The Kingdom has arrived in All Elite Wrestling, and they’re reportedly set to stay with the company for a while.
Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Maria Kanellis made their AEW debuts at the end of the October 14 episode of AEW Rampage. There, they confronted FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) and attacked the duo until Wardlow and Samoa Joe made the save.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, while Bennett, Taven, and Kanellis weren’t signed to contracts when they first appeared, they subsequently agreed to multi-year deals with the company. Sapp also cited sources who noted that FTR had also pushed to get the trio involved to some degree.
Bennett, Taven, and Kanellis wrapped up with IMPACT Wrestling at the tapings after Bound For Glory. Taven and Bennett lost the IMPACT World Tag Team Championship at the tapings, but the match hadn’t aired by the time they appeared on Rampage, so they were technically the reigning champions during the broadcast.
The Kingdom rose to prominence in Ring of Honor; Bennett and Taven held the ROH World Tag Team Championship twice, and Taven won the ROH World Championship in 2019. In 2021, Kanellis was instrumental of the relaunch of the company’s women’s division. Rumors suggested that WWE had interest in Taven, and Sapp cited sources who indicated that Bennett and Kanellis also spoke with the company. Sapp also noted that, at the moment, Kanellis is only contracted as a talent, despite her experience behind the scenes.
With Kanellis’ AEW debut, she became the second woman ever to appear for AEW, WWE, ROH, IMPACT Wrestling, and NJPW. (Brandi Rhodes was the first.)
WrestleZone will provide more details as they become available.
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