Former WWE and AEW star Maria Kanellis-Bennett has done it all within the professional wrestling world, from competing in the WWE Diva Search, to helping reboot the Ring of Honor Women’s Division. The former WWE 24/7 Champion started out as a valet, and has held a manager role throughout her career. She discussed the diminished roles of managers with “Wrestling Life Online,” and said it’s because a lot of people don’t know how to play the character.
“I think it’s a difficult character to do, because it’s not like, when I first started in 2004, when I started, I was a valet,” she explained. “I walked out there, I had a pair of legs, I could move my legs down there and then I smiled pretty and then I moved my legs on back. That was a lot of what my job was for those first few years. It worked, because it was a damsel in distress and you could see that I was a damsel in distress.”
Kanellis said as time went on, women were finally able to do the things they were always capable of doing. She called it a transition phase of the business figuring out what a valet even still is. Kanellis believes that all things are possible if done right, however.
“I think that character I played in 2004 is still very possible in 2026, if done right,” she said. “I think that the strong, Chyna-type manager is still very viable in 2026. I think that the Jim Cornette, but maybe censored a bit, is still okay. Paul Heyman is doing it now, so it shows it’s still wanted, it’s just a matter of being able to do it.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Wrestling Life Online” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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