AJ Lee made the most of her skills on the microphone.
AJ Lee was one of the top stars of the Divas era of WWE's women's division. Presenting a contrast to the superstars that were also within the company of the time, AJ believes that she connected with the audience due to her relatable character.
AJ was also one of the few women during her time with WWE that was given a significant amount of time on the microphone and allowed to interact with not only her fellow Divas but many of the top male Superstars as well.
Speaking on State of Mind with Maurice Benard, AJ reveals that she believes she was going to be hired in a training capacity and help coach other women that had more of the “traditional WWE look,” but her promo ability earned her a contract.
“Yeah. I mean, especially when I started, it was like, the prototype was Pamela Anderson. That’s what the women looked like, or familiar with Chyna? It was like you had to be an Amazon woman or a sexpot, and I'm neither. I also paid to try out, which is such a gimmick, but it worked. I got hired. I don't think it was supposed to. I don't think I was supposed to succeed. I think I was, you know, good in the ring, and I was supposed to train other girls that were way hotter to go to TV, and then I just got really lucky where I got popular with the fans.”
She continued, “It was the first day, they called me into the — there were like three rings in three rooms and we're running spots, and I can run a spot. I am fine in the ring. But they called me into one of the rooms. They're like, ‘Cut a promo’. I was like, ‘I thought we were doing that on Wednesday?’ They're like, ‘Cut a promo right now on the spot. You just have to make it up.’ I didn't have anything planned. so I was just like — I went into a heel character, like the bad guy character. I was just a dick, and it worked. That's my natural instinct. So that was kind of what got me over with the fans was I looked like them and this is the first time they could see themselves represented on screen. Just like, I was like an average chick. I was like, a fan could make it into the ring. That connected us.”
Now, AJ Lee will be returning to wrestling as part of WOW Superheroes when they re-launch next year.
Elsewhere in this interview, AJ opens up about her struggles with mental health and a particularly low point in her life that inspired her to become a mental health advocate. Learn more here.
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