Backstage News On When WWE Knew About Maria's Pregnancy
Did Maria and Mike know they were expecting their second child before signing their new contracts?
This past Monday’s Raw broadcast saw Maria Kanellis drop the on-air bombshell that she’s pregnant, before bizarrely berating her husband Mike for not being man enough to get that particular job done.
Initially, there was some confusion as to whether Maria’s pregnancy was merely a WWE storyline or if the real-life married couple were indeed expecting their second child. It would soon be revealed on social media that, yes, Maria really is pregnant, but many were wondering just when the WWE found out about this news. This coming, of course, after the couple recently signed new five-year contracts with the company.
Courtesy of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Wrestling Inc., WWE was not aware of Maria’s pregnancy when she and her hubby signed their new $500,000-per-year deals last month. Where Maria and Mike Kanellis are concerned, though, they were not actually aware that they were expecting their second child until after they’d signed their new deals.
Before these contracts were made official, Maria and Mike had made WWE aware that they were trying for a second baby, and the promotion was said to be perfectly fine with the possibility of Maria becoming pregnant again. This falls in line with the WWE wanting to make steps to becoming a more mother-friendly environment behind the scenes; the company making plans to incorporate family rooms at their major PPVs and also allowing talent to take time off for special family gatherings.
It’s about time that the WWE finally began to let its staff – or is that independent contractors? – be able to focus on their family life away from the squared circle at times. And it looks as if Maria and Mika Kanellis are going to be some of the first to enjoy the benefits of this new WWE working environment.