It wasn’t surprising that Bret Michaels, the lead singer of Poison, was named the winner of “The Celebrity Apprentice” Season 3. What was surprising is that he even made it to “The Celebrity Apprentice” live third-season finale (which aired May 23 on NBC), without showing any outward signs that he had gone through a brain hemorrhage, an appendectomy, a mini stroke and a defective-heart diagnosis all within a span of a few months. Michaels had been released from the hospital just two days before the finale (after experiencing the stroke and after doctors found a small hole in his heart), and his speech and behavior were pretty much the same as they were before his recent health problems. “The Celebrity Apprentice,” hosted and executive produced by Donald Trump, features stars competing on various business tasks to raise money for their selected charities. Michaels’ chosen charity was the American Diabetes Foundation.

All of the former contestants of “The Celebrity Apprentice” Season 3 (except for Goldberg and Sharon Osbourne) attended the live finale show at the Skirball Center in New York City, and then celebrated at the after-party, which was held at the Trump SoHo Hotel. I caught up with many of “The Celebrity Apprentice” stars at the after-party, including a triumphant Michaels, who seemed to get rounds of much-deserved applause everywhere he went. Holly Robinson Peete, who came in second place to Michaels in the final round of the show, was very gracious about not being named the winner, because she (like the rest of the contestants) did not lose sight of the most important goal: to raise money and awareness for charity. Here’s what some of “The Celebrity Apprentice” Season 3 stars had to say when I chatted with them at the after-party.

Which do you like better: wrestling or reality TV?
I love all of it, and I love singing now. It’s one of those things that I think everybody grows from it. Everybody transitions from one thing to the next. You might love something for a while, but once you feel it’s enough, maybe it’s time to move on. Now that I’m involved in singing, it’s incredible, because I wrote the music and the lyrics. I know what I was going through, so being able to come from that place — it’s all mine — that’s really cool.

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When asked who she thought would win, Kanellis tipped her hand diplomatically. “I am on Holly’s team, and I have a cousin with autism, so I am torn.”

On Holly’s money raising ability, Maria conceded Holly’s talent. “She is a machine.” And the Donald? “Donald sees what you do on task, and what ideas you have, he doesn’t see the celebrity.”

Her abrupt exit was discussed. “It was… it was a let down. People make comments all the time in the boardroom but this is not our full-time job, but I was a bit surprised, my comment was meant as a joke, but people have different senses of humor.”

On whether she ruined Curtis’s studly image, “I cannot stand arrogant men, and with Curtis I think its his Australian accent, it comes over arrogant; it’s totally his accent.”

On who she will remain friends with. “Oh Holly for sure…I’m sure I will keep up with Curtis,” she added. Why she did not step up as a project manager “Sharon really wanted to win money for her charity, it’s hard when somebody has colon cancer, and Bret has years of experience… it would be unintelligent for me to take over the task…”

And she’s starting a rock band too, “It’s my baby, end of summer I will be on tour,” Maria shared. Last thoughts? “No matter who the boss is, you have to remember that sometimes that they cannot see the creativity in the idea, you have to help them.”

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“CELEBRITY APPRENTICE” contestant Maria Kanellis, a former “WWE” star wrestler and a songwriter/recording artist whose debut album “Sevin Sins” was just released on iTunes, was in town to do a hot photo shoot for the Chicago-based magazines Complete Woman and Sophisticate’s Hairstyle Guide and to visit with family in her hometown of Ottawa, Ill.

When asked to comment on a few of her fellow contestants, she said:

“Curtis Stone [top TV chef] is cute but he’s pompous. He has an Australian accent so he seems sexy, but he’s a little arrogant for me. But other women love him.”

“Cyndi Lauper just couldn’t keep it together. She’s just so creative it takes her so long to gather her thoughts — I’d never work with her again.”

“I love Holly Robinson [actress]. My cousin had autism so I was very interested in what she had to say. She’s a bit bossy, but that’s OK.”

Her interview will run in the July issue of Complete Woman.

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Former WWE Diva, Maria Kanellis is moving into MMA. HDNet’s Inside MMA show announced earlier tonight that Kanellis will join the broadcast team for promotion, King of the Cage.

Kanellis will make her debut on April 17th’s Underground 54 event which will air live on HDNet. A press release on Maria’s appointment is due Monday.

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What do you think of the big news?

Maria is mentioned in an article on SunTimes.com about former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and his experience on the upcoming season of Celebrity Apprentice. Here’s what she had to say:

On the reality series, Blagojevich joins the likes of Bret Michaels, Holly Robinson Peete, Cyndi Lauper and Daryl Strawberry. He impressed contestant Maria Kanellis, a gorgeous WWE wrestler from Ottawa, Ill., who was raising money for the Make a Wish Foundation.

“The first day I met the governor, oh my goodness, I was like, ‘This was the governor of my home state!’ I couldn’t wait to tell my dad.”

Kanellis didn’t actually vote for him, but she can confirm that the governor is a politician at all times. “I’d be like, c’mon, just be normal, get angry!” she said. But Blagojevich stayed on message, on camera and off. “I wanted to get him drunk or something,” says Kanellis, whose EP “Seven Sins” comes out April 13. And oh yeah, there was one other thing about the governor: “He didn’t know how to text message.”

As you can imagine, there was one popular topic of conversation on “Celebrity Apprentice.” “They compared hair a lot,” Kanellis says. “Between Trump and the governor, and Sharon Osbourne and Cyndi Lauper and Bret Michaels, hair was hard to ignore.”

You can read the full article HERE.

Take one last lingering look at these snaps of stunning Maria Kanellis — because she might not be a WWE Diva for too much longer.

The former Playboy cover girl has revealed she is already making plans for life after wrestling, as she thinks about starting a family. In an exclusive interview with The Sun’s sister station Sky Sports News, 27-year-old Kanellis admitted:

“I’ve been with WWE for five years, so I don’t know when is going to be the end.
But I am looking at outside projects right now and doing other things.
I just got announced as one of the cast members for the US version of Celebrity Apprentice and I’m also on an album coming out in April. So I’m starting to do other things and it’s partially because one day I want to be a mom and I want to get married and you can’t really do that when you’re on the road.

So I’ve got to find a job that will allow me to do that.”

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