Funkadactyls
Naomi (left) and Cameron (right)
Statistics
MembersNaomi
Cameron
Name(s)Booty Poppin' Dance Group
The Funkadactyls
Billed fromPlanet Funk[1][2]
DebutAugust 18, 2011[3]
DisbandedJuly 7, 2014
Years active2011–2014
TrainerFlorida Championship Wrestling[3]

The Funkadactyls were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Trinity Fatu and Ariane Andrew. The women initially worked for WWE as the dancers and valets of Brodus Clay in 2012–2013, but they soon separated to act alone in the women's division.

The duo was first formed in WWE's former developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where they managed Byron Saxton. They made their main roster debut on the January 9, 2012 episode of Raw accompanying Brodus Clay. They made their in-ring debut on December 16, 2012 during the pre-show of TLC in a Battle Royal. They joined the reality show Total Divas where they began to feud with AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka.

History

Booty Poppin' Dance Group (2011–2012)

On the August 18 episode of FCW Television, Cameron and Naomi competed against Aksana and Maxine in a losing effort.[3] On the September 8 episode of FCW Television, Cameron and Naomi defeated Aksana and the debuting Leah West.[3] On the October 9, 2011, episode of FCW Television, Cameron Lynn and Byron Saxton accompanied McCray to ringside during her match against the Leah West.[3] Naomi and Cameron debuted as heel characters on the October 23 episode of FCW Television, where they faced Caylee Turner and Kaitlyn in a winning effort when Naomi pinned Turner after a leg lariat.[4] On the November 10 episode of FCW Television, Cameron and Naomi teamed up with Audrey Marie in a winning effort defeating Caylee Turner, Ivelisse Velez and Raquel Diaz.[3]

Valets of Brodus Clay and feud with The Bella Twins (2012–2013)

The Funkadactyls at the ring along Brodus Clay and Hornswoggle in 2012

On the January 9, 2012 episode of Raw, Cameron and Naomi made their main roster WWE debut as the dancers and valets The Funkadactyls for the returning Brodus Clay.[5] They made their WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania XXVIII during a segment with Clay where they came out a danced on stage with Brodus, his "momma" and her friends.[6] On the April 20 episode of SmackDown, The Funkadactyls and Clay began a brief association with Hornswoggle.[7] At the pre-show of the TLC pay-per-view on December 16, 2012, The Funkadactyls participated in their first televised WWE match, which was a "Santa's Little Helpers" battle royal which was won by Naomi, but later she lost a title match for the WWE Divas Championship to the current champion Eve Torres later that night.[8]

On the February 6 episode of WWE Main Event, The Funkadactyls got into a backstage altercation with Tamina Snuka and Aksana after Snuka and Aksana began to persuade Brodus Clay to fire The Funkadactyls and hire them as his backup dancers.[9] This led to their first tag team match in which they defeated Snuka and Aksana.[10]

The Funkadactyls finally faced off in tag-team competition against The Bella Twins on the March 27 episode of WWE Main Event, where The Bella Twins emerged victorious when Nikki Bella pinned Naomi after an interference by Cody Rhodes.[11][12] On the April 1 episode of Raw, The Funkadactyls were defeated by The Bella Twins after Brie Bella reversed Cameron's crossbody block attempt.[13] Brodus Clay, Tensai and The Funkadactyls against The Bella Twins and Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) at Wrestlemania 29 in an eight–person mixed tag team match, however the match was cancelled because of time restraints.[13] On the March 21 episode of NXT which aired on April 10, The Funkadactyls were defeated by The Bella Twins when Nikki pinned Cameron after The Bellas performed a tag-team move on Cameron.[3][14] On the April 12 episode of SmackDown, The Funkadactyls teamed up with Kaitlyn faced The Bella Twins and Tamina Snuka when Nikki pinned Naomi after an interference by Brie.[15][16] On the April 29 episode of Raw, Naomi was defeated by Brie following "Twin Magic" but then Cameron complained with the referee disqualified The Bella Twins despite not seeing the switch. In retaliation, The Bella Twins focused on attacking Cameron for costing them the win.[17]

Cameron and Naomi in the ring on Raw in September, 2013

Total Divas storylines (2013–2014)

The cast of Total Divas entered a feud with WWE Divas Champion — AJ Lee on the August 26 episode Raw, after Natalya's match with Brie Bella, when AJ Lee interrupted and declared war on the Total Divas against the "real" hard earning Divas.[18] On the November 22 episode of SmackDown, The Funkadactyls defeated AJ Lee in handicap match, despite the interference from Tamina Snuka.[19][20] The Total Divas defeated "The True Divas" (Foxsana, AJ, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes, Tamina and Summer Rae) in a traditional survivor series elimination tag-team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view and the following night on an episode of Raw.[21][22][23] The Funkadactyls were nominated for Diva of the Year, which was won by The Bella Twins, however they won Best Dance Moves against Fandango, R-Truth, Summer Rae, The Great Khali and Miz-co Inferno. Naomi was also nominated for Couple of the Year with Jimmy Uso, but the award was won by Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella.[24]

On December 15 at the TLC pay-per-view, The Funkadactyls and Tensai, abandoned Brodus Clay because of his attitude, effectively disbanding Tons of Funk.[25] The following night on an episode of Raw, The Funkadactyls aligned themselves with R-Truth and Xavier Woods and started managing them to their matches.[26] On the December 24 episode of Raw, The Total Divas defeated Aksana, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, Summer Rae and Tamina Snuka.[27] On the December 30 episode of Raw, The Funkadactyls teamed up with The Bella Twins and Eva Marie in a losing effort to Aksana, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, Summer Rae and Rosa Mendes after Aksana pinned Nikki following a distraction from Mendes.[28][29]

Cameron wrestling Rosa Mendes at the WrestleMania XXX event in April 2014

Naomi received a push and defeated AJ in various tag team matches on both Raw and SmackDown.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36] However their rivalry was cut shortly after Naomi suffered an eye injury during her match with Aksana on the February 3 episode of Raw.[37][38] On the February 10 episode of Raw, Cameron pinned Aksana during a six-Divas tag team match,[39] and once again on the February 19 episode of Main Event in a singles match.[40] On February 23 at the Elimination Chamber, Cameron received her first shot at the WWE Divas Championship, a match which she won via disqualification after Tamina Snuka attacked her.[41] Five days later on Smackdown, Cameron would receive another shot at the title, but was unsuccessful.[41] Naomi would make her return after her eye injury, teaming with Cameron in a tag team match against AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka, which they would win, when Naomi pinned AJ.[42] On April 6, at WrestleMania XXX, The Funkadactyls unsuccessfully competed in the 14-Diva "Vickie Guerrero Invitational" match, where AJ forced Naomi give tapout after the Black Widow to retain her title.[43][44]

Dissension and split (2014)

Cameron was later inserted in a feud with the new WWE Divas Champion Paige after she interrupted Paige's speech during her press conference at the Payback post-show. This led to a non-title match on the 5 June episode of Superstars where Paige defeated Cameron, who began turning heel during the match.[45] In a rematch, Paige once again defeated Cameron via submission on the 16 June edition of Raw.[46] The following night, on Main Event, Paige was defeated by Naomi in a non-title match. After the match ended, the evil Cameron shoved Paige, and Paige attacked Cameron while Naomi just watched the cat fight without interfering.[47] On the June 27 episode of SmackDown, Cameron once again attacked and lost to Paige in a non title match, but with Naomi interfering to separate. After the catfight, Paige turned her back to Naomi and Cameron, which led to Cameron pushing Naomi on to Paige, and Paige thinking that Naomi had attacked her, creating tension between them for the Money in the Bank, where she lost the match.[48] The next night on Raw, The Funkadactyls defeated Nikki Bella in a handicap match, where they had a disagreement after the match.[49] On the following evening on Main Event, The Funkadactyls faced Nikki in a tag team match with Alicia Fox which was put by Stephanie McMahon to do her dirty work attacking Nikki during combat making Cameron capture the victory. On July 7 on Raw, they lost a tag team match against the Divas Champion AJ Lee and Paige after Cameron was pinned by Paige. After the match, they quarreled ending in a catfight separated by the referee, signalizing the end of the Funkadactyls and cementing Cameron as a villainess.[50] The feud reached its peak with Cameron defeating Naomi at the Battleground kickoff. The two would continue having matches going forward, with Naomi always picking up the win.

Other media

The Funkadactyls were featured as main cast members of Total Divas in its first season, along with Natalya, Eva Marie, JoJo Offerman, Summer Rae, Rosa Mendes and The Bella Twins.[51] Cameron and Naomi continued to appear on the show until Naomi exited the show in season three. The Funkadactyls appeared on E! News to share their workout tips and promote the premiere of "Total Divas" on E!.[52] It was revealed on November 20, 2013, that Total Divas has been renewed for a second season.[53][54][55][56][57] They appeared on the November 15 episode of The JBL and Cole Show, doing a loveline segment.[58] The Funkadactyls along with The Bellas appeared on The Steve Harvey Show.[59]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ "Naomi". WWE.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Cameron - WWE". WWE. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Naomi's OWW profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "FCW Watch (October 23rd, 2011): Naomi and Cameron Lynn vs. Kaitlyn and Caylee Turner". Diva-dirt. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  5. ↑ Stephens, David. "Raw Results - 1/9/12". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Brodus Clay Calls His Momma: Photos". WWE. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012. Accompanied by the beautiful Naomi and Cameron, The Funkasaurus, Brodus Clay, dances his way onto The Grandest Stage of Them All.
  7. ↑ Parks, Greg. "Parks' WWE Smackdown Report 4/20: Complete coverage of the Friday night show, including Six-man main event tag". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE TLC PPV Results 12/16: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of final 2012 PPV - Cena vs. Ziggler main event, Shield makes a statement". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  9. ↑ Martin, Adam. "WWE Main Event Results - 2/6/12 (Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  10. ↑ Cupach, Michael. "Cupach's WWE Main Event Results 2/6: Rhodes Scholars in singles action, Tag Champs argue, Sheamus's Impersonation Night, Divas tag match (updated w/Box Score)". PWTorch. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved Feb 6, 2013.
  11. ↑ Bowman, Clinton. "WWE Main Event Results - 3/27/13 (Kane vs. Cesaro)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Main Event Results 3/27: Cesaro's new gimmick, Brodus & Tensai's new name, Divas main event". PWTorch. Archived from the original on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Cadwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 4/1: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Punk bathes with "ashes," HBK returns to Raw, final WM29 hype with Rock, Hunter, Lesnar, Taker". PWInsider. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 4/10: Epic, must-watch Regal vs. Ohno match, Shield six-man tag match, Overall Reax". PWTorch. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  15. ↑ Burdick, Michael. "SmackDown Results: The Showoff def. Y2J, with Fandango finale: The Shield targeted Triple H: The Bella Twins & Tamina Snuka def. The Funkadactyls & Kaitlyn". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  16. ↑ Boutwell, Josh (12 April 2013). "WWE Smackdown Results - 4/12/13 (Ziggler vs. Jericho)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  17. ↑ Benigno, Anthony. "Raw live results: April 29, 2013: Naomi defeats Brie Bella". WWE.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  18. ↑ Benigno, Anthony (26 August 2013). "The Undertaker def. Natalya: Dropping her own version of her ex-paramour's famous pipe bomb, the "Black Widow" administered a lethal dose of poison to her fellow Divas, whom she felt were gifted the opportunities she had to sacrifice for. "You're all worthless excuses for women, and you will never be able to touch me, And that's reality."". WWE. Archived from the original on 2013-08-31. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  19. ↑ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Smackdown Results - 11/22/13 (Bryan vs. Harper)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  20. ↑ Parks, Greg. "Parks's WWE Smackdown Report 11/22: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Friday show, including Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper rematch". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  21. ↑ Johnson, Mike. "Complete WWE Survivor Series Blog, or... Daniel Bryan is Sorely Missed in the Main Event Picture". PWInsider. Archived from the original on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  22. ↑ Linder, Zack. "Natalya, The Bellas, The Funkadactyls, JoJo & Eva Marie def. Divas Champion AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes, Summer Rae, Aksana & Alicia Fox". WWE. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  23. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. "Complete WWE Raw Report: Main Event at TLC Announced; Wyatts Bring Another Friend Home; Rematches from Survivor Series; and More". PWInsider. Archived from the original on 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
  24. 1 2 "2013 Slammy Award winners". WWE. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  25. ↑ "WWE TLC PPV Results - 12/15/13 (Unification Main Event) -". 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  26. ↑ Caldwell, James (16 December 2013). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 12/16: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw following TLC - Orton vs. Bryan excellent main event, HBK surprise appearance, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  27. ↑ Stephens, David (24 December 2013). "WWE Raw Results - 12/23/13 (Raw Christmas special)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  28. ↑ Stephens, David. "WWE Raw Results - 12/30/13 (Brock Lesnar returns)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  29. ↑ "Kaitlyn, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, Rosa Mendes & Aksana def. The Bella Twins, The Funkadactyls & Eva Marie". WWE. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  30. ↑ Caldwell, James (13 January 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 1/13: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Big show-closing angle involving Daniel Bryan, Hall of Fame, Rumble hype, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  31. ↑ Stephens, David. "WWE Raw Results - 1/13/14 (Steel Cage Tag Main Event)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  32. ↑ Parks, Greg. "Parks's WWE Smackdown Report 1/17: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Friday show, including Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The New Age Outlaws". PWTorch. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Raw live results: January 20, 2014". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  34. ↑ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 1/20: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Batista returns, Lesnar, final Rumble PPV hype, Bryan explains his plot, more". PWTorch. Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Raw live results: January 20, 2014". WWE.com. 2014-01-20. Archived from the original on 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
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  37. ↑ "Raw results: Outlaws survive the steel, The Shield & The Wyatts circle the wagons and Bryan de-fangs the Champion of Champions". WWE.com. 2014-02-03. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  38. ↑ "Raw: Feb. 10. 2014". Archived from the original on 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
  39. ↑ Cardwell, James (10 February 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 2/10: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Orton vs. Cena, Bryan follow-up, Henry returns, Betty White, U.S. Title match, more from L.A." Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
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  41. 1 2 Caldwell, James. "WWE E. Chamber PPV Results 2/23 (Hour 2): Shield vs. Wyatts big six-man tag, Batista vs. Del Rio, Divas Title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
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  43. ↑ Taylor, Scott. "Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational". WWE. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
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  45. ↑ James, Justin (5 June 2014). "James's WWE Superstars Report 6/5: Divas champ in action, Titus vs. Big E. main event, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
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  47. ↑ Caldwell, James (17 June 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Main Event Results 6/17: Sheamus & Usos vs. Wyatts main event, Rollins-Ambrose scrap, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  48. ↑ Caldwell, James (29 June 2014). "Caldwell's WWE MITB PPV Results 6/29: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of WWE Title ladder match, MITB match, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  49. ↑ Caldwell, James (30 June 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 6/30: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of the Big Reset Raw post-Money in the Bank". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  50. ↑ WWE (7 July 2014). "WWE Raw Results 7/7: The Funkadactyls break-up". WWE official site. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  51. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (October 24, 2013). "E! Sets Premiere Dates for the Return of 'Total Divas' on Sunday November 10 and 'The Drama Queen' on November 17". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  52. ↑ "The Funkadactyls join "E! News" to give some workout tips". WWE. Archived from the original on 2013-07-26. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  53. ↑ Caldwell, James (November 20, 2013). "WWE News: "Total Divas" renewed for Season 2". PWTorch. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  54. ↑ Allen, Brian (November 22, 2013). "E! Orders Another Season of WWE Total Divas". Technology Tell. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  55. ↑ Bibel, Sara (November 25, 2013). "'Total Divas', 'Hello Ross' & 'Eric & Jessie: Game On' Renewed for Season 2 by E!". TV by the Numbers (Press release). Archived from the original on November 28, 2013.
  56. ↑ Cantor, Brian (December 20, 2013). "E! Pushes WWE's "Total Divas" as its Second Biggest Series". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  57. ↑ Gray, Richard (December 16, 2013). "Total Divas Returning For Season 2 In March 2014". Wrestling News World. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  58. ↑ "Never Before Seen Bloopers! - The JBL & Cole Show Ep. #51". WWE. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
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