Why Ex-Champion Was Surprised By AJ Lee’s WWE Return After 10 Years
The WWE return of AJ Lee surprised another former women’s wrestler who no longer works for the company.
AJ Lee officially returned to WWE on SmackDown in Chicago, which is where she lives with her WWE superstar husband, CM Punk.
When AJ Lee appeared on Raw, she did a promo talking about her time away over the last ten years and how she had a mental health journey. She even spoke about how therapy had helped her, which led to the odd “Therapy” chant on Raw, showing that the fans are strongly behind the popular former WWE Women’s Champion.
The first WWE run of AJ Lee was from 2009 to 2015, with her main roster run lasting for about four years. Mandy Rose started in WWE on Tough Enough in 2015, so the two women never crossed paths.
While speaking on her Power Alphas podcast, former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose talked about how she was surprised that Lee returned to WWE just because of how long Lee was away from the company.
“I was actually kinda surprised when she came back, to be honest. Because it’s been so long, she looked the exact same, she looked great. She is a very…like…her personality and brand of who she is, fans love her. I don’t know if you saw but the reaction she got was insane. And then it was good, she went back in the ring and got a little more out of it, which is good.
Apparently they signed a long term deal with WWE so I guess she’s staying, so it won’t be a couple of one-offs.”
The part about a long-term deal with WWE is true, although the length of the agreement was not released. WWE did post footage of Lee signing her contract with Triple H on hand to sign it as well.
AJ Lee Teaming Up With CM Punk At Wrestlepalooza
During AJ Lee’s Raw appearance, it was made official for Wrestlepalooza on September 20th: AJ Lee will team up with her husband, CM Punk, against Becky Lynch and her husband, Seth Rollins. Lynch is the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion while Rollins is the World Heavyweight Champion.
Here’s how the Wrestlepalooza lineup looks right now, just one week away from the PLE on September 20th.
- John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
- CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch
- WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre
- For the Vacant Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Iyo Sky
- The Usos – Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker
You can watch Wrestlepalooza, streaming LIVE Saturday, September 20, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and on Netflix everywhere else.
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