Much like characters from "Encanto" didn't want to talk about Bruno, most wrestling fans don't like to talk about WWE's revival of ECW back in 2006. For one, it was a revival that didn't last all that long, running for a little less than four years before it was discontinued in favor of the first of many "WWE NXT" incarnations. The main reason, however, is because the WWE edition of ECW was almost the exact opposite as the original ECW. Despite touting Paul Heyman as its figurehead when initially relaunched, and featuring ECW stalwart Rob Van Dam as ECW World Heavyweight Champion and late hardcore legend Sabu, WWE's ECW was soon seen as an extension of WWE rather than its own unique thing, which only continued when Heyman walked out several months in. As such, it's easy to see why most fans would prefer to forget it.
Even still, there are some figures from that ECW era that are worth remembering. The brand wound up being the launching pad for one CM Punk, introducing him to the WWE fanbase at large, and leading to him becoming one of the biggest stars of wrestling. Several notable ECW stars got shots on the brand when it first started, including Sandman, Balls Mahoney, and Tommy Dreamer, with the brand ultimately giving Dreamer a chance to capture his second ECW World Championship a few years later. Then there were newer names who got their first break on ECW, much like Punk did; this included former Divas Champion Kelly Kelly, future Aces & Eights member Mike Knox, and one of the more unique characters of the revamped ECW, Ariel.
When she debuted in ECW shortly after its launch, Ariel was best known as a developmental wrestler in Ohio Valley Wrestling, wrestling under her real name, Shelly Martinez. There, she teamed/feuded with Beth Phoenix and became obsessed with the pirate incarnation of Paul Burchill, at one point even being tried out as his manager. This was a stark contrast to Ariel, who debuted as a vampire, managing fellow vampire Kevin Thorn. The duo were initially supposed to be part of a vampire faction headed up by long-time WWE veteran Gangrel; for whatever reason, Gangrel never appeared on ECW TV, keeping Thorn and Ariel as a duo. They remained that way for almost a year, joining the New Breed stable and having mixed success before she was released in May 2007, which Ariel later claimed was due to an incident involving future WWE Hall of Famer Dave Bautista.
For most, the assumption would be that Ariel's wrestling career ended there, with her instead pursuing something like acting or modeling. That isn't entirely off base; Ariel would get into modeling after her WWE run concluded, and would give acting a go. But through it all, her wrestling would continue, as she would join TNA in October 2007, joining LAX as Salinas. Her run with the promotion lasted almost a year before she departed the promotion, though she continued to wrestle on the independent circuit on and off for the next several years. Ariel would even return to TNA in 2016, wrestling at a One Night Only show against former AEW star Rebel in one of the more infamous wrestling matches in modern history. A year later, Martinez would call it a career, wrestling her last match.
