Ariane Andrew On Her AEW Experience, Why She Nearly Turned It Down

Ariane Andrew made her AEW debut earlier this year, and she discussed her experience and why she almost said no in a new interview on Women’s Wrestling Talk. Andrew appeared on Dynamite in July as part of the women’s tag team tournament and discussed why she was nervous and almost said no, but is glad she didn’t. Highlights and the full audio are below:

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.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Women’s Wrestling Talk with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.