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Maria Kanellis addresses the end of her time in AEW and her future.
Kanellis had been with AEW since 2022, and she later shifted over to ROH. In 2024, she dealt with health issues, as she had surgery in October due to a mass that was found on her adrenal gland. She later said that she was cancer-free. Kanellis previously announced that January 31st was her last day with AEW. She then entered free agency.
Maria Kanellis discussed her departure from AEW and her future on her Adult Conversations podcast.
“As my contract was coming up, I was very much like, I went back and forth,” Kanellis said. “I’m like, ‘Okay, what do I want to be next? Where do I want to go? Do I want to do this? Do I want to try and fight for this company or go this way?’ At the end of the day, I kind of took a step back and was like, ‘You know what, I don’t think I want that right now.’ I want to be a mom. I want that to be enough, but I also want to find fulfillment in other things that I’m super passionate about.
“If the right opportunity comes around and there is an opportunity, whether it be a couple of months of doing something in wrestling or to help out somewhere or do a camp or that kind of stuff, I’m not going to say no, but at the same time, it’s just not where I want to be. The Rumble happened. Would it be cool to go and do the Rumble? Yes, but at the same time, I was kind of like, ‘Don’t call me. Don’t call me. Don’t call me.’ I was doing this back and forth of, ‘Okay, do I want to jump back in there?’ I don’t know.”
Maria Kanellis Wants To Figure Things Out
Kanellis emphasized that she wanted to figure things out before she jumped back into something. She noted that she wanted to think about what she wanted to do, and she didn’t want to rush into signing something else. Kanellis also admitted that she was very angry for a while.
“I kind of want to figure that out before I jump back into something,” Kanellis said. “I want to figure out these other things that I’m super passionate about. Do I want to continue being a florist and creating these amazing vases for people. What else would I want to do? I still love doing photoshoots and styling photoshoots.
“Do I want to move more in a stylist direction? It’s this thing of, I’m trying to give myself time and space to think about what I want. So many times I think about, ‘Okay, contract is up, I have to sign another contract.’ It’s this panic. I’ve done it so many times and I just don’t know if that’s what I want right now. Anything could change. I feel like I’m making peace with it now. There was a while when I wasn’t making peace with it. There was a while when I was angry. Very very angry.” (H/t Fightful for the transcription)
Kanellis also expressed that some of her frustration stemmed from the health issues that she was dealing with.
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