Maria Kanellis Reflects On AEW Contract Expiring, Wants To Figure Out What She Wants

Maria Kanellis recently shared her thoughts on her AEW contract coming to an end and when she may make her next move. Kanellis’ contract came to an end on January 31st and she spoke on her Adult Conversations podcast about the matter. She noted that she was initially angry, acknowledging that some of it come from the health issues she’s recently gone through, and that she wants to figure out what she wants before she decides what to do next. You can see highlights below, per Fightful:

on the end of her contract: “As my contract was coming up, I was very much like, I went back and forth. I’m like, ‘Okay, what do I want to be next? Where do I want to go? Do I want to do this? Do I want to try and fight for this company or go this way?’ At the end of the day, I kind of took a step back and was like, ‘You know what, I don’t think I want that right now.’ I want to be a mom. I want that to be enough, but I also want to find fulfillment in other things that I’m super passionate about. If the right opportunity comes around and there is an opportunity, whether it be a couple of months of doing something in wrestling or to help out somewhere or do a camp or that kind of stuff, I’m not going to say no, but at the same time, it’s just not where I want to be. The Rumble happened. Would it be cool to go and do the Rumble? Yes, but at the same time, I was kind of like, ‘Don’t call me. Don’t call me. Don’t call me.’ I was doing this back and forth of, ‘Okay, do I want to jump back in there?’ I don’t know.”

On taking her time to figure out what’s next: “I kind of want to figure that out before I jump back into something. I want to figure out these other things that I’m super passionate about. Do I want to continue being a florist and creating these amazing vases for people. What else would I want to do? I still love doing photoshoots and styling photoshoots. Do I want to move more in a stylist direction? It’s this thing of, I’m trying to give myself time and space to think about what I want. So many times I think about, ‘Okay, contract is up, I have to sign another contract.’ It’s this panic. I’ve done it so many times and I just don’t know if that’s what I want right now. Anything could change. I feel like I’m making peace with it now. There was a while when I wasn’t making peace with it. There was a while when I was angry. Very very angry.”