Shelly Martinez Discusses Her Heat with Batista and How She Got Over It
Shelly Martinez weighed in on her heat with Batista that led to her WWE release, saying that she’s moved past it. Martinez appeared on VOC Nation Wrestling with History and discussed her retirement as well as her claim back in 2013 that a confrontation with Batista got her released from WWE.
At the time, Martinez said, “Batista and I had an aggressive conversation backstage and he said something 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.”
Highlights from the podcast and the audio itself are below:
On her past comments about wrestling: “That’s the thing, people think I’m all bitter about wrestling, and all this. Dude, when I was bitter about wrestling, I couldn’t talk about it, because I was so bitter about it. So like, when I talk about it, I’m just saying how I feel. It’s so cool that something that I am very unattracted to now, but I was very attracted to for a large portion of my life has brought me these people, my secret society, my fan club. And that’s just what I care about.”
On her heat with Batista and claims that it led to her release: “The name Batista used to have a different association with me. And it’s so crazy because throughout the years I always had these recurring dreams about him. And in these dreams, the common denominator is, he’s trying to help me. And what I’ve realized is, my little situation with Batista was like, the last nail in my coffin [in WWE]. I realize now they fired me — I used to think it was solely about that, but I realize, no, that was just the [final] nail in the coffin. So that actually did protect me because without really getting into it, I’m very grateful for my experiences in the WWE, both good, bad and everything in the middle. But that’s just not a place for my soul, and that’s not just a place for me. And I’m okay, like, I’m totally fine with that. I’m [not] like, ‘Oh, F that place,’ like whatever. I’m just saying, I’m not down with that kind of work environment and everything that comes with it. So it’s so crazy how that whole thing went down. I remember lawyers approaching me when all that happened like, ‘You want to sue them?’ And all this. You know, and I would always tell them, ‘God will deal with them.’ And I know for some people that’s a lame answer, rolling eyes answer. But now more than ever, I totally get that. And it’s cool because when I used to say it, I just said what was in my heart. I didn’t really understand it, but now I do. And you know what, if for some strange reason Dave Batista hears this or gets wind of this … thank you dude, thanks. You did me a big favor, and I really appreciate it.”
On if she felt like WWE sucked her passion for the business away: “You know, it did because — long story short as I can make it, it just wasn’t what I thought it was about. Like, kind of what I signed up for in wrestling, it didn’t end up being that in the end-all, be-all. Which is, of course, WWE. And it’s interesting because when I decided to retire, it was when Balls Mahoney and Chyna had passed. And that just really stirred up a lot in my soul. And I told myself, I said, ‘Okay. If I’m going to continue doing wrestling’ — because at the time, I was doing the indies full-time — ‘I gotta at least make it worth my while. So the only way it’s gonna be worth my while is to go back to WWE. So I wanna go back there? No.’ So that was when I was like, ‘Forget it, I’m done.’ I had a commitment in Germany with DWA, shout out to them. I was just like, ‘I’m gonna let that be my last match.’”
