Looks like we aren’t the only ones noticing Maria has slowly been fading off SmackDown. According to sources, Maria’s stock has dropped with management, hence her lack of use over the past couple of months.
While most of the Divas on the brand are seeing an upsurge in ringtime, Maria has noticeably been disregarded or relegated to the odd backstage segment. The feeling is that Maria hasn’t shown enough improvement in the ring given her tenure and putting her in the ring could compromise the quality of matches, which is why WWE has opted to use less tenured Divas such as Alicia Fox, since the Draft two months ago.
Though we were only namechecked Alicia Fox, I think the same theory applies to the likes of Layla and Eve Torres in particular. I think it’s funny that Maria was an active performer and they decided to give Eve – an inactive performer – a storyline. I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Maria fan, so I guess I take a little pleasure in hearing that WWE is finally on my wavelength.
As I said last Friday in the SmackDown Redux, I was toying with the idea of doing a blog about Maria and her next career move. I think I’ll include the gist of it here: One can’t deny though, that Maria is one of the most popular Divas in WWE right now. But the truth is, she’s a horrible performer and I think the women’s division has passed her by. I think the company needs to find other uses for her, I wouldn’t out-and-out release her because she is popular, but maybe have her replace Eve as the backstage interviewer or perhaps as Teddy Long’s assistant.
Another thing to point out is that Maria can be seen as co-host on the new Macho Man DVD released by WWE. I guess that could be in line with the new direction for her; maybe move her away from in-ring stuff and move her into a broadcast role.
Posted by 
June 10, 2009 at 7:56 pm
wow,i go everywhere and I see that people are writing “kelly is awesome,kelly should be champion” but Kelly can’t wrestler to save her life,doing cartwheels and backflips is not wrestling and I think Kelly has actually blinded the fans into thinking she’s improved by using her gymnastics skills but in reality,she hasn’t improved at all
Maria may not be good but she can pull in a good match every now and then,maria is 10 times better then kelly and yet,WWE has dropped maria and is keeping Kelly
poor Maria,I liked her,she may not be wrestling material,but she is really sweet and kind and her wrestling skills have improved a lot,she was AWESOME on WWE superstars
June 10, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I think she should be used as a manager/interviewer. Her overness could hopefully rub off on someone she manages.
June 10, 2009 at 8:41 pm
i like Maria and will support her with anything she does in the WWE except wrestle.
June 10, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I agree with saritafan 100%, I’m not an Maria fan but it’s not fair how people say she’s horrible but Kelly is so improved. Personally I think Maria is a better performer than Kelly, definitely in her Superstars match. Maria might be a shitty in ring performer, but atleast she doesn’t do just flips to look like she is so “IMPROVED”. I think Kelly has great athleticism, but that doesn’t mean she is good in the ring. With all that said Maria should have an backstage role but Kelly should be sent to FCW to learn how to wrestle.
June 10, 2009 at 9:24 pm
well first off not sure if anyone has seen this but Maria posted on her twitter :
“I am sooo glad people think that we divas do not read the horrible things people put on the forums!! Who gets fired this year?? Sooooo mean!” – http://twitter.com/MariaLKanellis
June 10, 2009 at 9:33 pm
anyways i’m not Maria’s biggest fan however I do not think she should be released. I always thought she fit the manager role. I mean smackdown is pretty full with the woman’s division that i think that all of the divas can’t shine. Candice, Melina, Layla, & Alicia are all new with Michelle, Maria, Eve, and Gail previously being there. They need to try to keep the roster balanced. Anyways I like Maria, I’ve always thought of her as the current Stacy. The WWE doesn’t need to push her anymore she has enough of a following. I hope things work out for her though
June 10, 2009 at 9:51 pm
From when they first started, I’ve seen more improvement in Kelly after 1 year than Maria in 3 years. Maria has more in-ring awareness, but she’s suppose to be, having a two year head-start. Other than that, I don’t see much more talent-wise out of Maria. She’s maxed out.
With Kelly, she at least has upside. She wasn’t even old enough to drink when WWE hired her. Could Kelly use some time in FCW to get better? Most definitely. She’s not championship material…………yet. But obviously management likes her enough to let her take her bumps on the main stage. I’m not sure any Diva is more over with the crowd right now than Kelly.
Maria’s had her chances and storylines. Apparently she has’t show enough to earn more of a push or camera time. They can’t keep using her out there if they don’t like what they see. And now that Kelly’s getting a shot, people are hating? All the complaints about Kelly’s inexperience, guess what, Maria was also sloppy when she got her shot.
Maria is still an asset to the company. She’s still popular. Wrestling’s just not her thing. Interviewer, Valet, or Special Referee In Michelle McCool Matches would be perfect for her.
June 10, 2009 at 9:58 pm
poor maria i like her not 1 0f my favourites but should be used in the ring more then holla holla diva kelly kelly
wwe got no sence to use divas .im so shocked that a extreme expose diva would be a divas champion.
please dont hate me kelly fan .if kelly kelly become a womens champ this will be a insult of great divas like katie. natalya . beth .mickie james.
June 10, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I think that more people comment on Kelly’s in-ring improvements because Maria has been with the WWE since 2004 so she’s had 5 years to get to where she is today whereas Kelly’s been there since 2006 and has gotten to where she is in a shorter space of time.
I’m glad the WWE aren’t pushing Maria at the moment but I also hope that she takes the opportunity to improve more because I want to like her as an in-ring wrestler. I’m fairly confident Maria will have a successful career outside the WWE regardless of her time being there.
June 10, 2009 at 9:59 pm
i mean divas champ
June 11, 2009 at 12:17 am
I like Maria, as long as she stays far away from the ring. Using her as a backstage interviewer would be ideal, and she was pretty good as Santino’s valet. As far as I can see, her popularity is largly the result of her looks, and not much else.
June 11, 2009 at 1:15 am
Poor Maria I never was a fan of hers. To be honest I think Maria should stay being a backstage interviwer. I mean she cant wrestle and she has been there longer than kelly kelly.Yes Maria had SOME good matches. Maria isnt much of a seller and I dont think she has had good chemistry with anyone what so ever.She has been there longer than Kelly Kelly & Layla she should be better than that I mean she cant even do a damn cat fight right and all u gotta do us slap and push.The only match I have seen Maria do good in is against Beth.If wwe saw more skills in Maria than kelly kelly then maria would be the one getting a push.Kelly has improved all though all she has been doing is flips and cart wheels but who cares.
I think Maria would be better off being a backstage interviewer she can get popular there.
Then again its kinda of sad how wwe just push maria out the way and now kelly kelly is getting popular.
June 11, 2009 at 1:45 am
replying to spiffy,for the millionth time,Kelly has NOT improved,she’s just living off from her Gymnastics skills,Kelly is only over because she’s HOT,thats why the guys cheer for her,people do NOT cheer for kelly because of her wrestling skills,thats for sure
Maria didn’t start training until 2006,Maria has improved soooooo much since then,did you see maria on WWE superstars,she was AWESOME,maria has sooo much potential unlike kelly who only knows 2 moves,a backflip and a 20-minute headscissors,thats sad
like I said already,Kelly has actually blinded fans into thinking she’s improved by using her gymnastics skills but in reality,she hasn’t improved at all
overall,if you people say that maria plain out sucks then kelly down right sucks because maria is better then kelly
June 11, 2009 at 1:54 am
From all the comments here about who is better Maria or Kelly Kelly ist quite clear that the next topic that should be brought up is Kelly Kelly vs Maria who is better. I think this would be a great topic to talk about. I think it would be nice Melaine if you are willing to make a topic dicussing Maria vs Kelly Kelly who is better.You probably wont do it but I think it would be get people to express how they feel about both divas.Its uo to you though im not making you do it it was just a suggestion. Thanks!!!
June 11, 2009 at 2:24 am
I Think That Is Not Necesary Release Anybody Because Kelly & Maria Are Good Divas And Popular Now.
Kelly Isnt Better Than Maria-And Maria Isnt Better Than Kelly.
The WWE Need To Contract New Divas-Because The WWE Dont Have Any Idea To Do With Maria Because Their Face/Heel
Divas Isnt Be On A Balance.
Kelly Need To Stay Because She Is Popular Right Now And Maria Too But The The WWE Need To Take More Seriously Te Divas-
With Their Storylines-Matches-PPV And Others.
June 11, 2009 at 3:45 am
Why are we talking about Kelly? Theyre not even on the same brand. I think Maria and Candice should be compared, as both are on the bottom of the heap.
June 11, 2009 at 3:45 am
They both need improvement, actually, haha.
Kelly’s athleticism is the only reason why she got in the WWE? Since when is being athletic a bad thing in the ring? O_o And no, she doesn’t just get over with the fans because of her looks. When she does her tilt-a-whirl headscissors and her handspring elbow smash thing, the crowd goes nuts cheering for her because those are her signature moves. Kelly just needs a firmer moveset, like suplexes and other basic moves.
Same for Maria. She gets a lot of cheers during her entrance, but her moveset is so dull and sloppy that it could use a bit more flashy moves, which she (doesn’t quite) make up for her in attire, lol. But right now, Maria is the second most popular Diva in the WWE (next to Mickie). I think she’s the best choice for poster girl for WWE right now, since Torrie’s gone.
June 11, 2009 at 3:50 am
Isn’t this thread suppose to be about Maria? It shouldn’t be about Kelly bashing. The facts do support Melanie’s story that Maria’s stock is dropping in WWE. Okay, so now I have to respond to Saritafan. Note that I’m not trying to start a feud:
So are trying to saying unlike Kelly, Maria gets cheered for her wrestling skills? I’m sure it has nothing to do with her looks either.
No one’s saying Kelly is great. But since being moved to Raw from ECW, she’s way better. Watch some matches on YouTube and compare. If Kelly was that bad, they’d stick her on Smackdown and spend the extra 2 days editing her matches before airing.
I don’t hate Maria. I just think she’s just maxed out with what she can do in the ring, which to me wasn’t much. She should return to backstage interviewing. I’d much rather have her than Josh Matthews.
For the millionth time, Kelly’s only 22. Is she suppose to magically become Bret Hart overnight? To say she’s not improving is ignorant. Kelly may have started out with two moves, but she’s constantly adding. [side note - Goldberg and Stone Cold made careers out of knowing only three moves each]
Maria’s 27 and entering her prime, so words like ‘potential’ are over. She should be there now.
If Maria isn’t being used anymore, don’t take it out on Kelly, who by the way isn’t living off of a Playboy pictorial.
June 11, 2009 at 4:47 am
Lol. Maria still wishes it was March 2008.
June 11, 2009 at 4:54 am
Maria should just be a valet. There’s no shame in that. If she really wanted to be a wrestler she would’ve applied herself better to training the way many of the other women have anyway.
June 11, 2009 at 5:08 am
why not make maria the new gm for raw….and both divas should train more in fcw…..they are getting better but they are takin kinda long to be a good wrestler…..and if i had to chose between maria and kelly id pick maria…maybe she can get beat up from michele mccool again then have her fake an injury and have her return as the dinky cute interveiwer again i miss when she used to play blonde….lol
June 11, 2009 at 7:44 am
I completely agree with Matt. There’s absolutely no shame in being a manager. She could help bring back the lost art of managing. She is popular with the crowd and could assist someone, possibly up and comers in getting over.
June 11, 2009 at 9:46 am
I agree with most points here, but I do honestly think Maria is improving and that she is better than kelly. Watch these matches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQN5AVnACaE + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6MPxMft78w. Watching these I can see shes improving and doesnt have to do gymnastics to look good. If she can continue to improve then there might be a place for her, but for now she should take a backseat.
June 11, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Hmm…I didn’t see the name Kelly pop up anywhere on Melanie’s post so I don’t know why this has all shifted to comparing Maria and Kelly. They are not even on the same brand but yet there’s people complaining Kelly is getting pushed over Matia. Repeat they are NOT on the same brand. Michelle is getting pushed over Maria since they are both on Smackdown. Complain about that.
I love both of these divas. And I am a huge supporter of them. I can’t say which one is better because they both have very different wrestling skills. One thing I gotta say about Kelly that I love, is that she gets the fans involved. Not many divas do that.
And to whomever (Sorry I’m too lazy to go find you) said Maria started training in 2006, thats bullshit. It was 2005.
Oh and I’m starting to think Maria reads Diva Dirt. Look at her Twitter posts from this morning. I think she does.
June 11, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Whoa. Maria’s tweets do look like responses to this site. Hope she understands we all want her to succeed. Maybe we’ll serve as motivation for her to get better. Seek out the old wrestlers backstage for advice. Study tapes of Trish, Molly, etc. Because Alicia, Layla, and Eve are passing her on the depth chart, along with Candice returning soon.
As long as Michelle is dating Undertaker, she’s not losing her top spot.
June 11, 2009 at 10:54 pm
You can tell that the newest updates were actually about this blog
But the older ones about D-U ! …
June 11, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I really think Maria could be a perfect valet. Since she is really over I could picture her being a valet for oneve the top tier wrestlers. I dont think she has a big future as a wrestler but could definitely see her manage someone.