On April 18, 2017, Bennett was reported to have signed with WWE. On June 18, at the Money in the Bank, now billed as Mike Kanellis, he made his debut alongside his wife, Maria Kanellis. Over the following weeks, the Kanellis couple would be unintentionally interrupted by Sami Zayn, leading the Kanellis couple to demand an apology on the July 11 episode, but Zayn refused. This prompted Maria to slap Zayn, and Mike to attack Zayn with a vase, establishing both as villains and beginning a feud with Zayn. On the July 18 episode of "SmackDown", Kanellis defeated Zayn in his WWE debut match, after interference from Maria. A rematch was subsequently scheduled for Battleground, which Zayn won. In total, he only wrestled four times on "SmackDown" due to going to rehab shortly after joining WWE and Maria getting pregnant around the same time.