Maria Kanellis was one of the many people released by WWE in 2020. She was released along with many others on Black Wednesday and now she has opened up about her former employer.
During an interview with ROH Strong, Kanellis said that while Vince McMahon was the one who gave her an opportunity, he also needs to change. Here is the quote, courtesy of Fightful:
“Vince McMahon gave me an opportunity. If I am correct, and you never know, but it was Vince and Kevin Dunn who said, ‘Yes, bring her back.’ So, I appreciate that. At the time, it was an excellent opportunity. Along the way, I was given incredible opportunities. I was able to travel the world. At a certain point, people need to change and grow and grow up and learn that the world is changing. Even though I may appreciate the opportunities that I was given in the past, I really wish that Vince would learn and listen to people. It worked in the past. I’m happy for you, you created an industry, good on you, but at a certain point, because you are the pinnacle and the definition of what professional wrestling is, you need to show the world that you can change.
That is the only way this industry gets better and is the only way that we can completely move forward. [WWE] has competitors, and they are doing a great job, but they do not have the reach, and because Vince has the reach, he could change a lot of lives. In that way, he needs to be more forward-looking and less like the high school football player that is like, ‘I had that great play, it was awesome.’ Cool. Let’s move forward and see what else you got. Are you now a family man, and do you really mean it, or is that some kind of marketing ploy. There are a lot of things that company says, that they do not truly believe because if they did, my husband and I would not have been fired this year, along with a lot of other wonderful people.”
Kanellis and her husband Mike Bennett were both released from WWE in 2020 and have both returned to Ring of Honor in the time since.
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