Naman Shrestha
Right from the moment she arrived on the scene, Cameron made her mark on WWE as one of the mean divas who knows what she wants and gets it, making being bad look good. Despite her short tenure of half a decade, she wasn’t just another pretty face in the industry as she left quite the impression in the little time that she stayed. So, following her departure, fans were quick to notice her absence and question the reasons behind her getting released from WWE.
Why Did Cameron Leave WWE?
The Los Angeles native, Ariane Nicole Andrew, was born on November 3, 1987, and was active in track and cross country as well as a member of her school’s drama club. After working as a behavior therapist for autistic children for a while, she realized that she was meant to do something different with her life — become a professional wrestler. Following her passion and dream, she took part in World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) non-televised Diva Search in 2011. Despite getting eliminated first on the revival of Tough Enough, she was given a contract by the industry, assigning her to then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
Appearing as a ring announcer at first, Ariane made her in-ring debut under the ring name Cameron Lynn, in a Divas battle royal in July 2011. Some months later, in January 2012, she made her WWE main roster debut as simply Cameron, accompanying Brodus Clay as one of her valets and dancers with Naomi, together known as the Funkadactyls. Cameron and Naomi teamed up to get into the ring against several opponents, including Snuka and Aksana as well as the Bella Twins. When the Funkadactyls left Brodus Clay because of his attitude, they immediately associated themselves with R-Truth and Xavier Woods.
Cameron also competed in plenty of singles matches throughout her career, tasting both wins as well as defeats against her opponents, including AJ Lee, Aksana, Paige, and many more. Displaying a villainous persona, she began a feud with Paige in June 2014, only to get defeated in three matches. After the Funkadactyls disbanded due to tensions between Cameron and Naomi, the two began a long-running rivalry competing in various handicap, singles, and tag team matches. Following that beef, Cameron got into the ring to compete in various matches, starting in early 2015.
After taking a hiatus from WWE, Cameron made her return to the ring of WWE NXT against Asuka in November 2015. Over the following few months, she made several appearances in NXT before being inactive for a couple of months. Then, on May 6, 2016, WWE announced that they had released Cameron from her contract. A few years down the line, in November 2019, during a conversation with The Hannibal TV, she was asked if she had been given a reason for her release.
Cameron stated, “You know, they never gave me a reason (but) I can kind of put my finger on why. You know, when the whole Ryback thing happened. And at the time too I wasn’t doing anything, so it just gave them — it was like a perfect moment, like (if) you’re not doing something and you make a little bit of controversy, it’s an easy way for them to be like, ‘Oh, it’s time to let you go.'” However, after a six-year absence from the WWE ring, she made a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble match at the 2022 Royal Rumble, only to be eliminated by Sonya Deville.
Cameron Follows a Health Lifestyle Today
After leaving WWE, Cameron got the opportunity to pursue a wide range of ventures. Apart from regularly working out and encouraging her social media followers to lead a healthier lifestyle, she also showcased her talents for singing, acting, and modeling. Cameron also talked about her ventures in the above-mentioned interview. She revealed, “…I have a TV show called ‘Sippin the Tea,’ which airs on Apple TV and Roku every Tuesday. I also have an award-winning short film that I co-wrote, executive produced, and starred in called ‘Jaded Pictures.'”
She further added, “I have a fitness app launching on January 1, 2020. I also have a fitness line. And, I just recorded a single called ‘Queen.'” In July 2020, Cameron also made her All Elite Wrestling debut as it was revealed that she would team up with Nyla Rose for the AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament. Unfortunately, the duo was eliminated in the very first round. She is also the co-creator of a wrestling event called Thursday Night Pound Town Wrestling.
Read More: Rosa Mendes: Where is Ex-WWE Star Today?
