Maria Kanellis Sacrificed Her WWE WrestleMania 35 Spot For Candice LeRae
"I didn’t care how far I went."
Mar 30, 2021
Maria Kanellis has revealed it was her decision to be eliminated first from the Women's Battle Royal at WWE WrestleMania 35.
The second Women's Battle Royal on a WrestleMania stage took place on the kick-off show for WrestleMania 35, in 2019, with Kanellis the first person to be eliminated from the match.
Kanellis has now revealed on social media, in response to a question from a fan, that it was her decision to go out first instead of Candice LeRae, because it was the NXT superstar's first WrestleMania.
She wrote: "I wanted Candice to not be first. I didn’t care how far I went but, for Candice, it was her first Wrestlemania and I wanted for her to at least [be] able to look around. She deserved better. Candice is amazing!!"
Kanellis was eliminated in the opening seconds of the 17-woman match by Ember Moon, while LeRae was thrown from the ring moments later by Asuka.
Maria and husband Mike were released by WWE in 2020 as a part of the COVID-19 related budget cuts. She had previously been 24/7 champion, as a part of her running angles with her husband backstage.
