ECW's The New Breed: Where Are They Now?
2. Ariel
In The New Breed
WWE’s revival of ECW was arguably the companies last gasp attempt at producing ‘edgy’, TV-14 wrestling entertainment. This was, of course, a show that featured Kelly Kelly’s Extreme Exposé (a segment in which the Diva stripped for the cameras and live audience) as a main attraction, so women’s wrestling was still trapped in a time capsule of sorts. Ariel was a shining example of this. As Kevin Thorn’s vampiric, tarot-reading ring valet, Ariel was a throwback to Elvira: Mistress of the Night, a sultry seductress straight out of a Halloween-themed softcore porno.
In addition to her managerial duties, Ariel wrestled briefly against the likes of Kelly Kelly and Francine.
After The New Breed
Ariel was released from WWE shortly after Thorn left The New Breed, and ironically starred in several softcore and pinup videos, as well as a reality show called The Search for the Next Elvira. She also found moderate success in TNA, wrestling under her real name as the non-vampiric Shelly Martinez. Though she has yet to win a title, she has managed TNA Tag Team Champions the Latin American Xchange, and competed in one of the most-botched women’s matches of 2016, a one-on-one bout against Rebel.
Ariel blames her WWE release on Batista, who engaged her in an ‘aggressive confrontation backstage’. She told VOCNation: “This is wrestling, and it’s a man’s business, so I fired back and they fired me. I was just a vampire girl in the fake ECW; he was Batista, and they wanted to accommodate him.”