John Laurinaitis was allegedly unhappy with female star days before WWE fired her
Shelly Martinez, formerly known as Ariel in WWE, recalled the aftermath of a tense backstage altercation with Batista in 2007.
Speaking about the incident, she mentioned that the WrestleMania main-eventer said she was "nothing in this business" and flipped her off in front of other stars. Interestingly, their heated back-and-forth occurred before the former Ariel made her last WWE appearance on May 15, 2007.
During an interview with James Romero on "WSI," the 42-year-old mentioned that the company's Head of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, had asked her about the altercation:
"Minutes before we're going live, Johnny Ace [John Laurinaitis] comes out with Batista," said Martinez. "He goes, 'What happened?' And I told him. He goes, 'Did that happen?' He [Batista] goes, 'I don't know.' He [Laurinaitis] goes, 'Did you flip her off?' He [Batista] goes, 'I don't know but now I am!' I'm like, 'God!'" [7:08-7:23]
Soon after, the two-time Royal Rumble winner walked away from Laurinaitis and Martinez. The situation only escalated further, as here's what WWE's Head of Talent Relations allegedly told the female star right before her final appearance on ECW:
"He [John Laurinaitis] goes, 'How dare you talk to top male talent that way?'... I was like, 'What?!' He goes, 'How dare you?' I said, 'I don't care who you are. If you come at me like that and disrespect me, I'm going to stick up for myself. I gotta go do my job right now, so we can continue this conversation when I get back.' That's why I knew I was done," recalled Martinez. [7:30-7:51]
How Shelly Martinez was notified about her WWE release
Shelly Martinez, aka Ariel was involved in WWE's relaunch of ECW alongside Kevin Thorn, but didn't make it onto Tough Enough season four years prior. https://t.co/Lq1ATZQmGi
In WWE, the former Ariel last accompanied Kevin Thorn to his match against Nunzio on the revived ECW brand. Three days later, on May 18, the company announced that she had been released from her contract.
Martinez, who already had an inkling about her future with WWE, noted that John Laurinaitis' reasoning for why she had been fired made her laugh:
"Johnny Ace called me, and he was like, 'Oh, you know, creative doesn't have anything for you anymore but keep in touch with us.' And I started laughing. He goes, 'Why are you laughing?' I go, 'That's not why...' He goes, 'Well, you never know.' I go, 'You know what, if this is how you guys conduct business, I don't wanna come back here. So thank you anyways.' And I hung up on him." [8:10-8:28]
Before her final altercation with Batista, Laurinaitis suggested that Martinez resolve her issues with the WWE legend by shaking his hand. However, things did not unfold smoothly, and you can read what happened here.
While using quotes from this article, please credit "WSI" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.