WWE News: AJ Lee Retires From WWE
In a shocking announcement just made by WWE, the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion in history, AJ Lee, has retired from WWE. There haven’t been any further details as to why AJ has decided to hang it up, but WWE issued a statement that can be seen below.
“BREAKING: AJ Lee (April Mendez) has decided to retire from in-ring competition with WWE. We wish AJ the very best”
There were rumors of AJ leaving WWE shortly after her husband CM Punk did Colt Cabana’s podcast back in November. After she was defeated by Nikki Bella at WWE TLC back in December, most people assumed that she was on her way out of the company.
Before AJ took several months off starting last December, it was reported that she as working with an injury, so her retirement could be injury-related. However, most people will assume it’s because she has heat with WWE because she’s CM Punk’s wife.
AJ was the best all-around female wrestler that WWE had, and there weren’t any hints that she was ready to retire after she made her return last month. Furthermore, most people will assume that she quit due to WWE abruptly making this announcement, instead of AJ making the announcement herself on either RAW or SmackDown.
AJ missed several months of action due to injury, but made her return early last month in her home state of New Jersey. As mentioned earlier, her retirement could be injury-related, but it could also be contract-related, as it’s possible that her WWE contract came to an end this week, and she wasn’t interested in re-signing with the company.
As for what’s next for AJ, nobody knows. At UFC fan Q&A, CM Punk said that it’s possible that his wife could make the transition to MMA, but most people don’t expect that to happen. It’s also unlikely that she’ll be wrestling any time soon, if ever again.
AJ is just one year removed from becoming the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion in history, which headlines her accomplishments in WWE. She was the top WWE Diva in the company over the past several years, so her surprise retirement will definitely be a huge hit to the entire division, and unfortunately, the fans won’t get the dream match between herself and Stephanie McMahon.
Unfortunately for now, everybody is speculating about the real reason behind AJ’s retirement, but more details will come out in the very near future, and the Inquisitr will be the first to update you when they do.
[Image via WWE]
