Maria Kanellis Recalls 2006 Umaga Match On Raw

Maria Kanellis was booked by Eric Bischoff to face Umaga on WWE Raw in November 2006. The petite Diva was dragged to the ring visibly horrified before the match began. John Cena eventually came to her rescue during the segment.

Kanellis worked herself up backstage so she would be shaking when she came out. She wanted the reaction to look more real and believable for the audience. Umaga held her so tight during the Samoan Drop that she did not feel hitting the mat at all.

Kanellis described Umaga as one of the nicest and sweetest people in the world. The Samoan Drop appeared devastating to fans watching at home. She said the hip attack that followed was much more painful for her. She recalled that Umaga had warned her to put her head back before the hip attack. Kanellis thought she had positioned her head far enough back but still took the full impact down her spine. She joked about feeling paralyzed after being hit by his butt.

At the time Kanellis played a ditzy but sweet character on WWE programming. She believes that presentation helped strengthen the contrast with the male wrestlers who performed physical moves on her. The character worked greatly to her advantage in those segments.

Months earlier Kanellis had been lured into a match against Kurt Angle. She took an Angle Slam and nearly an Ankle Lock before Cena rushed down to save her again.