The former WWE star Maria Kanellis had previously made her Playboy magazine appearance. She had posed for the cover of the April 2008 issue, with an accompanying NSFW pictorial. Rey Mysterio Daughter Drops Return Bombshell
This work of hers blessed her with modelling career boost and she was also named on “The Sexiest Women 2008” list by British magazine FHM.
Maria Kanellis reveals a fight with WWE
Maria recalled her experience with WWE regarding the Playboy magazine appearance. While speaking on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette, Maria revealed that she had to fight the Vince McMahon’s company regarding it as they wanted it done only a certain way:
“I remember even having long conversations on what my Playboy was going to be. And I wanted it to be more fashion forward. I was a big Cindy Crawford (fan), I loved her style and I wanted to bring more of that vibe to wrestling and make it more fashion forward and make it more pop culture. That was a fight. It was a fight even to get that, even something so sexualized at the time as a Playboy cover. It was like ‘we want it to be more sexy.’ I tried to get it black and white and they were like ‘no, we want it full color.’ So there were those conversations, even about something as sexual as that.”
Maria was drafted into the WWE after participating in Diva Search. Former Playboy cover star Ashley Massaro suggested that Maria should be on the cover of the magazine. Maria would go on to defeat Beth Phoenix to “earn the right” to be on the cover of Playboy, all as part of a storyline.
