Mike Bennett Talks ROH, Whether He'd Join WWE Or TNA, Maria And More
Ring of Honor star "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett joined the VOC Wrestling Nation podcast on Wednesday evening to discuss ROH, whether he would join WWE or TNA given the chance, his past experiences during tryouts with each company, his relationship with former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis, wrestling relationships and more. Click here to listen to the entire podcast, Bennett's interview begins around the thirty minute mark. Here are some highlights:
If he is proud to perform for Ring of Honor: "Oh absolutely, how can you not be proud? To me... and I know a lot of wrestling people in the wrestling business and the wrestling fans consider it the best wrestling in the world, and it truly is. I think the big problem with mainstream media is we just haven't had the opportunity to connect with the big TV stations, or the big news sites or the big magazines, so I think a lot gets lost in the shuffle because the WWE is so mainstream. I think ROH tends to get pushed back because you got WWE, then TNA and then Ring of Honor when the die-hard wrestling fans would tell everyone we're number one.
"I think a lot of the guys in the locker room feel we're number one. And when you see the guys with the pride and the passion like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan on TV, and even the fact Seth Rollins is in FCW and Chris Hero is there and Claudio is on television as Antonio; it's a tight nit group but we're proud of everyone that comes out of there."
On whether he'd join WWE or TNA if the offer came along: "Well, I'll give you the political answer right now and say never-say-never. I'd be absolutely lying to you if I said I didn't become a wrestler to be at WrestleMania and headline WrestleMania, which is what 99% of all guys want to do if they're in wrestling. They want to make the big bucks and be on the main stage. But for me, right now, I'm 100% happy in Ring of Honor.
"I mean, I feel like I'm building a company. Its been around since 2002, its been building since then, but I feel now with the Sinclair network behind it we really are truly building a company. Is WWE ever an option? Like I said, I'd be lying if I said wouldn't want to go there, but right now Ring of Honor is where I like to be."
How he met girlfriend Maria Kanellis: "We actually met at an independent wrestling show in — I believe Connecticut — run by this promoter named Michael Brian [of] Northeast Wrestling and I had never met her before. I didn't even know she was currently doing independent wrestling and I was traveling the roads; I usually travel the roads with Matt Taven 'cause we're both in the same area. I just happened to see her there and I managed to spark up a conversation with her via my usual goofy, idiotic self and realized she kinda had the same personality as me, and I was like 'Whoa, this isn't what I expected.'
"I didn't really expect anything else from it 'cause I was dating someone else at the time and she was too. But then a few months later I was single, [and] the "stud romantic" that I am, I decided to send her a Twitter message. We went back and forth, I met her when we were out on the east coast and it was all wonderful from there."
Source: VOC Nation