WWE Awards Former Diva Maria Kanellis With the Inaugural Talent Scholarship

In the most recent edition of WWE.com’s “Where Are They Now?” feature, it was announced that former Diva Maria Kanellis has been awarded the inaugural WWE Talent Scholarship. The article discusses Kanellis’ time away from the company, which has been the past four years, and claims the former Playboy model and current Ring of Honor talent is using the scholarship to finally earn a degree.

While the feature does not recognize Kanellis’ as a ROH superstar, it does mention her recent marriage to fellow ROH talent Mike Bennett. The feature reads as follows,

The WWE Universe eventually recognized Maria for her dedication to the squared circle, voting her Diva of the Year at the 2009 Slammy Awards. Though her acceptance speech was cut off by an angry Batista, she realized how big an honor it was.

“It was humbling,” Maria said. “I had been out doing ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ so I figured the fans had forgotten about me, but they didn’t. I was definitely overwhelmed.”

Maria’s run with WWE ended in 2010. Since then, she’s released her own album of music, “Sevin Sins,” and acted in several movies.

Recently, a good deal of her time was spent getting ready for her wedding to independent wrestler Mike Bennett. The two were married earlier this month in a ceremony she helped plan.

“[Planning the wedding] was absolutely fantastic,” Maria said. “I’m going into event management, so it’s something I’m passionate about. I’ve been learning the ropes of what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life.”

In September, Maria also found out she was receiving the first WWE Talent Scholarship, which she’ll be using to help finish her degree at Johnson & Wales University.

“I was very excited, it’s a tremendous opportunity,” Maria told WWE.com. “I can’t wait to start [classes for my major] at school in December. School will be a lot more relaxing since I have the scholarships.”

After being involved in the rough and tumble world of sports-entertainment for so long, it might be tough to trade in tights for textbooks, but not for Maria. In fact, the former Diva finds that going back to college now is a better experience for her.

“I think that when you go back to school when you’re a little older, you’re a lot more focused,” she told WWE.com.

That extra focus has allowed Maria to dedicate herself to her studies. It’s paid off, as she had already been named a Presidential Honor Student after finishing her general education courses earlier this year.

“I got straight A’s for the first time in my life,” she exclaimed.

Editor’s Note:
That’s pretty awesome. Good for WWE to help former superstars go back and earn degrees.