AJ Lee says she would not have returned to WWE without a personal guarantee from the two people running the company. The former Women’s Intercontinental Champion revealed that Nick Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque told her directly that protecting her mental health would be their top priority before she agreed to come back.
Lee discussed her return mindset during an appearance on State Of Mind with Maurice Benard. She described her mental health as her biggest concern heading into the comeback, and credited the company’s leadership for meeting that concern head-on.
“And I will say, to their credit, my biggest concern coming back was my mental health. Nick Khan and Paul Levesque, they’re the bosses that brought me in. They were so open about like, ‘We will protect your mental health, and if we don’t, we’re not doing our job right. That’s going to be our number one priority.’ It was never like that 10 years ago,” Lee said. “I felt like I had to hide that part of me 10 years ago. So for like my bosses to support me in that way, I have to give them all the credit for that.”
AJ Lee On WWE’s Shift In Injury Culture
Lee also contrasted the current WWE environment with the culture she experienced during her first run with the promotion. Back then, she explained, wrestlers hid injuries and competed hurt out of fear they would lose their spot if they took time off.
“But a lot of the culture when I was younger was you just keep going because it’s going to keep going without you. So if you’re injured, you just kind of fake it, and say you’re fine and keep going injured. It’s not cool, but it’s very much not that now, which I was really happy to see,” Lee said.
She added that the conversation today centers on how a performer is feeling, with room to take time off and spend more time with family.
Asked about injuries from her earlier career, Lee said she considers herself lucky to have avoided surgery for wrestling-related issues. She noted she had been advised to undergo procedures, including for her neck, along with some strains and minor tears, but had not gone through with them.
Lee previously detailed the mental and emotional tools that made her WWE return work, a thread these latest comments build on with named executive support behind the scenes.