Maria was first seen in the
2004
Raw Diva Search contest and was
later signed by the WWE despite not winning. On November 1st, 2004 on RAW,
Maria made her debut as a RAW backstage
announcer. Throughout 2005 she continued
to be an announcer, as well as participating
in numerous match-ups and contests. These
included, a
Lingerie Pillow fight against
Christy Hemme on January 10th 2005's edition
of Raw, and a Diva Fashion show on February
7th's edition.
Throughout the year, Maria also continue to train in the WWE's Development camp;
OVW, and participated on November 1st, 2005, on the
Taboo Tuesday Pay Per View event in a
Fulfill Your Fantasy Divas Battle Royal.
In 2006, Maria kicked of the year at the New Years Revolution Pay per View on January 8, 2006, participating in a
Bra & Panties Gauntlet Match. She then continue to get physical, participating in tag matches, and even being defeated in a Women's Title match by WWE Women's Champion;
Mickie James and participating in a Women's Title Tournament after
Trish Stratus retired, losing to
Lita on October 30, 2006. She later participated in a #1 Contenders
Diva Battle Royal for the WWE Women's Championship (November 27, 2006 - Raw). The next week she suffered at the hands of Victoria in a one on one match up (December 4, 2006 - RAW ).
The Highlight of the year for Maria was going to Iraq participating in the WWE
Tribute to the Troops however the highlight for fans that year took place on October 10, 2006 in an ECW "
Extreme Strip Poker" segment where she had a naked catfight with
Candice Michelle.
In June of 2007, the
Santino Marella
& Maria Kanellis era began as their onscreen
romance began to shape in various segments.
As their romance took center stage, with Santino
playing a jealous boyfriend the majority of
the time. She continued to Wrestle in the
Women's Division, which included August 26,
2007 at SummerSlam where she participated
in a #1 Contenders Battle Royal and November
18, 2007 at
Survivor Series where she,
Mickie, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool and
Kelly beat Beth, Melina Perez, Jillian Hall,
Victoria and Layla. In late 2007 Playboy rumors
began and in January of 2008 the WWE began
to promote her Playboy spread. Tension between
Maria and Santino Marella escalated to an
all time high, as he opposed her choice to
want to do Playboy. This all led to a Playboy
"BunnyMania" match being booked for Wrestlingmania
24.
On March 30, 2008 at WrestleMania 24, Beth Phoenix & Melina Perez defeated Maria & Ashley Massaro in the BunnyMania Lumberjill Match. The MC of the match was rapper
Snoop Dogg, who clotheslined Santino Marella and gave french kissed Maria. The conclusion of her storyline with Santino came the next day on March 31, 2008 during RAW, as Maria defeated Santino Marella in a No-DQ match with help from all of the WWE Divas who attacked Santino. Earlier in the show, he made disparaging remarks towards the WWE Women, which was the motivation for their attack.
