Ariane Andrew is a big believer in manifestation and keeping her next wrestling appearance a surprise.
Andrew spoke with WrestleZone.com after her All Elite Wrestling debut during the Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament. Before she made her return to the ring in AEW after a four-year absence, Andrew was originally scheduled to compete at Effy’s Big Gay Brunch on WrestleMania weekend in a match against Jamie Senegal. Like many events planned for that weekend, it was put on hiatus because of COVID-19, but Ariane explained how the appearance came together and what they hoped to accomplish with it.
“He reached out and said [he] would love to just have a match. We got on the phone with my team and his energy was just so dope and I was like [all for it]. He just made me feel like—he said ‘I want you to come back because I feel like you never got to show your fullest potential. So I really appreciate that that’s what he was trying to bring out in me, showing that [I am] more capable than what [I was] ever given.”
Ariane explained how she’s a firm believer in manifestation and setting goals, noting that she had always envisioned a tag team match with Naomi. She says she did end up having a tag team match—with Nyla Rose as her partner—but thought it was very interesting and fitting that Senegal also saw them having a match against each other.
When asked about the rumors that she had been booked by WWE to appear in some form at WrestleMania, Andrew plead the fifth but had a little fun with the answer. According to a report by PWInsider.com, WWE had booked Brodus Clay (aka Tyrus) and Cameron (Andrew) for a one-time appearance, but all she said was that “we’re just going to always keep that as a surprise.”
Acknowledging that the response to her AEW debut was mostly positive with some criticism, Andrew said she knows she’s been a heat magnet in the past and feels like inexperience and personality played a role in that. Despite only having a few months of training when she debuted, Andrew feels like she made the best of her situation in WWE but is glad that the response has been more favorable as of late.
“Yeah, I would definitely say I broke the internet and it’s because, I guess it’s my personality. I got so much shit back in the day when I was in WWE. People talked about all of this stuff like how I couldn’t wrestle, and for as much shit as I got, guys I had three months of fuckin’ training. What do you expect, for me to go out there and do the shit Naomi is doing when I’ve had three months? It’s not going to happen, so I’m doing my best given what my situation is. I feel like I used to get a lot of hate but the reaction has been a lot better this time around.”
Related: Ariane Andrew Explains How Her In-Ring Return Came Together, Says It Happened At The Right Time
