Exclusive: Maria Kanellis Talks About Her Return to the Ring, Joining Ring of Honor, Recent WWE Backstage Visit & More

When Maria Kanellis was released by WWE two years ago this week, many fans expected that like other Divas who came into the business through the WWE Diva Search, she’d disappear from wrestling all together. However, since her release, Kanellis has floated around the business doing everything ranging from conventions, to shoot interviews, to hosting a post-Monday Night Raw show for AfterBuzz TV. Last year, Maria dived back into wrestling both feet first, joining the Ring of Honor roster as a valet for real-life boyfriend Mike Bennett, and now she is set to complete her permanent return to the business by returning to the ring this weekend.

Maria’s first match in over two years takes place this weekend, February 25th — her 30th birthday — at New York’s Family Wrestling Entertainment. She is due to face former WWE star and current TNA Knockout, Tara.

Speaking exclusively to Diva Dirt, Maria talks about why she’s returning to the ring, how her training for her comeback has gone so far, and what her future may hold in the business.

We also talk to the Diva-turned-First Lady of ROH about joining the promotion, the differences between working in Ring of Honor and WWE, the reactions from the notoriously tough ROH crowds, the backlash to her “First Lady” moniker, and the other women on the roster (including Mia Yim).

Though she’s no longer part of WWE, fans may be surprised to know that she still genuinely cares about the WWE Divas division and has opinions on the current product. Maria talks about the recent storylines with Natalya and Eve Torres, as well as revealing what happened when she spoke to Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis when she recently visited backstage at a Raw taping.

Plus, Maria weighs in on her passion for the business being questioned (as stated earlier, many expected her to leave wrestling after WWE), juggling womanhood and a family while being in the wrestling business, and her role as a mentor to women like Jessicka Havok and others.

Listen to the exclusive interview by clicking on the play button below or right-click here and select ‘Save Target As’.

Maria Kanellis returns to the ring this Saturday, February 25th, at FWE. More information and tickets here.

Watch Ring of Honor on Saturdays on your local television station. Listings can be found here. Alternatively, you can watch episodes of ROH online here.

Follow Maria on Twitter at @MariaLKanellis.

Trish Stratus Weighs in on Natalya Flatulence Gimmick: “Turn it into Something More Powerful”

Former WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus, who has had her fair share of controversial storylines, has some sage advice for current Diva and fellow Canadian, Natalya, regarding her flatulence gimmick.

In recent weeks, we’ve the third generation Diva pass gas in backstage segments — and even in the ring — before rushing off embarrassed.

Trish, who was once infamously made to bark like a dog on TV, weighed in on the storyline when probed by Diva Dirt in an interview.

Speaking to Diva Dirt Live, Trish admitted that she hasn’t seen any of the material yet — “SmackDown tends to fall off my radar”, she says — but she did offer this: “I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on it directly, but hopefully it’s one of those things where it just gets people talking and it’s kind of like the Molly Holly thing where [we had] the ‘junk in the trunk’ [storyline]. People were like, ‘I can’t believe they’re doing that to her’, but at the end of the day, it got people interested, it got people invested, it got people into what they’re doing and you have something to talk about.”

Exclusive: Trish Stratus Says She’d Book Beth Phoenix vs Natalya at WrestleMania 28

When Diva Dirt explained the Natalya segments to her a little more, Trish added: “I think it’s fantastic, actually. Now I’m speaking [on what was explained to her] — I haven’t seen it… I think it’s funny, it’s interesting, it’ll allow Natalya to do a little bit of acting, step outside her comfort level and do some fun things with other characters.”

Seeing the positive in the situation for Natalya, Trish who has achieved much success in her own career, offered some advice to Natalya: “I think any material is good material. Take it, do what you will with it. It’s like the ‘junk in the trunk’ thing, at first they’re like: ‘We’re gonna make fun of your big butt, which you don’t have, by the way’. Natalya doesn’t really have a flatulence problem so it’s okay. It’s character stuff.”

“At the end of the day, that’s what Molly Holly and I did. We said, ‘Okay, we’re going to turn this into an angle’. We turned it into an angle and we got chants going in every arena we went to. To me, everything that they give you – go with it. Run with it, take it and turn it into something else. Take it and turn it into something more powerful than just a fart.”

Listen to the full interview with Trish by catching a replay of Diva Dirt Live here.

Trish’s debut movie, Bounty Hunters, is available on DVD now in the UK and due for release on February 28th in the US and Canada.

Visit www.trishstratus.com for more on Trish and to pick up her yoga products.

In Video: Unaired Eve Promo from Last Night’s SmackDown

WWE.com has released a video of Eve Torres cutting a promo in front of the live crowd at SmackDown which wasn’t aired on the live Syfy broadcast.

In the video, Eve attempts to explain her recent actions towards Zack Ryder and John Cena.

At the end, Eve cements her heel status by saying: “Don’t think of me as the all-American girl, don’t think of me as the girl next door and don’t think of me as the damsel in distress.”

Thoughts: Great promo by Eve! This heel turn has given her the opportunity to show off what she can do on the mic, and I’m liking it.