Why Nic Nemeth Says WWE Fans May Want CM Punk Paired With Someone Other Than AJ Lee

While it seemed likely that AJ Lee would return to side with CM Punk in his battle against Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins, wrestling fans still took note of other potential candidates, such as Bayley, Roxanne Perez, and Rhea Ripley, the latter of whom appeared in a backstage segment with "The Second City Saint" on "WWE Raw." On "Busted Open Radio," former WWE star Nic Nemeth recognized that a portion of the WWE Universe may actually prefer an alternative option, rather than Lee.

"If you're somewhat our age and you listen to the show, which is a lot of people, you know the story, you know the lore, you know the AJ, you're probably doing the chants at home. If you're someone who has joined the WWE fanbase in the last ten years, you do not know who AJ is," Nemeth said. "You do not know what she did the years before that. You're like 'Someone from ten years ago that was somebody's girlfriend at the time, how does that matter?' So remember, there's going to be a huge fan base out there that aren't the sickos, the smart marks, and the 45 year olds who know all that lore. They're gonna be like, 'Oh, my God, are you kidding me? This is obviously set up to be that way.'"

For WWE fans that came aboard in the years following Lee's retirement in 2015, Nemeth believes they are more inclined to default to current stars such as  Ripley, who is among the most popular names in the company and a former world champion, like Punk. Moreover, Punk and Ripley both have connections to rock music. However it shook out, Nemeth emphasized that the preferences of both subgroups are valid.

Ultimately, it was Lee who emerged as the leveler for Punk, with the two now reportedly set to face Lynch and Rollins at WWE Wrestlepalooza on September 20.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.