10 Things You Did Not Know About The Funkadactyls
Last updated on May 8th, 2022 at 11:17 am
Their unique personality, wild antics, exhilarating dance moves, and charisma brought fun to the WWE. While the Funkadactyls made their debut as the cheerleaders and dancers for the Funksaurus, Brodus Clay, they would eventually make their way to WWE’s mid-card table.
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The Funkadactyls WWE debut was in the year 2013, after receiving a promotion from the company’s developmental program. The Funkydactyls theme song “Somebody Cally Momma” was one of the catchiest entry songs in the WWE. Upon breaking up, these two wrestlers got involved in one of the biggest upsets in women’s wrestling history. With that said, here are 10 things you did not know about the Funkadactyls.
10. Got into an Altercation with Tamina Snuka
With their fearless characters, it came as no surprise to see the duo get into an altercation within their first few months at the WWE. On February 6th, the Funkadactyls got into a serious backstage altercation with Tamina Snuka. The Funkadactyls issue with Tamina began when Tamina constantly pushed Brodus Clay to fire the Funkadactyls. Instead of just firing the Funkadactyls, Tamina also tried to convince Brodus to hire her and Aksana as his back-up dancers.
The escalation of this backstage fight resulted in the team’s first-ever tag team match in the WWE. While this might sound something that’s totally scripted by WWE, it still managed to play a key role in the development of the Funkadactyls. While the Funkadactyls had never been in a tag team match before in the WWE, they still managed to snatch the victory on this night. The duo would later go ahead and have several high prolific matches against the likes of AJ Lee, Bella Twins, Eva Marie, and Paige.
9. Stopped Managing Brodus Clay
While Brodus Clay played a tremendous role in the development of the Funkadactyls, the duo would later drop him due to various reasons. The Funkadactyls would later reveal that they had to drop Brodus Clay mainly because of his growing attitude. After dropping Brodus Clay, the Funkadactyls instantly aligned themselves with Xavier Woods and R-Truth.
The duo would officially begin managing the team of Xavier Woods and R-Truth in most of their upcoming matches. On December 30th 2013, the Funkadactyls would distract Brodus Clay in a match against R-Truth. The distraction would prove enough to cost Brodus the highly competitive match against R-Truth.
8. Teamed Up First at WWE’s Developmental Territory
While it may seem the Funkadactyls made their debut as the valets and dancers of Brodus Clay, the duo was part of the WWE’s developmental territory, FCW. Also known as the Florida Championship Wrestling, FCW was an independent championship that operated from the year 1961 to 1987. At FCW, the Funkadactyls holds several impressive wins against the likes of Aksana and Leah.
While the duo did not last in the FCW for very long, their impact in its tag team division was something to be admired. Their last match at FCW would be a triple threat tag team match, where the duo would emerge victoriously.
7. Made a Cameo On The Steve Harvey Show
It is no doubt that the Funkadactyls love the spotlight. Whether it is through dancing or causing drama, the Funkadactyls would do what it takes to get noticed. The duo together with the Bella Twins received an invitation to appear on The Steve Harvey Show.
On the episode, the duo got to talk about their in-ring rivalry with the Bella Twins and their friendship off the screen. The episode would eventually take an unexpected turn with a dance-off between the Bella Twins and the Funkadactyls to the amusement of the host, Steve Harvey. It was great to see the two camps take on a totally neutral platform.
6. Naomi’s Debut Single Garnered Over 4 million Views
As a wrestler, Naomi continues to show she has what it takes to be in the grandest stage. Though she is passionate about wrestling, Naomi also loves to sing and on May 2014, she released her debut single titled All Night Long. While All Night Long was her debut single, she still managed to garner over 4 million views.
The music video features a cameo from her husband Jimmy Uso, who appears towards the end of the music video. Part of the music video was shot in one of the best clubs in Tampa Florida, Club Drynk. The great thing about this music video is that WWE took the publishing rights and even promoted it on its website and YouTube channel.
5. Received a WWE Slammy Award
In 2013, The Funkadactyls received a Slammy Awards nomination for the category Best Dance Moves. While the Funkadactyls were great dancers, they were in a highly competitive category featuring the Miz, Fandango and Summer Rae. The surprise entrant in this category was Great Khali whose nomination came as a shock to many.
Many people saw Khali’s nomination as a deliberate move by WWE to lighten things up or maybe invoke some humour into the entire awards. At the 2013 Slammy Awards, The Rock vs John Cena match card would win the Match of the Year Award while The Shield would win the faction of the year award. Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella won a couple of the year while Daniel Bryan would take another award home, Beard of the Year.
4. Received a Worst Ranked Match Nomination
In the same year, The Funkadactyls would also be part of another nomination. However, this time award it had nothing to do with their captivating dance moves. The Funkadactyls received the worst-ranked match of the year in their match with The Bella Twins, Jojo, Eva Marie and Natalya at the annual wrestling observer newsletter awards. The wrestling observer newsletter awards is an annual award created by pundit Dave Meltzer.
Its main aim is to honour the best and the worst in wrestling. Dave Meltzer is a renowned journalist and sports historian, whose contribution to the world of sports over the years is something to be admired. Held annually, the wrestling observer newsletter awards features various categories. Categories featured include the best tag teams, most improved, match of the year, best overall and several other categories.
3. Made It To The Top 50 Female Wrestlers List: 2014-2014
While they might have received the worst match of the year award, the Funkadactyls got another unexpected result. Both wrestlers got featured among the best 50 female wrestlers of 2013. Naomi got ranked at number 24 while Cameron was number 37 on the list. Cheerleader Melissa topped the list while Mickie James came second.
Other wrestlers on the list include Saraya Knight, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Tara and Mercedes Martinez. Professional wrestling magazine founded PWI magazine in the year 1991. The pro wrestling illustrated magazine not only ranks wrestlers but also has several other categories. Feud of the year, tag team of the year, rookie of the year are just but a few of the categories found within the issue.
2. Made a Cameo on The JBL and Cole Show
Ever since it’s premiere the JBL and Cole Show featured various accomplished WWE superstars and celebrities. While the show did not gain huge numbers, it still performed quite well gaining more than 100,000 views per episode.
Renowned names featured on the show included Stone Cold, John Cena, Kane, Florida, Daniel Bryan, Heath Sledger, Titus O’Neal, The Great Khali, Natalya, Hornswoggle and many others. It’s pretty impressive that they even got Sean Casey and WWE superstar, Shawn Michaels running their promo. On November 15th 2013, the Funkydactyls appeared on the JBL & Cole show where they did a love segment.
1. Never Won a Tag Team Championship Title
While the Funkadactyls were not as impressive as the other women’s tag teams back in the day, they still knew how to get the job done. As a duo, they hold wins against the Bella twins, Tamina and Paige and many other women’s tag teams in the WWE.
Despite their impressive run the Funkadactyls never had the opportunity of lifting the tag team belts mainly because the titles were not in existence at the time. Though it is quite debatable as to whether the duo would have had the opportunity of lifting the titles if they were in existence, the team still would have received several shots at the titles.