AJ Lee Calls For WWE To Bring Back Former Champion – “I Tried To Protect Her”
AJ Lee wants to see a former opponent back in a WWE ring.
For the first time in 11 years, AJ Lee will compete at WrestleMania when she defends the Women’s Intercontinental Title against the former champion, Becky Lynch, at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
In her last WrestleMania match at WrestleMania 31 in 2015, AJ Lee teamed with Paige to beat The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie Bella) in a match between four former Women’s Champions.
One year earlier, on the Raw after WrestleMania 30, Paige debuted in WWE and beat Lee for the WWE Women’s Title, even though Paige was just 21 years old.
Fast forward to today, and Lee is back in WWE, while Paige departed the company in June 2022 and has been wrestling in AEW since then. However, Paige is a free agent now.
While speaking to Rick Ucchino for Sports Illustrated, Lee made it clear she wants her good friend Paige to make a WWE return.
“It would be great. She’s so talented and I knew it from from day one and we we always joke that I was her fairy godmother. And I just like took her under my wing and tried to protect her.”
And just to see her now would be just kind of heartwarming and healing and she’d be a great addition to the locker room, I think.
This place has really come a long way and the women work together so beautifully and they’re so supportive and I would love for her to experience just like how fun it is now.”
The Fans Played A Major Role In AJ Lee’s WWE Return
Regarding her own WWE comeback, AJ Lee told Sports Illustrated that the support of the fans was a big reason why Lee returned to the ring.
“I knew that coming back was the right decision because of my fans.
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.”
WWE WrestleMania 42 takes place on April 18 & April 19 in Las Vegas. Here’s the lineup so far.
Saturday, April 18 Matches
- WWE Undisputed Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton
- WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
- Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch
- Women’s Tag Team Championships: Irresistible Forces – Nia Jax & Lash Legend (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. The Bella Twins – Nikki & Brie Bella vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
- Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu (Match Will Also Air On ESPN 2 In First Hour)
- LA Knight and The Usos – Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Vision – Logan Paul & Austin Theory and IShowSpeed (Match Will Also Air On ESPN 2 In First Hour)
Sunday, April 19 Matches
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
- WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- United States Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams
- “Demon” Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Penta (c) vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. Rusev vs. JD McDonagh vs. Rey Mysterio (Match Will Also Air On ESPN In First Hour)
- Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar (Match Will Also Air On ESPN In First Hour)
WrestleMania 42 will STREAM LIVE Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.
