Ariane Andrew reflects on the conversation she had with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin after their infamous WWE Tough Enough exchange.
Fans may remember the viral clip from Tough Enough in which Ariane named Melina vs. Alicia Fox as her favorite match — to the utter confusion of the Rattlesnake.
During a recent appearance on CJ Perry’s Identity Crisis podcast, the former Cameron referred to the interaction with Austin as her “favorite moment,” adding that the WWE Hall of Famer later praised her following their initial exchange.
“My favorite moment (was when he asked), ‘What’s your favorite match?’ I’m like, ‘Melina vs. Alicia Fox.’ He was like, ‘What?’ The way he was so (silent), like, ‘Not me?,’” she recalled.
“Even after, he was like, ‘Kid, you’re a star.’ He told me, he was like, ‘You’re gonna do really well, I’m really proud of you.’ That made me feel good cause I’m like, ‘Damn, I got blasted on TV.’ But to have that one-on-one moment where he is like, there’s something about you, you know what you’re doing. So to have that where he gave me my flowers and once I got released in 2016, I did his podcast. So how I started my career is how I ended my career.” [H/T Fightful]
Ariane was released from her WWE contract in 2016 after nearly five years with the company. She made a one-off appearance in the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble, where she was eliminated by Sonya Deville.
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