Former WWE/AEW Star Maria Kanellis Ruminates On Future

Former WWE and AEW star Maria Kanellis accomplished much throughout her time in the professional wrestling industry, from winning titles, to being dubbed "The First Lady of ROH." She's taken a step back from the business, however, following her AEW departure in January last year. Since then, she's taken care of her health, and she's happily working as an event planner and florist in Nashville, in addition to being a mother.

During an interview on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Kanellis revealed that after her rather unceremonious exit from Tony Khan's company, she spent a few years wondering just what was next.

"Because I was in AEW and I was in ROH and I had a tumor and I had skin cancer and I had this and I had that," Kanellis said. "So, it was a lot of self-reflection. Luckily, I have a husband that's just allowed me to take my time to figure out, 'What do I want to do next?' I finally have found something, So, now I'm all in, but before that, it was very much like, 'Eh. I don't know. I don't know. I miss performing and I miss this.' It was really hard."

As for her future, Kanellis was once again adamant she hasn't closed the door on returning to wrestling, something she's been open about before. She mentioned a common troupe when it comes to retirement, that in wrestling, you just never know.

"I haven't closed the door, but it's not always up to the person," she said. "Wrestling, probably not, unless it's like the Royal Rumble or another Evolution pay-per-view or something like that. But, consistently wrestling? Probably not."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.