Maria Kanellis

Maria Kanellis
Maria after returning to WWE in late 2023.
Birth name	Mary Louis Kanellis
Born	February 25, 1982 (age 41) Ottawa, Illinois, United States
Resides	Ottawa, Illinois
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Maria Kanellis
Billed height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Billed weight	115 lb (52 kg)
Billed from	Ottawa, Illinois
Trained by	Dave Finlay Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut	2004

Mary "Maria" Louis Kanellis (born February 25, 1982) is an American professional wrestler also known simply as Maria. She is currently signed with WWE on their SmackDown brand.

Kanellis's career began as a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004. In the same year, she placed fifth in the Raw Diva Search, but was later hired by WWE as a backstage interviewer. Kanellis began competing in the ring as a wrestler in 2005. She also posed for the April 2008 cover of Playboy magazine, which was incorporated into a storyline on Raw. She released her debut album Sevin Sins on April 13, 2010 on iTunes.

Early life

Kanellis was born in Ottawa, Illinois. She has two younger siblings; a brother and sister named Bill and Janny respectively. Kanellis grew up with an interest in playing sports, particularly volleyball, basketball, and softball. She graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 2000, before spending some time as a student at Northern Illinois University. Before her career in wrestling began, Kanellis regularly competed in beauty pageants.

Professional wrestling career

Diva Search and debut (2004–2005)

She competed in the Raw Diva Search in 2004, deciding to enter the contest after seeing an advertisement while watching Raw. Even though she only placed fifth in the contest, she was hired by the company. She stood out in the contest by giving fellow contestant Carmella DeCesare the finger after being eliminated from the contest. Maria began making appearances at the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) training facility under head trainer Paul Heyman. She contributed booking ideas, and her work at OVW earned her a spot on the Raw brand roster. Maria was brought on to Raw as a ditzy backstage interviewer and the host of WWE KissCam in November 2004. Maria was given the dumb blonde gimmick despite having brown hair. The gimmick would wrong questions, irritating and amusing WWE Superstars and Divas. The gimmick would eventually end at the beginning of 2008.

In 2005, Maria began to get very physical—in and out of the ring. She was defeated in her first official match on the January 10, 2005 episode of Raw by Christy Hemme in a Lingerie Pillow Fight. She also competed in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Diva Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday for the WWE Women's Championship but was the first to be eliminated by Trish Stratus and Mickie James. In another physical moment, Stratus slapped Maria so hard that one of her fillings legitimately fell out. On November 14, Maria competed in a non-title Diva Battle Royal at the Eddie Guerrero tribute Raw show. Maria stood by herself for most of the match, only getting involved when she saw the opportunity to eliminate a competitor, a strategy that proved effective as she eliminated both Jillian Hall and Victoria. She was one of the last three women left in the match but was eliminated by both Melina and Trish Stratus.

On the November 28 episode of Raw, Maria interviewed then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff and asked him whether or not he thought he was going to be fired. He then booked her in a match with Kurt Angle out of spite, and Maria was laid out with the Angle Slam. As a result, one week later, Maria testified in the trial against Bischoff, who was being fired because of his controversial actions as General Manager. As Mick Foley questioned her, she answered, "Last week Bischoff abused his power in a way that was both malicious and capricious, and it's this rash of discourse that ultimately led to a locker room of disdain and mutiny, and it should be grounds for his immediate dismissal."

Return (2015)

In late June 2015, Kanellis made her return and was signed to the Smackdown brand.

Second return to WWE (2023–present)

Main article: Liberty

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Beautiful Bulldog (Running bulldog) – 2007; 2009–present

• Signature moves
  • Bronco buster
  • Cartwheel evasion
  • Headscissors takedown
  • Leg-feed Enzuigiri
  • Monkey flip
  • Multiple pin variations
    • Inside cradle
    • Roll-up
    • Schoolgirl
    • Sunset flip
  • Roundhouse kick
  • Seeing Stars (Handstand calf kick)
  • Split–legged fist drop
  • Thesz press

• Nicknames
  • "The First Lady of Wrestling"
  • "The First Lady of Liberty"

• Entrance themes
  • "Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Party" by Jim Johnston (2005–2006)
  • "With Legs Like That" by Zebrahead (2006–2015)
  • "Insidious"' by Any Given Sin (Used while apart of Liberty)