Ariane Andrew Teases Funkadactyls Reunion With Naomi In WWE
Former WWE Superstar Ariane Andrew made a stop on The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast to discuss her AEW debut as well as her future in wrestling. Andrew recently reconnected with Naomi (Trinity Fatu) for the 100th episode of her TV show, Sippin' The Tea.
Andrew has said in an interview before that she felt that her feud against Naomi ended sooner than it should have, and she said that she had unfinished business with Naomi. However, she also said she will leave her future to fate, and she will end up wherever she is meant to be.
"I never like to close any door. Obviously, I miss my sister from another mister, Trin, and I feel like we definitely have unfinished business," Andrew said. "I didn't even realize until, what was it, last week when my co-host (Matt Dillon) on which he came on Sippin' The Tea for the 100th episode was like you guys made history, and we were like how? Because we were the first African-American tag team to ever form and I was like, I never even thought about that, and that was great, but to have the tag titles and be the first Black woman to represent that, I feel like that would be awesome.
"But on the flip side, I'm going to leave it open. Wherever I feel like I'm meant to be and where my home is, is where I'm going to be. I'm not going to force anything, and I feel like the universe will always align you to where you need to be in life."
Andrew talked more about what is like to catch up with her former Funkadactyl tag team partner, how remarkable of a week she had with her AEW debut and the 100th episode of her TV show happening in the same week.
"We do catch up, but obviously like with life, I have a million things I'm working on. She's doing her thing, and it was so good because what I loved about it is just we got to be ourselves," Andrew pointed out. "We didn't edit anything. We're like, we're keeping everything as is. I mean we do that with every episode, unless it's like a technical difficulty or something which is completely left. Then we're like, 'oh, OK, we're going to cut that,' but it was just us being us like ushering the moment of pride and us just you having a Kumbaya.
"It was super nice to have her on, and it means the most obviously because that was our 100th episode. So to be able to have my sister from another mister on it, it was a really good week. I mean to obviously have the AEW debut and then next day the 100th episode with Naomi, it was great."
Last month, after a quick match against Lacey Evans, #NaomiDeservesBetter was one of the top trends on Twitter with Naomi acknowledging the hashtag and the support from the fans. Andrew was also happy to see the fans use the Internet to spread love for Naomi and giving her validation for the work she has put in her career.
"I thought it was phenomenal just because I know Naomi has never really gotten the opportunity that she should," Andrew noted. "She's such a great role model. She's non-problematic. I mean her personality, she gets along with everyone, and she's f–king talented. So I thought it was great considering how passionate wrestling fans are. To be able to take that stance and to say, 'this is what I think needs to be done.' That's major because the Internet can make your life and it can also break your life.
"So I feel like it was so great to see the overwhelming support for her because she's been there for such a long time and no matter if that means the WWE looked at it or not, at least I feel like it's a good feeling for her to be like, I know I'm doing something right because you can second-guess yourself, especially when you are getting stuff from fans who are saying mean stuff. And then you feel like you're not getting the opportunity that you want. So at least I feel like it was a good validation that I'm on the right path, and no matter what happens, I'm doing what I need to do."
Andrew was released by WWE in 2016. Around that time, the Women's Revolution was kicking off in WWE, and Andrew was asked if there is any regret over missing out on it. Andrew said there was not and that there is still a chance for her to make an impact.
"You know, I like to look at my life like there's no regrets. It's unfortunate that I wasn't a part of it, but regardless, it was nice to be able to see how far women have been able to come than just having some bikinis on with their ass out," Andrew explained. "Of course, does that sell? Sex will always sell, but I think it's great when you're able to put sex with 'I'm a badass b–ch.' Put the two together and show that women are more than just a sex symbol.
"You can have beauty. You can have brains. You can have it all. Why not? I feel like it's been amazing to watch the women be main events and take it to the next level. So even though I wasn't a part of it, it's great to watch from afar because who says that I can't continue making an impact now because again, timing is everything, and at that time, it wasn't the time. The timing wasn't right."
Andrew competed in "The Deadly Draw" tag team tournament for AEW teaming with Nyla Rose, but they lost in the first round. Andrew did not sign with AEW prompting questions as to whether Andrew will sign with AEW or whether she has had talks with WWE since her return. However, Andrew cleverly did not disclose details only asking that those listening to the interview not use any clickbait.
"So do you think I'm gonna sit there and tell you that on this interview? You think I'm just going to spill the tea?", Andrew asked. "We're just going to keep it as what I said earlier, wherever my home is meant to be, that's where you'll see me."
Ariane can be heard every week via her Sippin' The Tea TV Show. For more information on that and all of her projects please follow her on Twitter @ArianeAndrew. Ariane's full interview aired as part of today's episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.