WWE News: Another Former Superstar Announces She’s Making Independent Comeback Ahead Of ‘WrestleMania’
Former WWE superstar Cameron — who has gone by her real name of Ariane Andrew since her release from the company in 2016 — has just become the latest performer to announce a return to the ring after almost four years away from the wrestling business.
As reported by Wrestling Inc., independent wrestler Effy announced this week that Andrew will be among the wrestlers scheduled to appear at his Big Gay Brunch event on the morning of Saturday, April 4. The Generation Championship Wrestling (GCW)-organized show will be taking place in the same city as WrestleMania 36, which be held one day later at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
One day after Effy made the original announcement, Andrew took to social media to confirm the news, tweeting a photo of the event’s promotional poster and playfully proclaiming her return to in-ring action in the caption. While there’s still no word on who she will be facing in her possible comeback match, or whether she will be used in a non-wrestling capacity, Pro Wrestling Sheet noted that the 32-year-old’s last Twitter post of 2019 was a photo of wrestling shoes.
The news of Andrew’s return to the ring comes just weeks after Alex Riley — another WWE alumnus from the past decade — announced on social media that he will be competing at GCW’s We Run This Town event. Like the Big Gay Brunch, this independent show will be taking place in the Tampa area just days ahead of WrestleMania 36, over a span of two days from March 31 to April 1.
Originally part of the fifth season of WWE’s reality-based rookie search Tough Enough in 2011, Andrew was signed to a contract by the company despite only finishing 14th place on the show. As recalled by Wrestling Inc., she gained the most fame as one-half of Brodus Clay’s Funkadactyls dance group alongside Naomi before both women were split up and placed in singles competition. Her last televised match was aired on the February 10, 2016, episode of NXT, where she lost to future Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss.
After mostly working tag team matches in live events, Andrew was let go by WWE in May 2016, along with several other competitors including Riley, Damien Sandow, Hornswoggle, and Santino Marella.
Much like Riley focused on his budding show business career after his WWE release, Andrew did some acting in the years that followed her exit from the promotion. In November 2017, she was notably included in the first season of MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars, where she was eliminated in the eighth episode.
