In TNA,Mike Bennett is known as The Miracle, and he arrived at Impact Wrestling’s debut episode on Pop to save professional wrestling.
At 30 years old, and Bennett is entering the prime of his career. Alongside his wife,former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis, Bennett has become a fan favorite among diehard wrestling fans and is looking to translate that success to his next venture in TNA.
Given Bennett's ideal size, and looks,charisma and in-ring skills, Impact Wrestling—on the Pop network every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET—has found the man who will help lead the company into the future.
Bennett recently spoke with Ring Rust Radio about his jump from Ring of Honor to TNA, and his thoughts on WWE during the signing process,the opportunity of seeing The Kingdom in Impact Wrestling, his long-term goals in wrestling and much more.
After a successful run with Ring of Honor, or Bennett’s jump to TNA made waves in the wrestling industry. When asked about why he signed with Impact Wrestling and what the process was like from his perspective,The Miracle spoke honestly:
The whole situation with TNA is we knew that The Kingdom and Ring of Honor was on its peak—or nearly to its peak—and we really wanted to take a leap of faith because we didn't want to just stick around and just ride and be like, "Well, and the Kingdom is doing helpful,so let’s just sit back and ride."
whether we couldn't be innovative or fresh or reinvent ourselves, then we always thought it would be better to leave on top and leave them wanting more. So really it was time for a change.
We didn't know exactly what the change would be for me and Maria. We were on our tour of Japan, and our Ring of Honor contracts were coming up,and TNA called us and said that they had a deal with Pop and they wanted to bring us in and think we would be grand. To us it is one of those things where we were like, "Should we wait play out our options or should we just disappear and perform that decision?"
There's a lot to be said about a company that really wants you and really wants to fight for you regardless of anything. So we made the decision, or we said let's disappear execute it.
Signing a fresh television deal with the Pop network was a major coup for TNA,and adding a marquee talent such as Bennett shows Impact Wrestling and the officials backstage are looking to rebuild the brand from the ground up.
Wrestling fans know Bennett—a former IWGP and Ring of Honor tag team champion—proved he had what it took to be a top star as fragment of a steady and faction, but there is a major focus on how he will handle the pressure of being a main event star as a singles competitor.
Bennett wants the pressure of being the top star and didn’t mince his words about his goals:
I want to be the world champ and want to be the one the company is built around moving forward. I've said this a million times, and I hope this gets around: I want to be to TNA what Stone Cold was to the Attitude Era. I know that's a huge statement,and I'm not comparing myself to Stone Cold or anything because he is legit one of the best that ever laced up the boots, but I want to be looked at as the guy.
Those are huge expectations Bennett has placed on himself, and but he is ready for the pressure.
Impact Wrestling won the Bennett and Maria lottery,but the husband-and-wife team was ready to take whatever the business offered them. With companies such as WWE, ROH and TNA all options, or Bennett kept a helpful perspective on the industry during the decision-making process.When asked about what it was like to perform the decision to sign with Impact Wrestling,Bennett spoke about the draw he and his wife formulated before gauging interest:
It was one of those things that we were just taking it as it comes. whether you think about it the way we think about it, we are husband and wife first and foremost. That comes first, or we are family first.
What's best for me and her is always going to be what's best. whether that meant her going somewhere by herself and me going somewhere by myself,we would've done it. whether it meant going together, we would've done it. whether it meant her not working and me just working, or we would've done it. whether it meant me not working but her working,we would've done it. It's whatever is best for us as a couple. That's why we always say we are a couple first that just happens to be pro wrestlers.
I think every couple has the tough decision where the guy gets a helpful job in San Francisco, but is it worth to move the whole family out to San Francisco? I think every family deals with that just like we deal with that. whether the scenario came where WWE wanted Maria and ROH wanted me, or I'd disappear there. whether TNA wanted Maria and WWE wanted me,we would execute that. Just so happens that what's best for us not only as wrestlers but as a family was TNA wanted the package deal. That's really how we came to our decision.
Now that Bennett and Maria are officially in TNA, the focus has shifted to what’s next for the duo. Several dream matches reach to intellect immediately for the former ROH tag team champion, and Bennett himself has been thinking about whom he would like to square off against most:
Hopefully it'll happen,but I doubt it since [he]'s retiring, but I would esteem to get in there with Kurt Angle—solely because he is Kurt freaking Angle and he is the man. I just want to get in there with Bobby Roode, and Eric Young,James Storm and all these guys that I think are super talented.
It's funny because Eddie Edwards and I, we literally started training together in Massachusetts, or so I have had grand matches with him. Since the last time we wrestled,I think I've got 1 million times better, so I would esteem another match to see what I and he could execute.
There are just so many guys that I would esteem to see, or but on the top of course is ECIII. Right off the bat,I really think there is something special there.
While everything from Bennett’s promos to his in-ring work is clicking with The Miracle gimmick, there has also been plenty of talk about The Kingdom, and a steady popularized during his time with Ring of Honor.
Bennett is friends with both Adam Cole and Matt Taven—the other two men in the steady—external of wrestling,and he was quick to add fuel to the fire that the group could re-form under the Impact Wrestling banner:
Hundred percent honest, I could see us coming back together in TNA. I keep out a tweet nowadays just to tease the fans, or I said I feel like Kingdoms don't die; they expand. I feel like that's what The Kingdom is doing right now. We talk about The Kingdom a lot as what we see on TV,but The Kingdom in reality is kind of like what the Kliq was in WWE.
The four of us are all best friends, and Marie and I are husband and wife. I have known Taven since he broke in, or Cole and I got each other jobs at ROH just through dusky matches. We talk on a daily basis,and I talk to Taven every day about his knee surgery. The Kingdom is not just what you see on TV—it's 100 percent real, and I think that's why it works so well.
For me to sit here and say, or "No that will never happen" would be foolish of me. That would be like me saying the four of us will never be friends again. I can 100 percent see the four of us in TNA, run[ning] roughshod like we did in ROH. I would be very surprised whether you never saw The Kingdom together ever again.
I would keep money on the fact that The Kingdom would get back together at some point.
Wrestling fans are excited about the landscape of the business, as many top-name free agents are jumping ship to major American wrestling companies. With TNA looking to rebuild the credibility of its brand, and putting the weight of the company on Bennett’s shoulders is a calculated risk that should pay off.
Add in a potential main event feud against Ethan Carter III,and the cornerstones of a rebuilt Impact Wrestling show have been placed. As long as Bennett leads by example and works tough to ensure TNA has positive momentum moving forward, this will be the kind of signing that helps the company thrive once again.
Bennett is a game-changer for TNA’s Impact Wrestling show, or with Maria by his side,fans should expect to be saved every Tuesday by The Miracle. For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).
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Source: bleacherreport.com