Former WWE Star AJ Lee Reiterates That She's Retired From Wrestling

A.J. Mendez (known as A.J. Lee in WWE) has spent some of this week showing off her new physique on Instagram, talking about her newfound fitness routine, and taking diet culture to task. But if you're thinking that means she's about to step back inside a wrestling ring, think again. Sharing a few more photos from a recent shoot Thursday, Mendez simply captioned the post with "retired athlete."

Mendez, who has been married to AEW's CM Punk since 2014, last wrestled in March 2015, teaming with Paige (AEW's Saraya) and Naomi (Impact's Trinity Fatu) to defeat Natalya and The Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki Garcia). As it happens, of the stars involved in her last WWE match, only Natalya remains with the company today.

During her six years with WWE, including her two years in developmental between Florida Championship Wrestling and "NXT," Mendez became a three-time FCW Divas Champion as well as a three-time Divas Champion on the main roster. She retired in April 2015, eventually citing permanent damage to her cervical spine. In the years since Mendez has written a book titled "Crazy Is My Superpower," which ultimately became a New York Times bestseller. She also began working with Women of Wrestling in 2021, both as an executive producer and color commentator.

And while she's potentially teased a return with the old adage of "Never say never" back in 2019, she seemed to throw cold water on that idea entirely in 2022 when discussing her late-career injury, saying, "I'm going to keep it feeling great by not wrestling."