Ariane Andrew Looks Back At AJ Lee's Infamous WWE Promo Targeting Total Divas Cast
On the August 26, 2013 broadcast of "WWE Raw," then-WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee lambasted the inaugural cast members of the "Total Divas" reality show. The reality stars — The Bella Twins, Ariane Andrew (formerly Cameron in WWE), Naomi, Eva Marie, and Natalya — who were in and around the ring were described by Lee as "cheap, interchangeable, expendable, useless women." Speaking with WrestlingNewsCo, Andrew was asked about Lee's scathing promo.
"I look at it like this," Andrew said. "AJ, she's great on the microphone ... It's sports entertainment. You need a little razzle-dazzle. You need a little something, because if it's boring, if you don't have a little bit of oomph, then what is a show? You need a little bit of that. So, um, I can speak for anybody else. I can speak for myself — at the time, I'm like, 'I'm just entertaining. This is what we do.'"
A week after delivering her infamous promo, Lee got involved in a number one contender's triple threat match involving Brie Bella, Natalya, and Naomi. As a result, then-authority figure Stephanie McMahon booked Lee to defend the WWE Divas Championship against all three wrestlers at that year's Night of Champions event. Despite the odds being stacked against her, Lee successfully retained the gold by forcing Natalya to submit to the Black Widow. Her feud with the reality stars continued after that title clash, resulting in a team comprised of the "Total Divas" cast defeating a squad assembled by Lee at Survivor Series. Lee would then continue to face off against the "Total Divas" stars before reigniting her onscreen rivalry with Vickie Guerrero in the run-up to WrestleMania 30.
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