AJ Lee opens up about ‘very surreal’ WWE return
AJ Lee recalls the role fans played in her decision to return to WWE and wrestling, while opening up on working with the generation of talents she inspired during her career.
In an exclusive interview on The Takedown on SI, Lee discussed the fans’ appreciation and support that fueled her WWE return. When meet-and-greets were hosted as part of her other ventures, the long queues made her realize the impact she had on the wrestling community.
“I knew that coming back was the right decision because of my fans,” stated Lee.
“I was getting these lines that were legitimately seven hours long and that’s when I realized, ‘oh, they’re still here’. There’s still this hunger here. This support that only comes with wrestling. It only comes with this really loyal fanbase who watched me from day one, were a part of the mission statement of underdogs for the win and stuck with me, and were waiting for me to come back. And… to be able to give them a title run and a Mania match, has been incredibly meaningful.”
Lee also talked about the impact she left behind on the women’s division following her exit in 2015. She emphasized its importance to her while competing alongside them on the roster today.
“It’s kind of like being at your own funeral a little bit,” Lee said with a laugh. “Everyone has something really nice to say about how I helped them in their career, and it’s just meaningful and very surreal and cool.”
“I know who I am. I know what I’ve done. I can walk into this place with a new kind of confidence and a calmness of just being a grown-ass woman. And there is a different level to performing that way, with that mindset of, yeah, I know what I can do. And so it makes it a little bit more fun. I get to really just enjoy and soak up the moments versus feeling like you were scrapping every day back then.”
Lee joined her husband CM Punk in his rivalry against Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch in September 2025. That led to a feud with Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. Lee defeated Lynch to capture her first singles WWE title in over a decade at Elimination Chamber.
On the March 23 edition of Raw, Lee issued a challenge for a rematch on Night One of WrestleMania 42. Lynch happily accepted citing it was a part of her masterplan to provoke the move. The bout will also mark Lee’s first WrestleMania match since the 31st edition of the PLE.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.