WWE News: Former TNA couple headed for WWE 'SmackDown' roster
Mike and Maria Bennett are making their way to the WWE's 'blue brand.' [Image via Blasting News image library/inquisitr.com]
The real-life wrestling couple of Maria and Mike Bennett are headed to Tuesday nights.
by Matthew Couden (article) and Milos Kitanovic (video)
April 20, 2017 at 12:19 AM April 20, 2017 at 12:19 AM
As with other big name stars from TNA Impact Wrestling, another pair has left the company and will take their talents to the WWE. The latest to do so will be "The Miracle" Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett. Maria was formerly with the WWE but didn't have any major title runs. She worked in matches here or there and was also a ringside valet for Santino Marella for a while. However, she found her stride when working alongside Bennett in Ring Of Honor and more recently at TNA, especially in terms of her ability to generate heat when cutting promos.
Headed for 'SmackDown Live'
Multiple sources online including ProWrestling.net have indicated that the duo is officially heading to WWE's Tuesday night brand, "SmackDown Live." It would seem to make sense as the heel duo of The Miz and his real-life wife, Maryse, went over to "Raw" during the recent "Superstar Shake-up." That seems to have set things in motion for Maria and Mike to take over in that capacity.
As mentioned, Maria worked with the WWE in the past. She was a contestant in the WWE Diva Search competition, and although she didn't win it, she still caught WWE's attention enough. They eventually brought her on board as a backstage interviewer. She eventually started going to matches to stand ringside for Santino Marella.
The interesting aspect of the two stars coming to the WWE is what seems to be their immediate debut on the main roster. Other stars who have come over from TNA have been slotted into NXT for a bit before making that transition. They include Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, and most recently Bobby Roode. Drew McIntyre also came back from TNA to WWE, after leaving, and is now part of NXT.
Original WWE deal with Bennett, ROH
WWE actually tried to bring Mike Bennett on board back in 2013.
At that time he'd been working with Ring of Honor along with Maria. However, Bennett failed to come to terms with WWE and re-signed a long-term deal with ROH. From there, he went on to continue working with his wife.
Interestingly, Bennett has experience working with several of WWE's current roster members. He had a feud with Kevin Steen aka Kevin Owens in ROH with a match to see whose piledriver was more dangerous.
Bennett won the match thanks to Kanellis distracting Steen. Maria, Bennett, ROH World Champion Adam Cole and Matt Hardy would form a faction called "The Kingdom" in 2014 too.
Bennett and Maria debuted with TNA just last year with Mike as "The Miracle." During that time, he worked in matches against Jeff Hardy and Drew Galloway, also known as WWE's Drew McIntyre.
His championship accolades have included the TNA X-Division Championship and then the ROH World Tag Team titles with Matt Taven.
With that said, it's going to be surprising if WWE brings Maria and Mike Bennett onto "SmackDown Live" as a "face" duo. They seem to be natural heels with how they worked for TNA, and it could set up some interesting matchups down the line perhaps with talents like Tye Dillinger, Sami Zayn, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles.
Matthew Couden
Matt Couden has worked as a freelance writer online for several years now. Among the topics he has covered are sports including NBA, NFL, and college, as well as WWE professional wrestling.
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