AJ Lee is not saying no. She is saying she needs a reason.
Lee has not been on WWE television since losing the Women’s Intercontinental Championship back to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 42 in April. Asked about her in-ring future on Mind Over Mountain with Cheryl Strayed, she left the door open.
We’ll see. There was a piece of me where I was just like, ‘I just need a little time.’ When I did, I was like, ‘I’m still kind of killing it.’ I’m confident in what I can bring, but I feel like I’m also story-driven.
If there is a story there, that’s going to be the thing that excites me. If it’s something new that I haven’t done and feels like breaking ground, that is what is interesting to me. We’ll see. I’m going to keep writing, working out, and staying ready.
She applied the same standard to coming back the first time. Lee said in the same conversation that she had treated wrestling as a closed chapter, comparing it to her high school getting a sports field the year after she graduated. Then WWE called, and her read on the timing was practical.
I guess the story was there. My business sense says there was a new TV show that they needed to promote, a new relationship with ESPN.
The run itself was short and busy. Lee returned on September 5, 2025, on SmackDown after a decade away, worked the women’s WarGames match at Survivor Series, took the Women’s Intercontinental Championship from Lynch at Elimination Chamber in February, and dropped it back to her at WrestleMania 42.
WWE never framed that as a retirement match. Fightful Select reported last month that the people it spoke to believe Lee has not had her last match, and that there are no current plans for her.
Fightful transcribed the interview and Fightful Select has further reporting on her status. Support their work here.
