Mike Bennett Calls His WWE Run “A Dud,” Comments On Getting Sober During That Time, How ROH Is Family

Ring of Honor star Mike Bennett (fka Mike Kanellis in WWE) recently spoke with the Battleground podcast to talk about his return to the promotion following his release from WWE last April. Highlights from the interview can be found below.

How personally it was a good move to join WWE because he got sober:

I did say I never should have left. Professionally I think leaving Ring of Honor was the worst move that I ever made. Personally, it was by far the best because within those five years, I got sober. I had two children and I bought a house. I grew as a man. I grew as a husband. I grew as a father. I can’t sit there and say it was a bad decision because I became a better person. I don’t want to downplay that.

States that the move professionally sucked because his WWE run sucked:

Professionally, besides my run in Impact which I loved, my run in WWE was a dud. It sucked. It wasn’t very good. I didn’t do very much. It won’t be memorable. So from a career standpoint, leaving Ring of Honor was the worst decision because when I went back last time, I just remembered being there and looking around the locker room and seeing guys like Jay Lethal, The Briscoes, Dalton Castle and Taven and all these people that were there when I left, and thought, this is family. Why did I leave home? This is ok. I can make a living here and I can have fun here. I can be happy. This is a place I can bring my kids and they can meet people that I love. I love The Briscoes as brothers. This is where I want to be.

Calls ROH family:

I probably shouldn’t have left, but, hindsight is 20/20. It’s a double edge sword because professionally I shouldn’t have left, but personally, I can’t take back the fact that I don’t want to throw away how much I grew as a human. It’s a mixed bag of emotions.

Full interview can be found below. (H/T and transcribed by Wrestling News)