Where Has AJ Lee Been Since She Left WWE?

The return of former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee is the talk of the professional wrestling world right now after rumors turned into reports of her return to WWE, a company she left more than a decade ago. Lee is married to CM Punk, who returned to the company himself at Survivor Series 2023 after walking out in 2014, leading to his wife's departure the following year. Punk's feud with current World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and now, his wife, Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, has WWE fans awaiting the arrival of Lee.

Punk further fueled those rumors on "WWE Raw" following Clash in Paris when he told Lynch, who repeatedly slapped him in the face after hitting him with a low blow at the premium live event, that she would be "sorry she ever put her hands on him." At the PLE, Punk also gestured to a fan in the crowd with a sign asking for the return of his wife to the ring. Punk asked "Raw" General Manager Adam Pearce where "WWE SmackDown" would be taking place on Friday, and coincidentally, the blue brand will emanate from Chicago, Illinois, where Punk and Lee reside. 

The husband and wife duo are reportedly set to take on Rollins and Lynch at Wrestlepalooza, WWE's first PLE on ESPN's new streaming service, and WWE's own Shop possibly spoiled the return. In a possible automated response to a fan, the WWEShop account on X, in a since-deleted post, replied to a fan and said they intend to have Lee's merchandise available for purchase by Wrestlepalooza.

Lee hasn't been idle since retiring from WWE in 2015, however. She is a successful comic book writer and has even broke into the acting world alongside her husband. She was such a beloved trailblazer in her time in WWE, fans are hanging on to every rumor and hint they can get about the star's return.

Lee got her start in wrestling in March 2007 when she started training in her hometown of Union City, New Jersey with Jay Lethal. By May 2009, she was signed with WWE and trained in Florida Championship Wrestling before taking part in "WWE NXT" season three in September 2010, back when the developmental brand was still run like a reality show. She debuted on the main roster alongside Kaitlyn in May 2011 as "The Chickbusters" tag team.

She was wrestling in WWE before the Women's Revolution, and her work in the company is often cited as to what helped kick off the movement. Because of the time period in which she wrestled, Lee was more often than not featuring in romantic storylines. Her character in the ring had a relationship with Daniel Bryan, whom she almost married in a wrestling wedding, as well as Kane, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, and Punk, who she would actually go on to marry in real life in 2014. Lee even served as the general manager of "Raw," in storyline, for a time. Outside of the relationship arcs, she also feuded with the cast of "Total Divas," including the Bella Twins, back when the E! Network reality show was gaining popularity amongst mainstream media.

Lee held the Divas Championship three times, and was the longest reigning champion in history to hold the buttery belt until Nikki Bella broke the record. She defended the title at WrestleMania 30 in a 14-woman match, the first time the Divas title had been defended at 'Mania. 

In February 2015, Lee began speaking out against WWE's treatment of its female stars. She said they only received a fraction of the wages that the men made. Her public remarks were acknowledged by then-WWE chairman Vince McMahon. He thanked her for her public statements, and two months later, Lee officially retired from WWE following WrestleMania 31.

Lee's final match came on March 30, 2015 in a six-woman tag team match on "Raw." She teamed alongside Naomi and Paige in a victory over Natalya and the Bellas Twins. Her retirement from the ring was announced by WWE on April 3. Lee didn't receive an official send-off, rather WWE posted a statement to X (then known as Twitter) and wished her "the very best." The former Divas Champion revealed in her memoir "Crazy is my Superpower" that she suffered damage to her cervical spine and her neck injury was what truly ended her career.

However, the issues between her husband and WWE contributed greatly to her departure. Punk walked out of WWE in January 2014 and would later reveal on his now-infamous "Art of Wrestling" podcast episode alongside Colt Cabana that it was for a variety of reasons, including what he alleged was medical negligence that was causing him serious health issues, including a misdiagnosed staph infection. During the podcast, Punk spoke about how disillusioned he had become with the professional wrestling world. He also revealed that WWE, seemingly purposefully, mailed him paperwork to fire him, via FedEx, that arrived on their wedding day.

Following their wedding in June 2014, Lee would remain with WWE for almost another year. She would be subjected to "CM Punk" chants while in the ring, but those not following the Punk drama online would never be able to tell anything was going on with the couple and WWE behind the scenes, as Lee was still being booked consistently.

In a recent report by Fightful Select regarding her return to the company, the outlet reported Lee still had "pleasant exchanges" with WWE over the years. Her husband also recently revealed that there were talks between himself and WWE regarding a return over the years, prior to his signing with AEW.

After retiring from the professional wrestling world in April 2015, Lee's first venture was to write her memoir. "Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules" was published April 7, 2017, almost two years to the day after she unceremoniously left WWE. In the book, Lee outlined her struggles in both her early life growing up and with her mental health. Lee was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition her mother also suffered from, at the age of 20 after a suicide attempt, after previously being misdiagnosed with depression. Lee has often credited her condition for giving her the strength to achieve her goals both in and out of the ring, thus, the title of her book.

WWE fans bought the former Divas Champion's memoir, her debut as a writer, in droves. "Crazy Is My Superpower" debuted on The New York Times Best Seller List at #10 for hardcover non-fiction. Following the release of the book, Lee also began to speak out louder regarding mental health issues, and spoke more openly about her own struggles.

In 2021 on "State of Mind with Maurice Bernard," she talked about her struggles with suicidal ideation and spoke about the time she went as far to book a hotel room to die in, as she didn't want her husband to find her. She explained that no one knew her struggles while she was a champion on television, and that's why she became a mental health advocate and wrote her book. Lee has supported the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and was awarded with their Multicultural Outreach Award in 2018.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, NAMI's helpline for confidential support and information can be reached at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).

Outside of the ring, Lee has found the most success as a writer. After hitting the New York Times Bestseller List with "Crazy is my Superpower," she moved on to writing comic books, writing under her real name of AJ Mendez. She formed a writing partnership with actress Aimee Garcia in 2019 and the women were first published that November with their series "GLOW vs. The Babyface," based on a television series. The comic series ran for four issues and was published by IDW Publishing. In 2020, the women created Scrappy Heart Productions, their production company dedicated to elevating diverse voices and writers through storytelling.

The women also published a four-issue limited series "At the Spine of the World," a Dungeons & Dragons comic that was published by IDW in November 2020. In June 2021, Lee broke into the DC Universe when she wrote a story published in the first issue of "Wonder Woman: Black and Gold." The mini-series celebrated the character's 80th anniversary.

She branched out from comics in 2022 when she co-wrote a screenplay alongside John Swetman for a Netflix film titled "Blade of the 47 Ronin," a sequel to "47 Ronin." The film was so successful on Netflix that it was revealed a third is in development, though it's not yet known if Lee will be writing the screenplay.

Lee's most recently released "Day of the Dead Girl" alongside Garcia, with artist Belén Culebras. The story follows a coroner who moves back to her hometown, just as a supernatural serial killer begins to target the city. The coroner and her super-spiritual mother have to work to save the town's Dia de los Muertos celebration. The stories' four issues were published a hardback book in April 2025.

Lee's career in movies and television shows didn't just stop at her successful "Blade of the 47 Ronin" screenplay. She has also forayed into the world of Hollywood with a few roles in movies and television since her departure from WWE. In 2019, she appeared in "Rabid," a body horror film remake that also starred her husband. Lee played a character named Kira, a model seen talking to the one of the main characters of the film during a fashion show.

Lee also joined "Heels" during its second season, another project that also involved Punk, in a recurring role as Elle Dorado. The Starz series was about a professional wrestling promotion in small town Georgia and also starred Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig. "Heels" was cancelled following the second season, but fans have been clamoring for its return ever since.

Lee most recently starred in "Sacramento," a road comedy film starring Michael Cera and Kristen Stewart. The film was released in the United States in April 2025 after debuting at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. She also has an executive producer credit on a short film titled "Aimee Comes First," described as a coming-of-age story, released in June 2025. The film was directed and written by Garcia, Lee's production company partner.

Lee's return to wrestling, albeit, not in the ring herself, came in October 2021, over six years after she retired from the business. Lee joined WOW: Women of Wrestling, when the promotion ramped back up following pandemic closures. In addition to Lee getting on board, the promotion was then best known amongst more mainstream audiences due to the appearance of controversial figure and former TNA Champion Tessa Blanchard, who was initially meant to lead the promotion before the bullying and racism allegations against her.

The former Divas Champion signed on as an executive producer alongside Jeanie Buss, a sports executive and president of the Los Angeles Lakers. The announcement of Lee joining the company coincided with the announcement that WOW would be entering a multi-year distribution agreement with ViacomCBS. The agreement stated that WOW would launch in weekend syndication starting in the fall of 2022 across 160 markets globally, with 70% of those markets in the United States.

Lee was on color commentary for the weekly syndicated shows starting in September 2022. Prior to the promotion's relaunch, she said on Freddie Prinze Jr.'s "Wrestling with Freddie" podcast that she was inspired to get on board because of the idea that women were working in WOW in every capacity, both in front and behind the camera. She told Prinze that she never stopped loving wrestling, and the WOW opportunity was the "perfect way to rejoin the world of wrestling."

She announced she would be leaving WOW in August 2023 after the expiration of her contract.

Lee's career was only briefly linked with her husband's during a romantic angle in 2012 in a love triangle involving Daniel Bryan, but as a married couple, they obviously weren't involved in any storylines together, as Punk walked out of WWE well before their nuptials. Rumors about Lee returning to WWE came shortly after Punk's shock return to the company; her name was also brought up numerous times during his feud with Drew McIntyre.

Throughout the feud, McIntyre and Punk fought about a friendship bracelet bearing Lee's name, as well as the name of the couple's dog, Larry, that Punk had been gifted by a fan at a signing. It was somewhat shocking to fans, as WWE hadn't mentioned the former Divas Champion on television in ages.

McIntyre stole the bracelet, and for what felt like a very long time, it seemed to be the center of their feud. The bracelet got so popular that WWEShop attempted to sell it complete with beads spelling out "Larry" and "AJ," despite not getting approval from the fan who made it, and changes were made before the company put it back up for sale online. McIntyre broke the beloved bracelet on a September 2024 episode of "Raw" ahead of his Hell in a Cell match with Punk. Their feud continued, but rumors of a Lee appearance died down. Lee herself didn't address the rumors publicly or on social media at the time, likely choosing not to fuel speculation about a potential return to the company that just wasn't going to happen at the time.

Many female wrestlers who came up in WWE during the Women's Revolution and beyond credit Lee for getting them interested in professional wrestling, and her return to WWE would mean a lot to both fans and some of the women still wrestling in WWE today. Both Punk and Lee joke about former NXT Women's Champion "The Prodigy" Roxanne Perez being "their daughter." Lee recently posted "my daughter has never done a single thing wrong in her entire life" as a response to Perez, who quote-posted a video of herself hitting her Pop Rox on Punk during WWE's European tour. Perez is one WWE talent close to Lee who has championed for her return to the ring and has called Lee "her dream match."

Bayley had one singles match with Lee on an August 2013 episode of "NXT," with Lee defeating "The Hugger" to retain the Divas Championship. Bayley posted to X (then known as Twitter) in August 2022, marking the anniversary of the bout and called it "love at first match." Lee responded that she had been "obsessed" with Bayley ever since. Bayley spoke on WWE's "After the Bell" back in March 2021 and said that Lee "changed her life" after telling her it was okay to be herself. Bayley said the way Lee was unapologetically herself inspired so many other girls and women.

Other stars, like Elayna Black, the former Cora Jade in "NXT," WWE ID prospect Zayda Steele, independent star Riley Matthews, and AEW's Julia Hart have all cited Lee's work in the ring as to what inspired them to get into the professional wrestling world.

According to reports, Lee's tag team match with her husband at Wrestlepalooza may not be a one-off. Lee could very well mix it up in the ring with the likes of her "daughter" Perez and other young stars if she choses to have another run in WWE.