Maria Kanellis: "I Think It's Telling That Ronda Rousey Had Her Match At Ring Of Honor"

Maria Kanellis recently appeared as a guest on 720 WGN Radio for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.

During the discussion, the women's wrestling veteran spoke about Ronda Rousey making her Ring Of Honor debut on ROH TV teaming with Marina Shafir against Athena and Billie Starkz.

"I think it's telling that Ronda Rousey had her match at Ring of Honor," she said. "I think Ring of Honor has always been the standard. It's a standard bearer of what women's wrestling can be, what wrestling in general can be. To have Ronda Rousey appear on a Ring of Honor show, it's very telling of what the division is [and] where it can go."

Later in the interview, Kanellis spoke about some of the women talent she has been working with, including "Legit" Leyla Hirsch, who she sees as a potential future star for the brand.

"I'm working with Leyla Hirsch right now and she's coming off of an injury and trying to get her mind right in order to compete in this very intense division, you have Athena who has been Champion forever," she said. "I think 20 years now she's been champ and she doesn't just compete, she competes aggressively and she expects those around her to computer aggressively and fiercely and that is what the traditions of Ring of Honor has always been, 'Who is going to put on the best match?'," she said. "We have our struggles in Ring of Honor. We are a subscription-based show we are a show that has a lot of underdogs, a lot of people trying to make it to the next plateau of their career, and I think that's the heart and soul of Ring of Honor."

Kanellis continued, "For me, the first time I was in Ring of Honor, before I went to IMPACT Wrestling, before I went back to WWE, that is what truly changed my mind about what wrestling can be. It can be that mentality of, 'We are just going to show people how talented we are by our work.' That's what we do at Ring of Honor. It doesn't matter the adversity we face, we are going to prove it in the ring, backstage with our attitudes, and the way we fight for this company."

Check out the complete interview at WGNRadio.com. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.