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Back in 2022, Maria Kanellis, alongside her husband Mike Bennett and Matt Taven of The Undisputed Kingdom all signed with AEW and looked to be a new stable that could become a threat going forward. However, things didn't pan out, and in October 2024, Kanellis revealed that her contract was coming up, and alongside her ongoing health issues, it seemed like she would be parting ways with the promotion.
However, according to Fightful Select, Kanellis and AEW actually ended up agreeing to a short contract extension that was beneficial to both parties and is set to expire by the end of January. Fightful's sources claimed that there was supposed to be an announcement regarding her new deal, but that the plans for this fell through. The report also noted how Kanellis has been known to work in many different roles, not only onscreen, but also backstage, and further said that she's willing to help out with the creative direction for AEW's women's division.
In the past, Kanellis commented on how the wrestling industry has changed to accommodate women across her career, and how several of the talents in AEW today were actually inspired by the work she and her peers did during WWE's "Divas Era." She further asserted that some women have directly approached her and thanked her for the strides she made early in her career. Interestingly, Kanellis also admitted that her views on the "Divas Era" have changed over the years, and that she no longer hates the word but now appreciates it for what it was.

