Maria Kanellis Reveals Scrapped Plans For ROH Women’s Division

Maria Kanellis-Bennett says she and Bobby Cruise had many plans in the works for Ring Of Honor's women's division. She says one of their storyline ideas was a title match for Mandy Leon.

"Mandy has been in this company for a very long time," Kanellis-Bennett told the ROH Strong podcast. "I would've liked to have seen one more singles run for her. Another title shot at some point. I think she deserved it. I think that she has been one of the pillars for Ring Of Honor, not just on the women's side but for the entire company. I think she deserved that.

"(I) Would've liked to have some time to give credit due to more people from the women's division past, especially Sumie (Sakai), because we ran out of time," Kanellis-Bennett continued. "I think that seeing the third match between Miranda (Alize) and Trish (Adora) would've been awesome because Trish has been on a tear and I feel like there was so much more that we could do with her. Unfortunately, we didn't get to do that."

Ring Of Honor is currently on a self-imposed hiatus that began after last month's Final Battle pay-per-view. ROH management said it is reimagining the company's business model before it resumes operations in April.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett was part of one of the top matches at Final Battle. She returned to her role as manager, leading The OGK into their ROH World Tag Team Title defense against The Briscoes. At one point during the match, Kanellis-Bennett's real-life husband Mike Bennett inadvertently hit her with a spear. Kanellis-Bennett said she didn't want him to hold back when he delivered the move.

"If he didn't bring it, I would've made him sleep on the couch," Kanellis recalled. "As a manager, your job is to make sure that whatever bump you take is the greatest bump, or whatever you're involved with, you do not take away. You always add. And I always think to myself that if I'm gonna be out there, I'm out there for real. Whatever happens, happens.

"I like to be a true manager," Kanellis continued. "I'm not out there just to put in a chair and look pretty. That's not who I am. I want to look pretty while I'm doing it. But if I'm out there, I'm out there. And I wanted it to mean something. And it was a big night for Mike (Bennett) and myself, as well. I mean, this was the first time both of us had been working together since we had been released from WWE. So...it was a big deal for us."

Like so many members of the Ring Of Honor roster, the future is unclear for Maria Kanellis-Bennett. But she said some things are in the works.

One is a documentary on last year's ROH Women's Title Tournament. Kanellis-Bennett says it will premiere this month on ROH television and the company's YouTube channel.

"I have one other big announcement that I can't reveal right now but look for that in January," Kanellis-Bennett added. "And there is going to be a third announcement that Bobby (Cruise) and I will have...we'll have together at some point."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the ROH Strong podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.