Shelly Martinez Recalls Tense Confrontation With Top WWE Star
WWE fans will remember Shelly Martinez from her days on the revived ECW brand as Ariel, where she managed wrestler Kevin Thorne from 2006 to 2007. She was ultimately released in May of 2007 and has blamed her release on a confrontation she had with top WWE star Dave Batista, a situation Martinez has discussed frequently in the past.
In an appearance on the Wrestling Shoot Interview podcast, Martinez added some background to the confrontation, including certain things that bothered her about Batista's relationship with her friend, former WWE Divas Champion Melina. However, the catalyst for this specific incident occurred after Martinez had confronted another wrestler for cheating on her friend, a female wrestler. It then led to the following.
"Kevin and I are going to go on live TV next," Martinez said. "And I see that wrestler, while we're waiting, whisper over to Batista. And I'm like 'Oh shoot. It's on.' And Batista goes 'Hey Shelly, how about you mind your business when you're in catering?' I took a second and I thought 'I have an action figure coming out. I performed at WrestleMania. I guess this is a good day to get fired.' And I said 'Last I checked, you weren't even in catering. So why don't you mind your own f*cking business?'
"Everyone was just like, it was high school. 'Oh!' And he got up, and he got in my face. He was like 'Eff you, eff you. You're nothing in this business. You don't put asses in seats. You're nothing.' And I said 'Honestly, I don't give a sh*t what you think of me.' And he just looked around and everyone was like (gasping noise) and I could tell it embarrassed him. He was like 'Eff you! Eff you!' And he was pushing his middle finger in my face. I was like 'Please hit me. Please hit me. Just hit me.' He was just pushing his middle finger, so I slapped his hand out of my face and said 'No. Eff you. A real man would've pulled me aside and chewed me out. So you want to pop the boys? Eff you. Like I said, I don't give a sh*t what you think of me.' And he storms off."
As tense as the situation was, Martinez did laugh looking back on a moment immediately after the confrontation that involved then ECW star and current AEW World Champion CM Punk.
"I remember Punk and Domino were right there, from Deuce and Domino," Martinez said. "And I was about to go on live TV. I was like 'My hair! I need to put some hairspray in.' So I went and Punk was like 'No!' And he grabs me because he thinks I'm going after Batista. I was like 'I need hairspray!'"
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the "Wrestling Shoot Interview" Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.