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AJ Lee’s Historic WWE Rival’s Wholesome Reaction To Her Return

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Sep 06, 2025 14:21 EDT
AJ Lee WWE SmackDown

AJ Lee’s first return to WWE in more than a decade gained massive traction online.

The former Divas Champion had called the curtains on her in-ring career in April 2015. She cited permanent damage to her cervical spine as one of the reasons behind her decision.

Since then, she has become a non-fiction author, and even co-wrote a movie and a story in the inaugural issue of DC Comics’ Wonder Woman: Black and Gold anthology miniseries.

AJ Lee also serves as an ambassador for various institutions that work towards mental awareness and animal welfare.

Speculations about her return to the promotion gained weight after the September 1 RAW episode when her husband and WWE star, CM Punk, was confronted in the ring by Becky Lynch.

The Women’s Intercontinental Champion not only engaged in a verbal duel with The Second City Saint, but also slapped him numerous times.

Lynch repeated her act on the September 5 episode of SmackDown, but this time around, he had backup.

Saraya Reacts To AJ Lee’s WWE Return

Saraya, who wrestled under the name Paige in WWE, has a storied rivalry with AJ Lee.

During Saraya’s in-ring debut in 2014, Lee was the Divas Champion, who saw the newbie as a threat and challenged her to an impromptu match.

In a shocking turn of events, Saraya won the match to become the new champion.

Lee took time off to recuperate from a neck injury. By this time, the British star had turned heel.

When AJ Lee returned after a couple of months, she challenged Saraya for the belt and retained it. Their feud continued till October that year.

The two wrestlers would even team up in 2015 against the Bella Twins, putting aside their past differences.

The former AEW star took to X to express her happiness at Lee’s return to WWE and shared a wholehearted message.

Also read a few backstage stories about AJ Lee here.