Married couple victorious at WWE Wrestlepalooza
For the first time in more than a decade, AJ Lee returned to in-ring action, leaving WWE Wrestlepalooza victorious alongside her tag team partner in life, husband CM Punk.
The duo defeated rivals and fellow married couple Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch at Saturday’s premium live event in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The end came when Lee countered a Lynch Manhandle Slam attempt into a Black Widow submission, eventually getting the reigning Women’s Intercontinental Champion to tap out.
Punk and Rollins were both on the floor at the time, recovering after crashing through an announcer’s table following Lynch throwing Lee into them while on another announcer’s table.
It was Lee’s first match since March 2015 and her first time teaming with Punk since July 2012. She officially returned two weeks ago on SmackDown.
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The story of the match was Lee being kept out of the match by Rollins and Lynch who wanted no part of her. She finally did get in as Lynch was holding Punk’s leg, he blew her a kiss, and then backed up for the tag.
She got the better of Lynch with a flurry of offense and then, all four competitors battled it out with the men somewhat getting physical with the women. Punk and Lee hit an assisted sliced bread using Rollins onto a prone Lynch for a nearfall in one sequence.
One close call sequence began with a Lee counter to a disarmer into a Black Widow followed by Punk getting a sharpshooter on Rollins for a near double submission, thwarted by a Rollins eye rake and superkick to Punk. Later, Punk and Lee got double pedigreed by Rollins and Lynch for their own close call.
Another saw Lynch getting Punk in a sharpshooter of her own which he eventually countered, but got hit with a pedigree and curb stomp. Lee broke it up and got hit with a Manhandle slam for a very, very close two count.
It now remains to be seen if and when Lee challenges Lynch for her title and when Punk might challenge Rollins for his.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.