WWE News: ROH Stars Mike Bennett And Maria Kanellis Leaving Company, Headed To WWE?

Ring of Honor is known for producing some of the best wrestlers in history. WWE stars CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Seth Rollins all started with ROH before they ever stepped foot in a WWE ring. It was the dream of all three to end up with WWE, and they accomplished their goal big time. Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Austin Aries all started their careers here, as well, and ended up having big careers in TNA Wrestling. Now, all three have made their way back through ROH, and two of them even work there off and on now.

The ROH promotion is always a spot to catch the best of tomorrow, as you will see great talent before they are ever seen in a top promotion somewhere else. It is an interesting thing to see, and fans of the WWE realize that the Independent scene is the place where WWE must look to find great talent. The best place for it is Ring of Honor. So, it should not come as a surprise that people like Mike Bennett are on their radar.

Bennett said his goodbyes last night to the ROH crowd, which got a lot of rumors swirling on where he would end up next. It would be weird for him to suddenly leave ROH if he was just going to another independent company or smaller place. It would be weird even if it was New Japan where he ended up, as they allow people to work other places unless they are at the top of their promotion. Even then, many still get to work other areas.

That means he is probably ending up with a televised promotion or one willing to pay him a great deal to be exclusive. Sadly for ROH fans, he does appear to be headed out, and it very well could be to WWE.

His wife, Maria Kanellis, has been with WWE in the past, and was one of their more popular divas in her time. Most assumed that once she and WWE parted ways, she would end up trying to act or go into modeling. A lot of WWE Divas who weren’t really seen as wrestlers tend to go that route. That being said, it was surprising that she ended up in ROH. Maria became a very good manager, and was a big reason for Bennett getting as much attention as he did early on.

WWE has an interest in bringing the both of them in, but they are also interested in Bennett’s tag partner, Matt Taven. The idea was to bring them in to work as a team, as WWE wanted to continue to add a lot to their tag team division. The WWE NXT tag team scene is red hot, but with many of them headed to the main roster soon, it make sense to think that they would want to have another tag team added to the scene.

Weird enough, there was seemingly an injury to Taven on Friday as he seemingly took an injury to his leg during the first five minutes of the match. He attempted to continue, but was not able to do so. He could be seriously injured, which would cause an issue for his potential WWE career. Bennett, on the other hand, does not seem to have an issue of note, which means he could easily work with WWE.

Obviously, Bennett and Taven would work NXT before they end up on the main roster, which works out well for both of them. Both are 30-years-old, which is around the time many independent guys get hired these days. Plus with the independent feel that NXT has, it would be an easier transition for them to go through NXT before they go to the main roster.

Mike Bennett and Maria are a popular pair in independent wrestling right now, and many want to have them on their roster. So, if they do end up with WWE soon, it won’t be a shock. On top of this, WWE is trying to build up NXT so that it can tour a great deal in 2016 and 2017, which means they need people now more than ever.

[Image via ROH Wrestling]