Mike Bennett has been one of the most successful professional wrestlers on the independent circuit in this era before he joined WWE.
Bennett began working the independent circuit back in 2002 and did work for promotions such as New England Championship Wrestling, Top Rope Promotions, Global Force Wrestling (GFW) (also known as TNA and Impact Wrestling), Ring Of Honor (ROH), and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). It was Bennett's work in GFW, ROH, an NJPW that really caught the eye of professional wrestling fans, where he won the IWGP Tag Team Titles and the ROH Tag Team Titles (both with Matt Taven), and the TNA X Division Championship.
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He is also married to former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis who was originally signed by the company back in 2004 when she was discovered in a Divas Search. She had various programs with stars such as John Cena, Santino Marella, and many more. She was released from her contract in 2010 and departed for ROH, where she would eventually meet Bennett.
Along with Bennett, Kanellis also did work for GFW and NJPW in addition to doing work for other independent promotions. The pair married in 2014 and established themselves as a well known tandem in the professional wrestling community, where Bennett blossomed as an in-ring talent. Their work eventually earned them a contract with WWE and the pair made their debut this past June.
The pair made their debut at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV) with a "Power Of Love" gimmick in which the pair are consumed by the love they have for one another. After a few appearances on WWE TV in which they simply cut promos, Bennett, who adopted his wife's last name of Kanellis on WWE TV, made his in-ring debut on SmackDown Live and embarked on a rivalry with Sami Zayn.
With his less than serious gimmick in WWE now, many fans have took to Twitter to express their concerns with Bennett's WWE career, referring to him as a 'jobber.' Bennett took to Twitter to respond to these claims, seeming happy that he simply has a job that millions dream of having:
What are your thoughts on Kanellis being labelled a 'jobber' since joining WWE? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the fourth episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here!
Check it out via this link: https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-money-in-the-bank-fallout