Mike Bennett Michael " Mike " Bennett ( May 16 , 1985 ) is an American professional wrestler . He wrestles on the independent circuit and was formerly signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he was a one - time TNA X - Division Champion . He previously wrestled for Ring Of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Tag Team Champion and New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Tag Team Champion . Career . Independent Promotions ( 2002 - present ) . Bennett made his professional wrestling debut in 2002 . The following year , Bennett made a single appearance for the East Coast Wrestling Association , when he lost to Big Benny . On October 3 , 2004 , at the New England Wrestling Association ' s Return to Exile show , Bennett was part of a battle royal in which the final two competitors would face each other for the vacant NEWA Heavyweight Championship . Bennett and Brian Rogers were the final men left , and later that night Bennett defeated Rogers to win the NEWA Heavyweight Championship . Bennett also wrestled for Eastern Pro Wrestling ( EPW ) . On April 27 , 2007 , Bennett lost to Derek Destiny . On February 29 , 2008 , Bennett lost to Nick Westgate . The following day , Bennett , who was accompanied by Gia Savitz , defeated Thom Kane . On January 16 , 2010 , Bennett unsuccessfully challenged Nick Westgate for the EPW Television Championship . On March 5 , Bennett won the ' Rhodes Island Rumble ' battle royal to become the number one contender to the EPW Heavyweight Championship . Bennett and Bryce Andrews appeared on the April 9 , 2007 , episode of WWE Heat , where they faced Cryme Tyme . On October 6 , 2009 , Bennett wrestled against Kip James at the TNA Impact ! tapings . In a match for the Northeast Wrestling ( NEW ) promotion in March 2010 , Bennett was a participant in a five - way match for the NEW Heavyweight Championship , which was won by Matt Taven . At NEW ' s Spring Slam show on April 15 , 2011 , Bennett lost to Matt Hardy . In 2010 , Bennett debuted for Squared Circle Wrestling ( 2CW ) by defeating Matt Taven on September 25 . Three months later at 2CW ' s Nightmare Before Christmas show in December , Taven defeated Bennett in a rematch . On September 14 , 2012 , Bennett made his debut for the Chikara promotion , when he , Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson entered the 2012 King of Trios tournament as Team ROH , defeating the Faces of Pain ( The Barbarian , Meng and The Warlord ) in their first round match . The following day , Team ROH advanced to the semifinals with a win over The Extreme Trio ( Jerry Lynn , Tommy Dreamer and Too Cold Scorpio ) . Team ROH opened the third and final day of the tournament by defeating the all - female Team Sendai Girls ( Dash Chisako , Meiko Satomura and Sendai Sachiko ) in the semifinals . In the finals of the tournament , Team ROH was defeated by the Spectral Envoy ( Frightmare , Hallowicked and UltraMantis Black ) , when Bennett submitted to Hallowicked ' s Chikara Special . New England Championship Wrestling ( 2003 – 2005 ; 2009 – 2010 ) . Bennett debuted for New England Championship Wrestling ( NECW ) on November 14 , 2003 , losing to Johnny Idol . The following March , Bennett earned his first win in NECW by defeating Bob Evans . In August 2004 , Bennett began feuding with Ru Starr , trading victories with him , until Starr won the rubber match on February 12 , 2005 . In March , Bennett moved into a feud with Michael Sain , losing to him in two singles match that month , and again in a Stretcher match on April 16 . He earned his first victory over Sain in June . He spent the next several months wrestling against competitors including Frankie Arion , Pat Masters , and Fergal Devitt , before taking a four - yeat hiatus from NECW . He returned at Spring Breakdown on April 18 , 2009 , teaming with Guy Alexander to defeated TJ Richter and Mr . Munroe . At NECW Tag Team Classic in September , Bennett and Alexander defeated Richter and Munroe in the first round of a tournament , but their match against Scott Osborne and Brandon Locke ended in a double countout , eliminating both teams from the tournament . At the NECW television tapings on January 23 , 2010 , Bennett defeated David Cash . Top Rope Promotions ( 2006 – 2014 ) . Bennett debuted for Top Rope Promotions ( TRP ) on February 17 , 2006 , where he defeated Stryker . On March 24 , Bennett , as part of NRG , defeated Freightrain . The following month Bennett defeated Billy Warhawk . Bennett continued on a winning streak , defeating Joe Chece , Spike Dudley , DC Drake , and on June 23 , he competed in the 2006 Kowalski Cup . He defeated Romeo Roselli and Chece en route to the final , where he defeated Slyck Wagner Brown to win the tournament . He suffered his first loss on July 1 , when he was defeated by Antonio Thomas , and two weeks later he lost to Roselli . On September 1 , Bennett defeated Dudley in a street fight to win the NRG Heavyweight Championship . The following night , he lost to Dudley in a steel cage match , and lost a Loser Leaves Town steel cage match to Dudley on September 29 . Despite this , Bennett returned to TRP on January 5 , 2007 , teaming with Bryce Andrews to defeat ' Chunky But Funky ' to win the TRP Tag Team Championship . After losing to The Aldren Brothers in a non - title match in February , Bennett and Andrews won a two out of three falls match to retain the championship on April 6 . The following night , they lost to The Heart Throbs ( Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli ) in a non - title match , and at the following show in May , Bennett lost to Roselli in a singles match . On June 9 , Bennett and Andrews defeated Kristian Frost and Brutus Beefcake . In July , Bennett aligned himself with Luscious Latasha , with the pair defeating Dudley and Leah Morrison in a mixed tag team match on July 15 . In April 2008 , Bennett lost to Dudley in a street fight . On May 30 , Bennett lost to Andrews in a First Blood match . He continued competing in TRP for the remainder of the year , wrestling against Dudley , Brian Fury , Bushwhacker Luke , and Jason Blade . He formed a semi - regular tag team with Ryan Waters in January 2009 , and the pair lost to the reigning TRP Tag Team Championship , The Alden Brothers on January 9 . On March 20 , Benentt faced Stevie Richards in a match for the vacant TRP Heavyweight Championship , but was unsuccessful . On April 4 , however , Bennett defeated Richards to win the TRP Heavyweight Championship for the first time . He successfully defended the championship against Jimmy Preston on July 12 , Isys Ephex on September 18 , and Ken Anderson on November 8 . On January 1 , 2010 , Bennett defeated Kenny Dykstra to retain his TRP Heavyweight Championship , and retained it again against Colin Delaney on February 5 , and against J . Freddie in a No Disqualification match on February 21 . On April 9 , at The Anniversary , the TRP Heavyweight Championship was vacated when a match between Bennett and Freddie ended in a no contest . The following month , Freddie defeated Bennett in a Last Man Standing match . At the 2010 Kowalski Cup Tournament , Bennett defeated TRP Interstate Champion Guy Maestro in a non - title match , provoking a feud between the two . In November , Bennett defeated Maestro in a strap match , with Ox Baker as the guest enforcer . at Spindle City Rumble in December , Bennett defeated Maestro by count - out , and so did not win the championship . On January 1 , 2011 , Bennett lost to Guy Alexander in a steel cage match for the Interstate Championship . On February 19 , Bennett debuted " Brutal " Bob Evans as his manager in TRP , and went on to defeat Frankie Arion . Ring of Honor ( 2008 , 2010 – 2015 ) . Bennett made his Ring of Honor ( ROH ) debut in 2008 . In his first match he lost to Daniel Puder at Proving Ground in Boston , Massachusetts on January 11 . His next appearance came three months later at Bedlam In Beantown in March , when he lost to Jason Blade . After attending a tryout camp in March 2010 , which he heard about through announcer Kevin Kelly , Bennett appeared at the Ring of Honor Wrestling television tapings in July and August . Bennett signed a one - year contract with ROH in August 2010 . In his next appearance he lost to Roderick Strong on September 10 , but earned his first ROH victory at Tag Title Classic II on December 17 , when he defeated Colt Cabana . Video packages about Bennett began airing on ROH ' s television program , Ring of Honor Wrestling in November 2010 , promoting his television debut . On the December 6 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling , Bennett and his manager " Brutal " Bob Evans appeared in the crowd to watch a match between the ROH World Television Champion Eddie Edwards and Christopher Daniels . Bennett made his in - ring television debut when he defeated Nick Dinsmore on the January 10 , 2010 , episode . During the February and March episodes of Ring of Honor Wrestling , Bennett took part in the " Top Prospect Tournament " . He defeated Adam Cole in the first round , Andy Ridge in the semi - finals , and Kyle O ' Reilly in the final . Following each match in the tournament , Bennett was congratulated and given advice by Steve Corino , but Bennett rejected it and mocked Corino , provoking a feud between the two men . At the 9th Anniversary Show pay - per - view , Bennett pinned Corino to win a four - corner survival match , also involving Kyle O ' Reilly and Grizzly Redwood . As a result of his victory in the ' Top Prospect Tournament ' , Bennett earned a match for the ROH World Television Championship against Christopher Daniels at Defy or Deny on March 18 . Bennett and Evans had a verbal confrontation with Corino at the start of the show , and Corino prevented Evans from helping Bennett during his ROH World Television Championship match , which Bennett went on to lose . In a singles match between the two at Manhattan Mayhem IV , Bennett defeated Corino and attacked him following the match with the aid of Evans . In a rematch at Revolution : Canada in early May , Bennett once again prevailed due to Evans ' help . Bennett received another shot at the ROH World Television Championship on October 1 , but the title match with Jay Lethal ended in a fifteen - minute time limit draw . Shortly after this , he began an angle where he proclaimed that he had already won the match and proclaimed himself to be the true champion . Bennett challenged for the World Television Championship again at Final Battle 2011 in a three - way elimination match against Lethal and El Generico . Bennett was accompanied by his real - life girlfriend Maria Kanellis for the match , in which he was the final man eliminated , allowing Lethal to retain the championship . At the January 7 , 2012 , tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling , Bennett unsuccessfully challenged Lethal for the World Television Championship in a No Time Limit match . Bennett then started feuding with Lance Storm , with Bennett winning their initial singles match at Showdown in the Sun , and Storm winning the rematch at Border Wars . At the June 29 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling , Bennett defeated Storm in the final match of their trilogy . At the June 21 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling , Bennett teamed up with Brutal Bob in a tag team match , where they were defeated by Adam Cole and Eddie Edwards . Afterwards Bennett , Bob , and Kanellis attacked Cole and Edwards , before being chased away by the returning Sara Del Rey . At the following internet pay - per - view , Boiling Point on August 11 , Bennett and Kanellis were defeated in an intergender tag team match by Edwards and Del Rey , when Bennett submitted to Edwards . On December 16 at Final Battle 2012 : Doomsday , Bennett defeated Jerry Lynn in his final ROH match before retirement . At the June 23 , 2013 , tapings of " Ring of Honor Wrestling " , Bennett teased leaving ROH , before turning on Evans and announcing that " The Prodigy is dead " . On July 11 , Bennett , now working as " Michael Bennett " , was announced as a participant in the upcoming RoH World Championship tournament . On August 3 , it was reported that Bennett that re - signed a long - term deal with ROH , after failing to come to terms with WWE . That same night , Bennett ' s first round ROH World Championship tournament match ended without a winner , when his opponent B . J . Whitmer was legitimately injured after a piledriver on the ring apron . ROH later awarded the win to Bennett , giving him a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament . On August 17 , Bennett was eliminated from the tournament by Tommaso Ciampa . The following month , Bennett started a feud with Kevin Steen over who had the more dangerous piledriver . The two faced off on October 26 at Glory By Honor XII , where Bennett was victorious , following a distraction from Kanellis . On December 14 at Final Battle 2013 , Bennett was defeated by Steen in a Stretcher match and , as a result , could no longer use the piledriver in ROH . Bennett and Maria aligned themselves with the ROH World Champion Adam Cole , and Matt Hardy , as The Kingdom . Throughout the summer , Maria and Bennett would get involved in Matt Hardy ' s feud with The Briscoes ( Mark and Jay , the former ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe , who was stripped from the title and used a custom belt as the Real World Championship ) , which would result a tag team match at the " Best in the World " pay - per - view on June 22 , which Hardy and Bennett would lose despite Maria ' s interference . On September 18 , 2015 , at All Star Extravaganza VII , Bennett and Taven won the RoH World Tag Team Championship by defeating The Addiction ( Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian ) and The Young Bucks ( Matt and Nick Jackson ) in a three - way match . They lost the title to War Machine ( Hanson and Raymond Rowe ) on December 18 at Final Battle . Bennett and Kanellis left ROH after the following day ' s " Ring of Honor Wrestling " taping , after failing to come to terms on a new contract with the promotion . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( 2015 – 2017 ) . On December 29 , 2015 , it was announced that Bennett and his real life wife Maria Kanellis signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . On January 5 , 2016 on TNA ' s debut on Pop , Bennett made his TNA debut under the ring name " The Miracle " Mike Bennett . Personal life . Bennett has an older brother . He graduated from Carver High School in 2003 . Bennett is friends with Kevin Kelly , and regards Kelly as a mentor within the professional wrestling business . In an interview in December 2011 , Maria Kanellis confirmed she was dating Bennett . On October 10 , 2014 , Bennett and Kanellis got married . He was listed as one of the top 75 wrestling bodies in the world by Muscle Men in 2010 .