Shelly Martinez, who wrestled in TNA under the name Salinas and WWE under the name Ariel, joined VOC Nation Wrestling with History to talk about her retirement, politics in wrestling, and the possibility of AEW clandestinely working the WWE.
You can hear the entire interview below; here are some highlights of what Shelly Martinez had to say, courtesy of VOCNation:
On what she is doing now that she’s retired from wrestling:
“I did retire from pro wrestling. I do promote doing fantasy wrestling; I want to make it clear for the listeners that I look at it as a fetish modeling gig, I don’t look at it as pro wrestling in any way shape or form. My main focus is my secret society fan site (shellyssecretsociety.com); that is my fan site that shows all of the stuff that I’m doing. It links to my Patreon site as well.”
On her personal brand:
“I’m one of those people in professional wrestling that’s been controversial and unorthodox, but it’s so cool that there are platforms out there like Patreon that allow you to make (money) if you’ve acquired a fan base (over time). I want to give (advice) to all of the independent (content) creaters and independent wrestlers out there: Don’t give up. Sometimes we have this big picture of where we’re supposed to be, but sometimes we’re just right where we are supposed to be.
On being outspoken:
“I got in a lot of trouble in wrestling for saying how I feel or not letting some things go, but that’s ok. In that world (of pro wrestling) that just doesn’t fly. It’s really freeing that I’m able to totally be myself and do what I want on my terms now.
On people thinking she’s bitter about wrestling:
“People think I’m bitter about wrestling. When I was bitter about wrestling, I couldn’t talk about it. Now when I talk about it, I’m just saying how I feel. Wrestling has brought me these people that are in my life now – my secret society, my fan club, that’s what’s important in my life.
On Batista:
“The name Batista used to have a different association with me. Throughout the years, I always have these recurring dreams about him, where he is trying to help me. My situation with Batista was the last nail in my coffin (at WWE). I realize that’s why they fired me…I used to think it was just about that situation, but I now realize that was the last nail in my coffin. I am very grateful for my experiences in the WWE, but that’s not a place for my soul. I’m not down with that kind of work environment and everything that comes with it. If Dave Bautista hears this I want to tell him ‘thank you dude, you did me a big favor.”
On WWE:
“It wasn’t what I thought I signed up for. I decided to retire when Balls Mahoney and Chyna had passed. At the time I was doing the indies full time and I told myself that if I am going to continue doing wrestling, I have to at least make it worth my while…and the only way to make it worth my while would be to make it back to WWE. But do I want to go back there? No! That’s when (I realized) that I was done, and I had my final match in Germany with the DWA. I didn’t need a Wrestlemania match (to feel fulfilled with my career).”
On AEW:
“I think they are in cahoots (with WWE). It’s all politics. If it’s not happening now, it will happen. What I do know that is fact from behind the scenes: Not everything is what it seems…”
Wrestling with History airs live on VOC Nation every Wednesday night at 9:30PM ET with legendary guests and listener calls, and the show is also available on Stitcher, Spotify, and iTunes.
