WWE News: Maria Kanellis reveals husband Mike's journey to de-addiction
What's the story?
SmackDown LIVE Superstar Maria Kanellis took to Instagram to explain her husband Mike Kanellis' personal battle with prescription medicine.
In case you didn't know...
On June 18, after spending several years wrestling in the independent circuit, Mike Kanellis, real name Michael Bennett, debuted on WWE's Money in the Bank PPV along with his wife former WWE Diva, Maria Kanellis.
The couple's gimmick was that Maria found Mike working in a Hallmark store, fell in love with him, and turned him into a pro-wrestler. Before going off TV, Mike worked a short feud with SmackDown LIVE's Sami Zayn with Zayn winning their blow-off match at SmackDown's Battleground PPV.
After this feud got over, Mike got relegated to working in dark matches. According to insider reports, Kanellis got relegated to working off TV because the officials thought his physique wasn't up to the mark. Along with working dark matches, Mike & Maria are also working on WWE's SmackDown-exclusive house shows.
The heart of the matter
Maria Kanellis posted a picture of Mike on her Instagram account, with a detailed caption chronicling Mike's struggle with his addiction to prescription pills.
In the caption, Maria revealed that Mike had been off prescription pills for a week and recovering. Maria talked further about how difficult it has been for Mike to stay off the pills.
She revealed that Mike was about to give up at one point, but didn't, and has been channelling his energy into working out and recuperating.
"He channeled all that energy into working out and being healthy. Mike wanted to quit. Now, as we move forward even though the road is hard. It's the right road."
What's next?
As reported above, Mike's currently working dark matches and live events.
Author's take
It's heartbreaking to see Mike Kanellis go through such a difficult phase in his life. We hope he recovers swiftly and makes his way back to the ring where he belongs.