In a 2013 interview with VOCNation.com, former WWE star Shelly “Ariel” Martinez discussed the circumstances that led to her departure from WWE in 2007:
“Batista and I had an aggressive conversation backstage, and he said some things that were unnecessary and uncalled for. If it was outside of wrestling, I’m pretty sure it could have been a legal problem for both Batista and WWE. But this is wrestling, and it’s a man’s business, so I fired back, and they fired me. I was just a vampire girl in the fake ECW; he was Batista, and they wanted to accommodate him.”
Years later, Martinez opened up about reconciling with Batista during an appearance on the Ring The Belle podcast. She recounted the moment they crossed paths at a movie premiere:
“I got invited to the red carpet premiere of the movie Immortals. He wasn’t in the movie, …