AJ Lee is set to make her return to a WWE ring for the first time in over a decade this Saturday at Wrestlepalooza, and she has now revealed the key factors that lured her out of retirement. In a recent appearance on ESPN, Lee discussed her decision-making process, citing the challenge of WWE’s new chapter on the ESPN platform and the prospect of facing Becky Lynch as the primary motivators.
Lee will team with her husband, CM Punk, to take on the married couple of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch in a mixed tag team match. This will be her first official match since she retired from professional wrestling in April 2015. During the interview, Lee explained that while the idea of a return had been floated for a few years, it took a unique and compelling opportunity to convince her to step back into the squared circle.
“It’s sort of been something that was in the air for the past couple of years as an option. However, when I retired, I was very comfortable staying retired, and I felt very complete in my career,” Lee said. “For me to embark on a new journey, it has to feel brand new and feel like I’m needed and exciting and kind of scary. Starting this new chapter on ESPN feels like a whole new mountain the company needs to climb, and I was flattered that they believed that I could help draw eyeballs in that way”.
Beyond the significance of the event, Lee pointed to one of her opponents as a major reason for her return. The opportunity to face Becky Lynch, one of the top stars of the current generation, was a challenge she found exciting. “Also, Becky is very interesting to me. I think she’s wonderful in the ring and we have a lot of similarities. She would not be an easy person to get back in the ring with. That was exciting,” she said.
After retiring, Lee had largely remained out of the wrestling spotlight, aside from a brief period serving as an executive producer and color commentator for WOW Women of Wrestling. Prior to her retirement, AJ Lee was one of the most popular and influential female performers in WWE.