WWE News: The Story Behind AJ Lee Retiring — What Led To Her Abrupt Departure?


AJ Lee — who was one of the most popular female wrestlers in WWE — announced her retirement from professional wrestling last week. There has been a lot of speculation about what led to her abrupt departure from the company, and according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, it really boils down to one thing.

This past February, WWE ringside physician Dr. Chris Amann sued AJ’s husband, CM Punk, for the comments he made about WWE’s medical staff — specifically Dr. Amann — on Colt Cabana’s podcast back in November, and unsurprisingly WWE is backing up Dr. Amann in the lawsuit against Punk. When the lawsuit became public knowledge, AJ was at home recovering from a neck injury. AJ returned to WWE a little over two weeks after the lawsuit was made public to begin building up a feud with the Bella Twins that would culminate at WrestleMania, and just four days after the match, AJ announced her retirement from WWE.

Apparently, AJ didn’t give WWE much of a heads up, and her retirement was rather abrupt, hence why she wasn’t constantly getting beat on her way out. It doesn’t seem like there’s any heat towards AJ on WWE’s part, but, AJ’s departure from WWE was mostly due to the fact that WWE was supporting Dr. Amann in a lawsuit against her husband.

It also appears that AJ had a ton of heat with most of the female wrestlers on WWE’s roster because of her acceptance speech when the fans voted her “Diva of the Year.” In the speech, AJ mentioned that she hoped next year’s “Diva of the Year” award winner would be someone like Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Emma, or Paige, which wasn’t scripted into her speech.

As of right now, AJ can’t wrestle anywhere else, and it’s doubtful that she even wants to at this point. During a UFC fan Q&A, AJ’s husband, CM Punk, said that he could see his wife making the transition into MMA, although not many people expect that to happen. It’s likely that AJ won’t be returning to WWE until the relationship between WWE and her husband is repaired, which may never happen.

AJ, 28, was only on WWE’s main roster for a little under four years, and her biggest achievement in WWE was being the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion in history, holding the title for 295 days.

[Image via Jonathan Bachman / AP Images]

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