AJ Lee Details Why She Returned To WWE, Says Her Mental Health Was Prioritized

After a decade away from the sport, AJ Lee made her return to wrestling in August 2025, aligning with her husband, CM Punk, against Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.

Lee’s return had been discussed since Punk made his return two years prior, but it didn’t become a reality until SmackDown in Chicago.

Speaking on Mind Over Mountain with Cheryl Strayed, AJ detailed what made her want to return to wrestling after walking away ten years earlier.

“I always use the analogy that I went to this really poor high school and we didn’t even have a field for sports. We had to go borrow other schools’ fields for games. I graduated and a year later they got a field. I never thought, ‘I’m gonna be a fifth-year senior and enjoy this field.’ No, my time passed and I hope these kids enjoy this extra wonderful thing that they have. That’s how I always thought about wrestling. ‘I didn’t get it, but I’m so happy that I could do anything in the fight for you to get that one day.’ I didn’t think of it in terms of me at all. Then, they called,” she said.

Asked what the conversation was about, AJ replied, “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. I’ve always been a character who has delivered very high ratings and merchandise sales. There is a reliability to this character, and God bless my fans. In any business I’ve gone to, they’ve followed me and supported me consistently. That’s never wavered. I think they knew I would bring that support to this event that needed more eyeballs. The story was there.”

Asked if she immediately said yes, she replied, “I took a second. I took a minute. It wasn’t for me at first. I felt like I had such a wonderful career and I didn’t want to mess with that. I didn’t think that they needed me. It was kind of a ‘no’ for a while. I do remember that I had dental surgery and I got a call and I was like, ‘How high am I? I’ve been gone for ten years.’ It was a weirdly bizarre time. The more I talked to them…the biggest hesitation on my part was my mental health was so bad that last year. I was really afraid of backsliding because I had done ten years of work to get myself healthy and be happy in life. Coming from a place of not having a list of things to check off and I wasn’t desperate for it, it was coming from a place that I’m so complete, whole, and happy. It was actually the perfect headspace to go in and feel healthy and safe. They very much told me that my mental health was going to be a priority.”

AJ would win the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship during her second run with the company.

She hasn’t wrestled since losing the title to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 42. Fans can read her comments on her future by clicking here.

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