During an appearance on the Wrestling Life Online YouTube channel, Maria Kanellis has opened up about her AEW exit, revealing that her run ended on a frustrating note. Her AEW contract officially expired on January 31, 2025, following a short extension from the original October 2024 date, and she says she didn’t get to accomplish everything she wanted, noting that her tumor diagnosis came at this time. Despite this, the veteran performer remains grateful for the opportunity.
“So, with my time in AEW, I feel like I didn’t really get to accomplish everything that I wanted to. I appreciate the opportunity. I appreciate the fact that I got to work with such tremendous talent. But it just, you know, I got my tumor right around the time my contract was ending, and so it just kind of ended.” – Maria Kanellis
44-year-old Maria Kanellis made her AEW debut on the October 14, 2022, episode of Rampage, appearing alongside her husband, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven as part of The Kingdom. The group dramatically interrupted FTR, immediately establishing their presence in the promotions. Then in 2023, she began managing the tag team of Cole Karter and Griff Garrison in AEW’s sister promotion, Ring of Honor. However, after a brief contract extension, Kanellis departed AEW on January 31, 2025, while Bennett remained with the company.
