Mike Kanellis Talks Why He Re-Signed With WWE And Rips Drake Maverick, Maverick's 205 Live Debut

This week's WWE 205 Live episode saw Mike Kanellis defeat enhancement talent Jackson James, in a match that was ordered by WWE 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick.

After the match, Kanellis took the mic and called out Maverick to issue the fine that he had been promising. Video from the post-match angle is above. Kanellis and Maverick had a heated in-ring back & forth that led to Mike getting attacked after taking a shot at Drake's wife, Renee Michelle.

"Two months ago my contract expired," Kanellis said. "I could've gone anywhere in the world and you know it, but I decided to stay here at WWE for two reasons. One – I wanted to prove to my wife that I am as good as I say I am by becoming the Cruiserweight Champion, and two – I wanted to kick your ass."

"Do you think you're more deserving than Akira Tozawa, Brian Kendrick, Ariya Daivari, 'Gentleman' Jack Gallagher, Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, guys who busted their ass from day one to build this brand and not use it for their own agendas?" Maverick responded. "And what happened on RAW, Mike? You didn't exactly last long at all."

Kanellis replied, "Oh, you want to talk about lasting long? How about your little performance with your wife last night?"

Maverick was named as the General Manager of 205 Live in January of 2018 and has never wrestled on the brand. Maverick told Kanellis that he has no plans to fight him since he's the General Manager of the division and not a competitor. Kanellis brought up Maverick appearing on RAW and "embarrassing" he brand.

"Oh, oh, you're the General Manager. I forgot, silly me. You're the General Manager, the same General Manager who for the past two months has neglected his duties because he's been chasing the 24/7 Title," Kanellis noted. "The same General Manager who's embarrassed the brand because he's walking up and down the streets of Worcester in his damn underwear. I'm not the joke around here, you are.

"Don't you patronize me, Drake," Kanellis continued after Maverick tried to diffuse the situation. "I see what you're doing, you're trying to be the bigger man here, Drake, but you're not. Hell, you're not even half of a man. Take some advice from me – go home, talk to your wife, beg her for forgiveness to prove to her that you're a man. But you're not a man, are you, Drake? Because a real man wouldn't back down from a fight. A real man wouldn't let them talk down to them like I'm talking to you right now. Oh, are you getting mad, Drake? You look like you're getting a little mad, Drake. Are you mad? No, you're not mad because a real man would get mad, Drake. Hell, a real man wouldn't let me say to them that their wife is a filthy, disgusting..."

That's when Drake attacked Mike, fighting him into the corner as the crowd popped. Drake then dropkicked Mike out of the ring. Mike made his exit with a smile on his face.

As seen below, Drake then issued a challenge to Kanellis after the show. Drake apologized for his unprofessional actions but said Mike has pushed him to his limits. Drake then revealed that Mike will earn a WWE Cruiserweight Title shot, if he can win his match against the GM.

There's no word yet on when that match will happen, but it could come next Tuesday night. This will be Drake's first in-ring action for the 205 Live brand. Drake has wrestled WWE 24/7 Title matches on RAW and SmackDown, and a few six-man matches with The Authors of Pain on RAW, but this will be his first singles match in WWE.

Zack Rister contributed to this article.