Maria Kanellis Explains Why She Decided To Sign With AEW

Maria Kanellis entered the world of pro wrestling by competing in the WWE Diva Search in 2004. Following her initial six-year tenure with WWE, Kanellis appeared for organizations all over the globe, including Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Ring of Honor. She even started her own Women's Wrestling Army promotion in April 2022. Kanellis recently debuted for All Elite Wrestling with her real-life husband, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven of The Kingdom. The former Impact Knockouts Champion has now explained exactly why she put pen to paper on a deal with Tony Khan's promotion. 

"I think AEW is the best situation for my family right now. The schedule is the best," Kanellis said on "Ten Count" for WrestlingNewsCo. "I love growing and building with companies. I mean, I worked for Ring of Honor, I rebuilt the women's division last year with Bobby Cruise. Building is really interesting to me. I think that for us, it's the best schedule we could possibly have with two kiddos."

Kanellis gave birth to her first child in April 2018. Her second pregnancy occurred during her second stint with WWE and would be highlighted on "WWE Raw" when she revealed the news while competing in a mixed tag team match on July 1, 2019. Kanellis has disclosed how things have seemingly changed regarding having a baby while working in the pro wrestling industry. 

"Now we're making different choices and making different decisions based on family when a lot of women, you know, even ten years ago, once you had a family, you stopped being on the road," Kanellis said. "But now so many of us are on the road."

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