WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Wrestlers - Where Are They Now?

45. Mike Kanellis

Entry: #6

Time: 00:03

Then: 'That's gotta be some sort of record'. Michael Cole roared something along those lines when Mike Kanellis was sent spinning out of the ring over the ropes a mere 3 seconds after entering the 50-man Rumble. Mark Henry was the one who eliminated him, but Cole was wrong - Mike's 3 seconds couldn't top Santino Marella's 1.9 second exit in 2009.

That may never be beaten, even though Sheamus tried during the 30-man 2018 Rumble.

WWE's cameras caught up with Kanellis afterwards, and he was distraught. Knowing he'd be torn a new one when he returned home to Maria, Mike likely contemplated starting a new life in Saudi Arabia. It was a rough time to be the 205 Live regular - that story with Maria was frankly doing nothing to improve his standing with fans.

Kanellis was one of the many workers released mid-COVID pandemic in April 2020. That didn't go down well with industry critics, fans or insiders alike. The entire world was frightened about what might come next, and now neither Mike nor Maria had a pay packet coming into the household.

Argh!

Now: Mike bounced back from this layoff pretty quickly. He turned up on the independents (those that were able to run shows, at least), then showed face in TNA and eventually AEW (by way of old stomping ground ROH). Kanellis is still under Tony Khan's employ today, but he's become less of a presence on the main shows.

Even so, it's a huge plus that he didn't let that WWE release ruin his confidence.