AJ Lee explains ‘trepidatious’ approach to her WWE schedule
In her return to WWE, AJ Lee is making sure not to take on more than she can handle.
Lee returned to WWE this September, competing for the first time since her 2015 retirement. That return match saw her team with her husband CM Punk to defeat fellow married couple Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins. Lee will now wrestle again this Saturday (November 29) at Survivor Series when she takes part in WarGames.
Preserving her mental health is something that Lee is prioritizing in her WWE return. She does not want things to end like they did in her first run with the company.
“There was this world in which it was just like a one-and-done. Where it was just like, come back and have fun and, like, see how you feel,” Lee said on Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story?” podcast.
“And that’s been a big thing too, because of — I never wanted to feel how I felt mentally to where my last year was very hard for me. And so, I have been a little trepidatious in like what I’m committing to and what I can handle. And part of the appeal of, like, ‘Okay, let’s keep doing this’ was that group of women [in WarGames]. And being like, ‘Oh, I’m a fan of all of them. Like, I’ll be like so happy to just be surrounded by them and get to like work with them.’ To just like kind of hang out with them in that way of, okay, trust this group. I think — I give so much credit to the women [for making] it very appealing.”
The WarGames match will see Lee team up with Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss against Lynch, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Nia Jax & Lash Legend. The women’s division that exists today is something that Lee could only dream of during her first stint with WWE. She loves that everyone now is valued for more than just their appearance.
“To see every single woman on the roster is so talented and different and special. And their looks are like the 10th most interesting thing about them,” Lee said. “They have so many skills and are, they’re people that I would have been a fan of as a kid. And to see that and somehow come back and, like, play with them is, it’s insane. It really is.”
Petco Park in San Diego is hosting Survivor Series on Saturday. The PLE begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time, airing live on the ESPN app in the United States and on Netflix elsewhere.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.