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Ring of Honor superstar and top executive for the Woman of Honor division Maria Kanellis recently spoke with Kawada Driver about her fight to get women in wrestling more opportunities. Kanellis, who was released by WWE over a year ago, discusses the moves she would make if she were in the same position as WWE’s Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie McMahon.
Kanellis begins by explaining how little power she currently holds in the industry, but that she plans on fighting her tail off to raise the WOH division to new heights.
I don’t know how Stephanie McMahon deals with that. As a woman…I’ve been very outspoken about my feelings about women’s wrestling and women in wrestling so it should come as no surprise that as a woman I couldn’t deal with that. If I had that much power in the industry I couldn’t deal with that. I have minimal power in this industry and I am fighting my tail off to create more opportunities.
She then talks about the number of shows she would push through if she were on the same platform as the McMahons.
If I had that much power there would be a whole show, plus a reality show that covers the actual girls lives. Plus on top of that we would have a make-up line, we would be on the cover of Vogue showing that these women are badasses and they’re beautiful in their own right. I don’t get it. I’m fighting for that in Ring of Honor now…from the very beginning that’s what I want. I want my girls to have those opportunities that I didn’t have in such a large company like WWE. You’re telling me that they can’t call up some of these magazines and say, “Hey can you feature some of our girls? If you do you can work with this advertiser we also have?” I don’t get it.
Kanellis then takes a shot at Stephanie, claiming that her fight for women’s rights is more promotional than actual.
I see all these things that Stephanie is fighting for women’s rights, but it seems more promotional than it does actual.
Speaking of Stephanie…this past weekend she tweeted the following: “”What if womens sports were given the same level of money & media attention as mens? When you air the games, people watch. If you promote them, people will show interest. If you invest in them, it will pay off.”
"What if womens sports were given the same level of money & media attention as mens? When you air the games, people watch. If you promote them, people will show interest. If you invest in them, it will pay off." –@YahooSports @SeeHerOfficial #WomenInSports https://t.co/OAhvbPOhrJ
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) May 2, 2021
You can check out Kanellis’s full comments below. (Please credit Heel by Nature for the Transcription)