draw reactions from the crowd at ringside, and she spoke about what she loves about her role in her recent appearance on the "Just Alyx" YouTube channel. "You can be a direct link from the crowd to the guys that you're working with," she said. "Managers get to see everything in a very different way, you get to be close up to the ring, you get to hear what the referee is saying, what everybody around the ring is saying, that's the part that I really enjoy."

She has competed in plenty of matches over the years and that has led to her taking bumps as a manager as well, which usually gets a great reaction. While the idea of intergender wrestling is something that often causes debate, Kanellis believes the bigger issue is that there aren't many female managers in the indies, even though there are plenty in WWE.

"I just think that maybe we're finding our new balance as far as, what does a female manager mean in today's society?" she questioned. "I've been able to weather the storm, but anybody that started within the last five years, this is a brave new world of what is a manager like now."

Kanellis stated that she wants to modernize the role of the manager, while also doing things that are acceptable and make sense in the current world of pro wrestling. She, her husband Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven recently signed with AEW.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Just Alyx" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.