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What Former WWE Champion Told AJ Lee Prior To Returning

By John Canton • Published Dec 03, 2025 19:01 EST

A WWE friend of AJ Lee told the former Divas Champion that the company has an incredible locker room.

AJ Lee is 2-0 since coming back to WWE. After a decade away from the company, the former Divas Champion won her return match at Wrestlepalooza with her husband CM Punk in a tag team match over Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.

At Survivor Series, AJ Lee teamed up with Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss and Iyo Sky – all of whom are former Women’s Champions like Lee – and they dominated the Women’s WarGames match. Lee got the win for her team when she made Becky Lynch tap out to the Black Widow.

While Lee is married to WWE superstar CM Punk, she is also close friends with former Women’s and Women’s Tag Team Champion Bayley.

During an appearance on The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast, Bayley spoke about her friendship with Lee.

“I was very excited. It’s one of those things where, obviously as a fan, I wasn’t as young as, I always bring up Roxanne, Roxanne, where she literally grew up watching her and idolising her. I was lucky enough in NXT, when AJ was the Diva’s Champion. I got to work with AJ in a match.
“When she retired, she wore my shirt in her retirement match. We didn’t even know that was her retirement match, then she ended up retiring that week and I was like so confused.
“Throughout the years she’s been gone we have kept in touch, we would meet up for coffee whenever we can so I’ve seen her throughout the years, and Punk too, and we maintained that friendship.
“So her coming back was like, obviously huge for the industry, but I was just excited for my friend to come back, and now being close with Punk as he’s been there, like I needed to be there, for her.”

Bayley Let AJ Lee Know About The Women’s Locker Room

Since Bayley has been on the WWE main roster for the past decade, she is one of the leaders in the women’s locker room, and she revealed what she told Lee about the women in the company.

“Now talking to the girls in the locker room, and their excitement is just wild, and I talked to her, ‘Just want you to know the locker room is incredible. We are all such good friends and everybody has each other’s backs, and like 75% of these girls wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t, because they looked up to you, but you made us seem acceptable in this business, I just want you to be happy while you’re here.’
“But we were talking the other day like, the fact that you want to come back here says a lot about what we’ve been doing these last few years, because you wouldn’t come back if the division didn’t seem stacked or competitive or passionate or going places or main eventing WrestleManias, I want to give the girls credit too. You want to come back, of course we want you here but you wanting to come here shows the division is doing something right.
“Same with Nikki Bella, having Nikki there, she just wrestled Asuka, she wrestled Becky. For her to get in the ring with a whole new generation is just nuts to see, like when would you ever hear that.” (H/T Wrestletalk)