Photo: WWE

Mike Kanellis On Addiction & Recovery

Mike Kanellis and his wife Maria recently sat down with Renee Young to discuss his prescription medication addiction and his road to recovery in a new WWE mini-documentary.

“I recently made the decision to get clean from an addiction to prescription drugs. A problem I kept hidden from my wife, my family, my friends, everyone. It has haunted me for almost three years. It really started to spiral out of control this past year and a half, and I almost lost everything. Finally, I decided I couldn’t keep hurting my wife or myself this way, and I was going to get my life back.”

You can see the full video below.

RAW Social Media Score

Monday’s episode of RAW ranked #1 among series and specials for the night in Nielsen’s social media TV ratings. RAW had 272,000 interactions with 48,000 unique authors on Twitter. These numbers are up from last week’s 211,000 Twitter interactions with 44,000 unique authors. RAW also had 237,000 Facebook interactions with 161,000 unique authors. This is up from last week’s 151,000 interactions with 107,000 unique authors on Facebook.

The post Mike Kanellis Opens Up About His Addiction; RAW Social Media Score appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

Photo: WWE

WWE SmackDown Live superstars Maria and Mike Kanellis announced they are expecting their first baby. In an Instagram post, Maria announced her pregnancy and she’s already 13-weeks in. Maria wrote Mike and her had planned to expand the family last year by taking on a lighter work schedule but it may have taken longer than expected. Based on her post, Maria announced she will return to WWE after the baby is born and her doctor’s approval.

Maria wrote the following:

The Power of Love is Strong…..And BABY makes 3. Mike and I are happy to announce I am 13 weeks pregnant!! Life is what happens when you are making other plans. This is the universe’s plan for us. Last year Mike and I tried to expand our family when we had a lighter schedule and this year we thought we had put those plans on hold but apparently that is not what is meant to be and we are so happy for our new path. Mike has wanted children for a long time (he is gonna be a very good daddy) and my biological clock just recently started ticking!! Timing is everything and now is our perfect time for family.

As far as the future… WWE is and has been my dream job and I plan on coming back with my doctor’s approval after the baby is born and get’s plenty of mommy time. But, until then, I will be posting my REAL updates on my social media accounts. There is so much pressure to have the perfect pregnancy, gain the right amount of weight, and be super stylish. But, let me just say I’ve gained 7 pounds, been nauseous everyday, and wore yoga pants every day since 6 weeks. I’m not perfect. Haha… life is messy. My husband is a recovering prescription drug addict, we are in the middle of buying a house, we are moving across county, and I’m pregnant!!! I figure I can either stress or feel blessed. I feel blessed. I choose happiness. WE choose happiness. Thank you to our families, friends, WWE, and the fans for all of the support! Let’s continue building the #PowerofLove with my husband on Smackdown Live. Because the Power of Love is Real. I have the picture to prove it…..

According to WWE.com, Maria is due to give birth on April 2, 2018. She told WWE.com:

“I’m sure it’s going to happen right on WrestleMania. I’ve already talked to Mike and told him that if he has match, he has to go and be [there], but I’ll definitely be Facetiming him with the baby afterward! There is definitely something to it being our first year in WWE and our first baby, so it’s a very exciting time!”

The Power of Love is Strong…..And BABY makes 3. Mike and I are happy to announce I am 13 weeks pregnant!! Life is what happens when you are making other plans. This is the universe's plan for us. Last year Mike and I tried to expand our family when we had a lighter schedule and this year we thought we had put those plans on hold but apparently that is not what is meant to be and we are so happy for our new path. Mike has wanted children for a long time (he is gonna be a very good daddy) and my biological clock just recently started ticking!! Timing is everything and now is our perfect time for family. As far as the future… WWE is and has been my dream job and I plan on coming back with my doctor's approval after the baby is born and get's plenty of mommy time. But, until then, I will be posting my REAL updates on my social media accounts. There is so much pressure to have the perfect pregnancy, gain the right amount of weight, and be super stylish. But, let me just say I've gained 7 pounds, been nauseous everyday, and wore yoga pants every day since 6 weeks. I'm not perfect. Haha… life is messy. My husband is a recovering prescription drug addict, we are in the middle of buying a house, we are moving across county, and I'm pregnant!!! I figure I can either stress or feel blessed. I feel blessed. I choose happiness. WE choose happiness. Thank you to our families, friends, WWE, and the fans for all of the support! Let's continue building the #PowerofLove with my husband on Smackdown Live. Because the Power of Love is Real. I have the picture to prove it….. #MiraclesHappen #LifeHappens #thentherewerethree #alieninvasion @therealmichaelbennett @wwe Love, Maria and Mike and BABY +=

A post shared by Maria Kanellis-Bennett (@mariakanellis) on Sep 25, 2017 at 9:01am PDT

The post Maria Kanellis Announces She & Mike Bennett Are Expecting Their First Child appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

Photo: WWE

WWE superstar Mike Kanellis was very honest on early Tuesday as he detailed his recovery from prescription drug addiction. In a post on Instagram, he admitted the addiction haunted him for nearly three years as a result of the recovery process for his dislocated knee cap. According to Mike, the addiction “started to spiral out of control” during the last year and a half, which means this also occured during his run with Impact Wrestling. He thanked his wife, Maria Kanellis, for standing by him through the difficult times. He explained his post may be a symbol of hope for anyone battling addiction and he’s in a better place now.

“This picture was taken this year. It symbolizes my decision to get clean from an addiction to prescription drugs. A problem I kept hidden from my wife, my family, my friends, everyone. It has haunted me for almost 3 years, ever since I dislocated my knee cap. It really started to spiral out of control this past year and a half. I almost lost everything. Finally I decided I couldn’t keep hurting my wife or myself this way and I was going to get my life back. This picture was my way of making my beautiful wife laugh, during one of the most difficult times in our life. Without her, I would be lost. She is the strongest, toughest woman I know. She has been my rock and my reason for fighting. She has been with me every step of the way and I’ll say it again, I would truly be lost without her. It feels so incredibly wonderful to have my life back and to focus on what truly matters. Life has never been better, and everyday is a blessing. I wanted to write this as a symbol of hope, to anyone who is battling addiction. It can strike anybody, in any place, at any time. It does not discriminate. It can and will take everything from you. If you are struggling, please don’t give up hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you are not alone. I have your back. #thereisalwayshope“

This picture was taken this year. It symbolizes my decision to get clean from an addiction to prescription drugs. A problem I kept hidden from my wife, my family, my friends, everyone. It has haunted me for almost 3 years, ever since I dislocated my knee cap. It really started to spiral out of control this past year and a half. I almost lost everything. Finally I decided I couldn't keep hurting my wife or myself this way and I was going to get my life back. This picture was my way of making my beautiful wife laugh, during one of the most difficult times in our life. Without her, I would be lost. She is the strongest, toughest woman I know. She has been my rock and my reason for fighting. She has been with me every step of the way and I'll say it again, I would truly be lost without her. It feels so incredibly wonderful to have my life back and to focus on what truly matters. Life has never been better, and everyday is a blessing. I wanted to write this as a symbol of hope, to anyone who is battling addiction. It can strike anybody, in any place, at any time. It does not discriminate. It can and will take everything from you. If you are struggling, please don't give up hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you are not alone. I have your back. #thereisalwayshope

A post shared by Mike Kanellis (@therealmichaelbennett) on Aug 14, 2017 at 10:33pm PDT

The post WWE SmackDown Live Superstar Reveals Prescription Drug Addiction appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

Photo: ROH

Following reports that Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis are set to finally debut in WWE this week, the couple has been spotted in St. Louis, which is the site for tonight’s Money In The Bank pay per view. They have been earmarked for SmackDown from the start and were actually set to start in May. But “plans change.” So, perhaps be on the lookout for them to show up tonight. Who they’d be programmed with is still anybody’s guess. But with a lot of middle of the card talent on the babyface side of SmackDown not being used much (Dillinger, Harper, Rawley), there’s certainly a lot of options there.

Just Epico. Nothing else to see here. pic.twitter.com/stvE7lD6qN

— Victor (@GuyInGreenWWE) June 18, 2017

Also spotted in St. Louis are a number of legends, including Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Gagne, Baron Von Rasche, and Larry “The Axe” Hennig. As we reported on a few days ago, there is some sort of legends ceremony in the works for Money In The Bank. Additionally, Bob Orton is still scheduled to be in Randy Orton’s corner for the WWE Title Match against Jinder Mahal.

Credit: PWInsider

The post Mike Bennett & Maria Kanellis In St. Louis (PHOTO); Legends At Money In The Bank appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

Photo: ROH

According to recent reports, former ROH and NJPW stars Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis are expected to begin work for the WWE very soon. The pair could make their television debut as early as next week.

Bennett and Kanellis signed with WWE in April following a stint with Impact Wrestling. Prior to that, the couple had worked ROH and NJPW for a significant amount of time. The pair was originally thought to make their debut not long after signing, but that was eventually delayed by WWE due to creative plans.

Kanellis, of course, worked at WWE for many years in the past (2004-2010). She originally took part in the Diva Search competition prior to being signed by the company. Kanellis has been a vocal critic of the Bella twins in the past, claiming that they prevented her from re-signing with the company at one point. However, Kanellis has commented recently that she and Nikki Bella have spoken and worked out their differences. Mike Bennett has never worked for WWE.

The pair will be part of the WWE SmackDown Live brand. PWInsider reported the pair will be starting on the house show circuit this weekend. However, there are no SmackDown Live house shows scheduled for this weekend. If the PWInsider report is correct, they would be working RAW house show events this weekend in Canada before heading to St. Louis for Money In The Bank on Sunday, a SmackDown house show Monday in Indianapolis, or television on Tuesday in Dayton.

The post Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis To Debut With WWE As Soon As This Weekend? appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.