So popular and beautiful was Maria Kanellis that she made for the perfect damsel in distress. Portrayed as a ditzy backstage interviewer, Kanellis was able to create enough sympathy among the fans that they legitimately felt for her when she was put in situations in which she was in imminent danger. Three times she was put in the ring with championship-winning Superstars. On another occasion, she competed with the most dangerous couple in WWE history in a mixed tag match. In 2005, Kanellis was ordered into a match with Olympic gold medalist, and most celebrated real athlete in WWE history, Kurt Angle. The match was the result of an innocent question asked of Raw GM Eric Bischoff, resulting in a most undeserved punishment. The lovely young woman suffered a brutal Angle Slam but was spared of any further maltreatment at the hands of the Pittsburgh native, thanks to the interference of John Cena. Speaking of Cena, he would partner with Kanellis in a huge mixed tag team main event against Edge and Lita on an episode of Raw in February 2006. The Diva Search competitor was completely outclassed by her female counterpart in the bout but she still managed to score the pinfall victory for her team, pinning Lita following an errant Spear from Edge. The worst experience of Kanellis' career was a November 2006 match against the Samoan Bulldozer Umaga. Booked in the match by the evil Eric Bischoff, Kanellis was pummeled by her massive opponent. Just as it appeared her suffering would be brought to an end, Cena hit the ring and chased big man up the aisle to the back. The backstage correspondent's final match against a male talent came in March 2008, when she defeated Santino Marella in an "Anything Goes" match, thanks to the assistance of several of her fellow Divas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o799KiC5qfw
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
