10 Things You Didn't Know About Maria Kanellis
9. She Helped Paul Heyman Book In OVW
WWE signed Maria after the Diva Search because they thought she had potential, but at that point, she had no experience working in wrestling in any capacity, nor had she performed in front of live crowds as a personality. She was sent down to developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling in order to get the experience that she'd need for WWE.
At the time, Paul Heyman was booking for Ohio Valley Wrestling (this was in between Heyman's tenures as Brock Lesnar's manager and adviser for the revived ECW brand). Maria would speak very highly of Heyman in later interviews, saying that she learned a lot from him and that he also helped her develop her "ditzy" persona, which would eventually become a staple of WWE TV.
During her tenure in OVW, Maria took advantage of Heyman's tutelage and learned as much as she could about the wrestling business. In fact, Heyman later said that Maria contributed booking ideas to him, proving how far she had come.