There was a time when Ariane Andrew danced her way to the ring in neon gear and thigh-high boots, all glitter and smiles and rhythm. She wasn’t billed as a technician. She wasn’t a favorite of the so-called “smart” crowd.
But she was there.
And sometimes, in wrestling, that’s the hardest part: showing up, staying in the shot, refusing to fade when the spotlight drifts.
Because Ariane Andrew wasn’t just one of WWE’s Funkadactyls. She was a cultural disruptor. A woman who turned a footnote into a fight. A Tough Enough flameout who made it to WrestleMania. A reality TV standout, a YouTuber, a pop artist, and, somewhere between the ring lights and rejection, a woman still swinging.
This is the long, glitter-stained road of Ariane Andrew.
The First Out and Still Standing
When Andrew joined Tough Enough in 2011, she had no real wrestling background. No indie buzz. No buzzsaw finishers or legendary trainers on speed dial.
Just charisma and guts.
That wasn’t enough for Steve Austin, who eliminated her first. She left with a shrug and a side-eye. Most people forget the first person kicked off a reality show.
But not her.
Because days later, WWE quietly signed her anyway.
She didn’t win the show. She won something better—an opportunity.
And she made damn sure not to waste it.
From Ring Announcer to Funkadactyl
In Florida Championship Wrestling, Andrew went by Cameron Lynn, and let’s be honest—those early days weren’t pretty. She was green, clunky, awkward on the mat.
But the charisma? Always there.
She had presence—the way the best performers do, even when they can’t yet hit a suplex without needing Advil.
That presence got her a main roster call-up in 2012, not as a wrestler, but as a dancer for Brodus Clay’s “Funkasaurus” gimmick alongside Naomi.
The Funkadactyls were pure WWE sugar—hip-hop dance routines, Day-Glo outfits, and crowd-pleasing entrances.
But they weren’t just backup dancers. They fought too.
And slowly, Cameron began to show signs of something more.
Total Divas and Total Mayhem
In 2013, WWE launched Total Divas, its first attempt to give female talent reality-TV storytelling beyond the ring. Ariane Andrew was there from the beginning—a main cast member through the chaos, feuds, and fake lashes.
She brought drama.
She brought ratings.
She brought something else too: unfiltered humanity.
Andrew’s life—her love story, her doubts, her clashes with backstage politics—wasn’t always flattering. But it was honest.
And in an era where Divas were often two-dimensional, she insisted on being three.
Backstage Heat and In-Ring Grit
In the ring, she feuded with the Bellas, Aksana, Tamina, and AJ Lee. She lost more than she won, but she kept showing up.
She got eliminated early in matches. Got roasted by fans. Got written off.
But she didn’t leave.
She fought Naomi at Battleground on the pre-show. She clawed for her spot in multi-woman matches that fans barely remembered. She played heel. Played babyface. Got cheered. Got booed.
And through it all, she evolved.
Maybe not into a ring general. But into something rarer: a resilient worker who never stopped grinding.
The Fall and the Fight Back
By 2016, her run had cooled. Her main-roster push stalled. She got sent back to NXT.
There, she lost to Asuka. Lost a battle royal. Lost to Alexa Bliss.
Then WWE cut her loose.
Another footnote? Another discarded Diva?
Not quite.
Because Ariane Andrew doesn’t stay down.
In 2020, she resurfaced in AEW, pairing with Nyla Rose for the Women’s Tag Team Cup. They lost in the first round. It didn’t matter. The message was clear: she still wanted it.
In 2022, she made a one-night return at WWE’s Royal Rumble. Sonya Deville tossed her out, but the fans popped.
Sometimes, nostalgia is undefeated.
More Than Just a Wrestler
Off the mat, Andrew is a machine.
She runs a YouTube channel. Has released music under her first name, Ariane—slick pop and R&B tracks like “Bye Bye” and “Born With It.” She’s acted in indie films.
She launched an anti-bullying campaign called “Wrong #”, inspired by her own experiences.
And she made waves on MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars—a brutal competition that proved she could take hits outside the ring too.
This is not a woman afraid of cameras or confrontation.
This is a woman who learned from the boo birds.
Legacy in Layers
To some fans, Ariane Andrew will always be a Funkadactyl—a sidekick, a dancer, a Diva in the old-school sense.
But that’s only because they weren’t paying attention.
She was one of the first black women in WWE’s modern era to be featured weekly on a national platform, both in and out of the ring. One of the first to have her life fully documented, flaws and all, for the world to dissect.
She did it while being underestimated, miscast, and often overshadowed.
But she did it.
She stood on that WrestleMania ramp in front of 80,000 fans.
She took bumps. Took heat. Took the hate—and smiled through it.
She may not have left with a title belt.
But she left with her story still in her own hands.
Still Swinging
Today, Ariane Andrew is a brand.
She makes music. Makes appearances. Still trains, still talks wrestling, still posts.
And every time someone counts her out, she posts again.
She’s the first eliminated, the last to quit.
The dancer turned dreamer turned defiant.
You don’t have to like her.
But you will remember her.