What’s the story?
Mike Johnson of pwinsider.com is reporting that Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett are leaving Impact Wrestling.
In case you didn’t know...
The real-life couple debuted for Impact Wrestling in January of 2016. Maria would go on to become the TNA Knockouts Champion after a lengthy feud with Gail Kim. Bennett also found success with the company, winning the X Division Championship. The pair has also had success in Ring of Honor as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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The heart of the matter
Based on the report, Bennett and Maria’s contracts had run out towards the end of 2016, but the couple continued working for the company on, “per appearance,” deals, all the way throughout the last set of Impact Wrestling television tapings. According to sources, TNA management had attempted to sign the two performers to new contracts and – according to one source – had come to terms with Bennett and Kanellis, only to later decide that they would not be re-signing.
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Bennett and Kanellis are done with Impact Wrestling, with their last appearance being a part of the Braxton Sutter/Laurel Van Ness wedding angle last week. The couple will not be working the television tapings for Impact Wrestling this week.
What’s next?
It is unknown at this time where the duo will end up within the wrestling world.
Sportskeeda’s Take
This is not good for Impact Wrestling, at all. While Bennett was not the greatest in-ring technician, his real-life relationship with Maria made him a heat magnet, and he could have developed into a major player for the company as they attempted to move forward under their new ownership.
With the BROKEN Hardys leaving the company earlier this week, and now the “The Miracle,” and his wife, things don’t look good for the future of Impact Wrestling. It has been reported by several sources that Impact’s current creative team is incredibly similar to the team that saw the promotion through its early years of existence, as Jeff Jarrett, Dutch Mantell, and Scott D’Amore are all back in creative positions with the company.
This may be due to that, but it’s much more likely to be based on the clause that Impact is putting into performers’ new contract stating that Impact will receive 10% of their income from bookings outside of the company. We can’t blame anyone who chooses to leave for that reason, as with the names of the talent that have already left, they don’t really need Impact Wrestling.
We don’t expect these to be the last departures from the company, and we’ll keep you up to date on news of any more exits that occur.
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