10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Maria Kanellis
9. The Ditzy Gimmick
As with the vast majority of women who competed for WWE in the mid 2000s, Maria fell victim to some horrendous direction from the creative department, who only ever seemed to book the Divas as straight-up eye candy, or saddle them with derivative, one-dimensional gimmicks (see: Jillian Hall’s singing). Unfortunately, Maria fell victim to both.
After earning her roster spot through the 2004 Diva Search, Maria was added to the Raw brand as a ditzy backstage interviewer defined by her "charming" incompetence. The gimmick saw her regularly asking wrestlers inappropriate questions and messing up their names, leading to their irritation and amusement, and opening her up to manipulation, particularly from Santino Marella.
It’s the kind of gimmick that wouldn’t fly in 2017, but Maria came to be defined by her scatterbrained character. WWE will look to bury it in the past, and not just for its regressiveness. Kanellis graduated from Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Sports, Entertainment, and Event Management just last month, showing how far removed she is from her old persona. If they do screen footage from Maria’s previous run over the next few weeks, don’t expect ditziness to feature.