During an appearance on Women’s Wrestling Talk, Ariane Andrew talked about why she nearly turned down an offer to work for AEW.
She worked for the promotion as part of the women’s tag team tournament. Here is what she had to say:
Ariane on almost turning down the AEW appearance: “You know what? It was actually really refreshing. Because, I just like to keep it super-real, and for me — I almost wanted to say no to the opportunity. Just because I was so nervous, I was like, ‘I haven’t been in the ring.’ At one point I was training earlier in the year before COVD happened, for EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch to have the match with my boo Jamie. And because I hadn’t been in, and I’m like, ‘Oh my, this is a lot of pressure, it’s so last minute.’ I almost said no, because I’m like, ‘How the f**k am I even going to look? Amy I going to look like s**t?’ Because I already only have a little wrestling experience. And then on top of that, what is the backstage going to be like?’”
Ariane on deciding to say yes and her experience there: “I was like, ‘You know what? Don’t do it for fans, don’t do it for family, don’t do it for management.’ Like, ‘Who are you doing this for?’ And I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m doing it for myself because I wanted to prove that when you can face a fear, it’s the most rewarding thing.’
“So everybody there is so f**king friendly. It’s a different environment. People want to see you win there. It’s such a family, like once I was able to go backstage, I was like, ‘Damn! This is what life is about?’ I love it. Because it’s very different that I’m not used to. I’m not used to the — you know, people wanting you to do well. Everyone’s like, ‘I’m trying to get to the top,’ and no one’s ever trying to help anyone else which I never f**king understand. But the experience was great. Are there some things I wish I could redo? Yeah, because we didn’t have time to go over stuff. But like, you know what nothing’s ever going to be perfect. As long as I can say I did my best, given the circumstances.”