Shelly Martinez: "My WWE Character Was So Sexual I Had No Idea" (Full Interview)

Former WWE Superstar Shelly Martinez (aka Ariel) and TNA Knockout Salinas joins SoCal Val on "The Velvet Ropes" for an incredibly candid, no-holds-barred interview! In this exclusive conversation, Shelly opens up about her time as the vampire Ariel in WWE's ECW brand, revealing she had "no idea" how sexual the character was at the time and why her family struggled with it. She sets the record straight on the rumors about her relationship with on-screen partner Kevin Thorn ("Everyone and their mom thought we hooked up"), and shares a never-before-told story about Lita giving her blunt backstage advice to protect her reputation. Shelly also discusses her transition to TNA Wrestling as Salinas, admitting she saw TNA as her "rebound" to make her "ex" (WWE) jealous. She reveals the wild story of having to tape her chest down to portray a man in LAX, and speaks passionately about the "depression" and pain she felt after her WWE release. Plus, Shelly talks about her early days running with Kat Von D and Holly Madison in LA, her pioneering work in content creation (OnlyFans/Patreon), and her powerful message to women in wrestling about finding their worth outside of WWE. 0:00 Teaser 0:37 Welcome Shelly Martinez! 1:22 The origin of the Ariel character in WWE ECW 2:22 "I was too boy crazy" in OVW 3:22 The "New Brood" with Gangrel that almost happened 4:37 Why she fit the "vampire" role perfectly 7:07 "I didn't realize how sexual Ariel was" 9:12 Why she chose the name "Ariel" (The Disney connection) 12:07 Her obsession with "The Lost Boys" & fear of death 13:37 Did she hook up with Kevin Thorn? (The Truth) 15:22 Kevin Thorn protected her on the road 17:52 The transition to TNA as Salinas 19:52 "They taped my boobs down" to play a boy in LAX 22:07 TNA was her "rebound" from WWE 23:37 Dealing with the pain of being fired by WWE 32:22 Lita's blunt advice: "Tie your hoodie around your waist" 36:07 Shane Helms' advice: "It's just like high school" 39:07 Being an OG content creator (OnlyFans/Patreon) 40:37 Running with Kat Von D & Holly Madison in LA 45:07 Message to women: "Don't put your worth on WWE" --- FOLLOW SHELLY MARTINEZ: Website: https://shellymartinez.net/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/shellymartinez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shellyfromcali4 FOLLOW SOCAL VAL: X: https://x.com/SoCalValerie Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/OfficialSoCalVal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socalvalerie --- Follow WrestlingNews.co on all social media platforms: X: https://x.com/WrestlingNewsCo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WrestlingNewsCo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WrestlingNewsCo TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrestlingnewsco Visit our website: https://wrestlingnews.co/