Maria Kanellis Bennett took a risk announcing her pregnancy live on television.
On the July 1, 2019, episode of WWE Raw, Maria and her husband, Mike Bennett, face Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch in a mixed-tag team match. After Seth threw Mike into the corner, inadvertently tagging in Maria, Becky entered the match. Maria got off of the ring apron and onto the mic and berated Mike for his inability to mop the floor, both at home and in the ring with Rollins. As Becky got closer, Maria announced that she was pregnant. A stunned Mike asked how it was possible to which Maria replied, "I don't know, because I don't think you're man enough to get me pregnant." Lynch then tossed Bennett into the ring and tapped him out with the Disarm-Her.
Speaking with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp (full interview above), Maria said that she was very early on in her pregnancy at that point was terrified about making the announcement and then - God forbid - having a miscarriage.
"Yeah. When I was doing it I was terrified," Kanellis Bennett explained. "Miscarriages usually happen before ten weeks and I was very early on. They usually say, ‘Wait until twelve to thirteen weeks to start telling people to just get out of that first trimester.’ So, that was the most terrifying part of it. Most people would be like, ‘Oh, you’re in front of millions of people.’ No, the most terrifying part to me was just making sure my baby was safe. Now Carver is huge and he’s over a year old. He’s amazing and I wouldn’t change it for the world. But, that was my biggest fear and was to go out there and make this big announcement and then to end up having a miscarriage. But, other than that everybody else was amazing."
Maria had nothing but positive things to say about both Becky and Seth. Her only regret - if we can even call it that - is that it didn't lead to anything bigger. At the time, she and Mike didn't know that the company would essentially just toss them to the side.
"Becky was a professional to her core and I adore her. Seth is great, too. So, all of that was fun," Maria said. "Even the stuff with Mike, being in the ring with him and it was our first big moment that we had had in the company. So, all of that was amazing and at the time we didn’t know they were just going to toss us to the side. We thought this was the beginning of something really special. So, for me, it was really exciting, but also terrifying."
As for whether or not she and Mike gave Seth and Becky "baby fever," Maria believes they were ready on their own and calls it a blessing. Here is what she said:
"I don’t know. I think they were ready. I don’t like to talk about people’s personals. But, I think it’s a blessing. It really is."
Maria and Mike welcomed their second child into the world on February 3, 2020. Two months later, on April 15, 2020, they were released by WWE as a result of budget cuts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. They have since signed with Ring of Honor where Maria heads up their ROH The Experience and is also spearheading the rejuvenation of their Women's Division.
Lynch has been off WWE television since May 11 when she announced her pregnancy on WWE Raw. In December 2020, she and Rollins announced the arrival of their baby, Roux.
