Welcome to the Deep Dive. We are your guides,
taking a stack of sources, research, and analysis
to give you the most important nuggets of knowledge
you need, complete with surprising facts and
context. Today, we're immersing ourselves in
the extraordinary trajectory of April Jeanette
Mendez, known professionally across the globe
as A .J. Lee. Yeah, and this is definitely more
than just a wrestling career we're looking at.
It's really a study in harnessing adversity,
wouldn't you say? Absolutely. Our sources reveal
a woman who faced, I mean, significant battles,
deep poverty, serious mental health struggles.
And instead of letting those things break her,
she systematically used them to craft one of
the most compelling and successful personas in
modern sports entertainment history. Okay, let's
really unpack this journey then. Our mission
here is to trace her path from, like you said,
an incredibly challenging New Jersey childhood
all the way to becoming a record -setting WWE
champion, a New York Times best -selling author,
and, critically, a very vocal mental health advocate.
We're really looking at how the truth of her
life became the ultimate fuel for her performance.
Exactly. And the hook here, I think, is twofold.
And it really defines the entire narrative we're
going to explore. First, we need to understand
the intense, often uncomfortable authenticity
of her onscreen character, that whole mentally
unstable gimmick. Right. And how that related
directly to her real life bipolar disorder diagnosis,
which is a connection WWE wasn't even aware of
initially, believe it or not. Wow. OK. And second,
we absolutely have to dissect the enormous story.
of her highly publicized return to WWE just now
in September 2025. Yeah, after 10 years away.
Over 10 years. And immediately injecting herself
into, well, arguably the most personal drama.
Currently rocking the company. It's huge. So
to really understand the drive, you absolutely
have to understand the starting line. April Jeanette
Mendez, born March 19, 1987, Union City, New
Jersey. She's of Puerto Rican descent. And what
our sources paint is just this picture of persistent
kind of grinding instability in her formative
years. That's right. And the instability wasn't
just, you know, occasional. It was systemic.
Her father, he was an automotive engineer, and
her mother worked as a homemaker before becoming
a home health aide. But the family... constantly
struggled with financial insecurity. Right. And
Mendez spoke very openly about the frequent presence
of mental illness, which her mother also suffered
from, and drug addiction within the family unit.
So this created a highly volatile environment.
The accounts of their housing situation are particularly
striking. She detailed frequently moving, sometimes
living in cheap motels, or at the most desperate
times, actually sleeping in the family car because
they just couldn't afford consistent rent. Imagine
that. When you talk about the foundation of ambition,
that kind of experience, that constant state
of precarity, that must have been the ultimate
motivator, right? It absolutely was. Her aspiration
to become a professional wrestler, which cemented
itself at the surprisingly young age of 12. Yeah,
it wasn't just a fantasy. It was like an escape
plan. It was a tangible career path that promised
stability, security, and a paycheck large enough
to ensure she would never be homeless again.
OK. She was inspired by her older brother's deep
interest in WWE and specifically by female wrestlers
like Lita, who, you know, combine that athleticism
with a really unique personality. That desire
for security really explains why her educational
journey was kind of cut short by pragmatic necessity.
She graduated from Memorial High School in West
New York, New Jersey, back in 2005. And initially
she aimed high. attended NYU's prestigious Tisch
School of the Arts, majoring in film and television
production. Which is incredible. But she was
at Tisch for only six months. Six months. Wow.
Yeah, she dropped out because the financial and
family pressures were just too overwhelming.
And what did she do immediately after dropping
out? She started working full time. Right. Not
saving for typical college stuff. No, no. She
wasn't saving for frivolous purchases or, you
know, typical college age fun. She was working
specifically. deliberately to save the money
required to afford professional wrestling training.
That's commitment. That choice NYU dreams versus
the wrestling grind. It tells you everything
about her commitment to that singular goal of
escaping poverty. And as a small detail, just
linking back to those early family influences,
our sources note that as an homage to her brother
who served in the U .S. Army, she occasionally
incorporated camouflage attire into her wrestling
gear, kind of maintaining that connection to
her roots despite the chaotic upbringing. It's
those little personal details that really anchor
the persona, you know. But the most critical
piece of her early history, the one that became
her most powerful tool for self -understanding
and performance. That was the mental health diagnosis.
Right. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
around age 20, a condition she actually shared
with her mother. But the path to that correct
diagnosis was incredibly difficult, wasn't it?
Oh, it was dangerous. She'd previously been misdiagnosed
with depression. And the treatment based on that
misdiagnosis had profoundly adverse effects.
She later recounted this period, detailing an
overdose on antidepressants and painkillers,
which she openly acknowledged was a suicide attempt.
Wow. That's incredibly dark. It is. But this
dark moment, however, became the turning point.
How did that crisis ultimately inform her career?
Because that's a huge thing to overcome. Well,
the crisis forced her to seek proper help, which
led to the correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
And this diagnosis, rather than being, you know,
a stigma or a secret she had to hide, it became
the source of her self -acceptance and ultimately
her strength. She credits the clarity and understanding
derived from the diagnosis and the subsequent
treatment with giving her the necessary bravery
and perspective to relentlessly pursue and achieve
her incredibly demanding career goals. So that
reframing? Yeah, she famously reframed this adversity,
naming her eventual memoir Crazy Is My Superpower.
She didn't hide the perceived weakness. She kind
of weaponized the authenticity of her experience.
That reframing is so essential because it allows
us to contextualize the wild, unpredictable character
she would eventually become on television. She
had the ambition. She had the financial motivation.
And now she had this powerful internal narrative
to draw from. Exactly. All the pieces were falling
into place. So with her focus crystal clear,
Mendez began the truly anonymous. back -breaking
work of training. She started in March 2007 at
a wrestling school near her home, trained by
the veteran wrestler Jay Lethal. Okay, Jay Lethal.
Big name. Yeah, and this was a direct output
of her working full -time. She had the cash saved
up, and she immediately put it right into her
dream. And by late 2007, she was already performing
on the New Jersey independent circuit as Miss
April. The independent scene. I mean, that's
where you truly cut your teeth, right? Learning
the rhythm and the danger of the ring for like
minimal pay. Absolutely. Gas money gigs, basically.
Yeah. But she quickly rose through the ranks
in those regional promotions. She joined women's
superstars uncensored WSU in October 2008. WSU.
Yeah, that was a key promotion for women's wrestling
at the time. It really was. This wasn't minor
leagues. This was where she could build a reputation
for. seriousness for being good in the ring.
And she achieved meaningful success there pretty
quickly, establishing herself as a credible champion.
She captured the WSU Tag Team Championship in
February 2009 with Brooke Carter. Then just a
couple months later, April 2009, she and her
trainer Jay Lethal won the annual WSU National
Wrestling Superstars King and Queen of the Ring
Tournament. Those are clear markers of readiness.
They're resume builders. Definitely. But the
goal was always the big leagues, right? WWE.
So she paid $1 ,500. $1 ,500. Yeah. And remember,
this is money she earned dropping out of NYU
to work full time. Right, that she scraped together.
Exactly. Paid that just to attend a WWE tryout
camp. And that financial gamble, it paid off.
In May 2009, she signed her contract and reported
immediately to Florida Championship Wrestling,
FCW, which was WWE's developmental territory
back then. Okay, so this is the moment Miss April
officially becomes AJ Lee. She debuted in FCW
that summer, and well, it sounds like she quickly
established herself as a cornerstone of their
women's division. She started accumulating titles
almost immediately. February 2010, she won the
Queen of FCW title. But what's truly significant
about her FCW run is the evolution of her character.
After initially being a face, a good guy. Right.
She began a feud with Naomi Knight over the inaugural
FCW Divas Championship. And during that time,
she adapted. She turned heel to villain for a
period. Interesting. Showing versatility early
on. Very versatile. And then she defeated Naomi
for that FCW Divas Championship in December 2010.
Why was this victory so important in her trajectory?
What did it signify? Well, because it made history
within that developmental system. By winning
the FCW Divas Championship, she became the first
woman ever to win both available women's titles
in FCW, the Queen of FCW title, and the Divas
Championship. It signaled to the corporate office
up in Stanford that she wasn't just, you know,
a developmental body. She was a reliable, title
-winning anchor for the division. And she held
that championship until April 2011. Now, while
she was still technically in FCW, the wider WWE
audience got their first real glimpse of her
via NXT Season 3, right? That started September
2010, back when NXT was structured as that reality
competition show. Yeah, the obstacle courses
and weird challenges format. Exactly. And this
is where the concept of the geek goddess was
truly tested on a mainstream platform. She performed
as a face, drawing directly from her real -life
interests, comic books, anime, video games, to
create this nerd character. Which was pretty
refreshing at the time. Totally. It was genuinely
authentic to her, and it set her apart from the,
well, the traditionally glamorous divas of that
era. During NXT, she also formed that key on
-screen relationship with fellow competitor,
Caitlyn. That friendship, as we'll definitely
see later, became really foundational to her
main roster success, didn't it? Oh, absolutely.
That connection was crucial. Even though she
was eliminated in third place on NXT, her main
roster call -up followed pretty quickly after
that. So her main roster debut on SmackDown in
May 2011 alongside Caitlyn. That was strategic,
that. Very strategic. They were immediately branded
the Chickbusters and mentored by Natalya. Right,
the veteran. Yeah. They were positioned as the
scrappy athletic underdogs, contrasting sharply
with the established, more powerful teams like,
say, Lay Cool or The Divas of Dune later on.
This early struggle defined her initial year,
but crucially, it built that long -term connection
with Caitlyn, that storyline investment that
would pay huge dividends when she eventually
transitioned into her more chaotic persona. So
we see the foundation laid. the economic drive,
the personal authenticity of the geek identity,
and this key long -term friendship established.
Now let's move to the narrative shift that really
changed everything for her. Yeah, this is where
things get really interesting. Okay, so this
period, roughly 2011 to 2013, this is the engine
of her rise. AJ Lee stopped being defined solely
by tag team wrestling with Caitlyn and started
being defined by narrative chaos. She became
this indispensable, emotionally unhinged figure
who could actually cross over into the male main
event scene. Yeah. She was labeled the crazy
chick. And we know now. Based on her memoir,
that while this was a fictional gimmick, it was
definitely informed by her real, at the time
unpublicized, bipolar disorder diagnosis. She
later stated that because of that reality, she
felt she was hiding in plain sight. What did
that intense level of maybe unexpected authenticity
do to her character's reception? How did fans
react? Well, it gave the character stakes. It
felt unpredictable because for the audience,
she wasn't just performing a typical wrestling
trope. She was acting out this. like calculated
instability, her ascent really began with the
Daniel Bryan storyline. Bryan was the villainous
World Heavyweight Champion, and their on -screen
relationship in late 2011 and early 2012 was
defined by his really callous mistreatment of
her. AJ was portrayed as overly devoted despite
his constant scorn. Right, he was just awful
to her. And this storyline culminated in one
of the most famous or infamous and shocking title
losses in WrestleMania history, WrestleMania
28. April 1st, 2012, she insisted on kissing
Bryan right before his match against Sheamus.
In a moment of distraction, however brief it
seemed, it was fatal. Bryan lost the World Heavyweight
Championship to Sheamus in a staggering 18 seconds.
18 seconds. Unbelievable. And Bryan, the villain.
immediately blamed AJ Lee and ended the relationship
right there in the ring, basically. The subsequent
weeks of her trying to reconcile and being just
cruelly rejected were absolutely crucial. Why
crucial? They pushed her over that narrative
edge. She started lashing out not just at Brian,
but at her friends, Caitlin and Natalia. This
solidified the unstable, heel -leaning character.
She had, you know, seemingly nothing left to
lose. And she didn't exactly mourn for long,
did she? She quickly transitioned her chaotic
affections towards Bryan's rival, the WWE champion
CM Punk, and also towards Kane. Yeah, Kane too.
Yeah. The narrative shifted from just being the
heartbroken ex -girlfriend to being this agent
of disruption. Right. At the No Way Out pay -per
-view in June 2012, she interfered in a triple
threat match involving Punk, Bryan, and Kane.
She distracted Kane, helping Punk retain his
WWE championship. She became the chaotic variable
in every single top tier feud. The drama just
kept escalating. Oh, yeah. It peaked when she
was announced as the special guest referee for
the Pung versus Bryan title match at Money in
the Bank. She was mentally manipulating both
men. I remember this. She even slapped both of
them on raw after Punk rejected her sudden marriage
proposal, which came immediately after Brian
had made a counterproposal. The psychological
warfare was relentless. So at Money in the Bank,
she counted Punk's pinfall on Brian, ensuring
Punk's victory. But the ambiguity of her intentions
left everyone guessing, right? Like whose side
was she really on? Exactly. And the very next
night, Brian proposed again. And this time she
accepted, setting the stage for one of the greatest
acts of televised betrayal in Raw history. The
alter betrayal at Raw 1000. I remember watching
that live. During the exchange of vows, AJ Lee
announced that Vince McMahon had just offered
her the Raw general manager job. She cited that
opportunity as the one true commitment she needed,
and she left Brian literally stranded at the
altar. It was spectacular, just a shocking twist
that launched her into this powerful, albeit
pretty short -lived, authority figure role. Yeah,
her tenure as Raw GM from July to October 2012,
it was defined much more by personal vengeance
than, say, corporate efficiency. She really weaponized
her power, didn't she? Totally. She alleged that
Brian only wanted to marry her so he could commit
her to a mental institution. Wow. And she leveraged
her authority to force him to undergo a televised
psychological evaluation. She also routinely
booked both Brian and Punk in highly unfavorable
matches, using her position purely for emotional
payoff and revenge. It blurred the lines between
character and reality even further because her
actions felt so intensely personal. They really
did. But, you know, power trips rarely last long
in WWE storylines. Her time as GM was curtailed
after only a few months. Why was that? Well,
the storyline reason was she was deemed too childish
and got involved in physical altercations with
other authority figures, specifically Vickie
Guerrero and Paul Heyman. Her emotional instability
was cited as the reason for her abrupt removal.
Okay, so that cleared the way for her most impactful
and sustained heel turn, right? Exactly. She
stepped down amid this manufactured scandal storyline
involving John Cena, an alleged affair, which
she vehemently denied. But the true shift came
at the TLC pay -per -view in December 2012. Ah,
the ladder match. That was the defining moment
of her alliance with Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler was
feuding with Cena over the money in the bank
contract. AJ interfered, pushing Cena off the
ladder, costing him the match, and turning her
into a definitive villain, a calculated betrayer.
And she aligned with Ziggler then. Right away.
Introduced the menacing bodyguard Big E Langston
too. When justifying the betrayal, she claimed
Cena had toyed with her emotions, so she helped
Ziggler break him. This trio AJ, Ziggler, and
Langston became a pretty central force for a
while. They really did. And she then assisted
Ziegler in successfully cashing in that Money
in the Bank contract to win the World Heavyweight
Championship in April 2013. That cemented her
as the catalyst for male main event success.
She had successfully navigated her way into the
very highest echelon of the company, not necessarily
by being the best wrestler at that point, but
by being the best, most unhinged storyteller.
A master manipulator. Absolutely. So having dominated
the narrative side of the maid event scene, the
stage was now perfectly set for her to pivot
back to the women's division and assert, well,
physical dominance this time. Exactly. And she
accomplished this pretty swiftly, winning a battle
royal in April 2013 to become the number one
contender for the Divas Championship. And this
is where that previous storyline investment paid
off immensely. She leveraged her history with
Caitlin, turning their genuine on -screen friendship,
that whole chickbusters connection, into this
deeply personal, really twisted psychological
feud. Ah, the secret admirer storyline. I remember
that. Caitlin received gifts and messages. Right,
building up all this hope and emotion. And the
payoff was brutal. It was. The secret admirer
turned out to be... Biggie Langston acting under
AJ's direction. AJ revealed the whole deceit
in this shocking segment, designed purely to
mock and humiliate Caitlyn, leaving her completely
devastated. That was masterclass heel psychology.
Using that intimacy to inflict maximum damage,
it perfectly cemented her character as manipulative
and, yeah, deeply personal in her attacks. It
really did. And it led directly to her winning
her first Divas Championship from Caitlyn at
the Payback pay -per -view in June 2013. And
this kicked off a truly historic run. How historic?
She held that title for 295 consecutive days.
Wow, 295 days. At the time, that set a monumental
new record for the longest Divas Championship
reign. Now, we should note that while that individual
record was later surpassed by Nikki Bella, the
sheer longevity of AJ's initial reign really
solidified her as the cornerstone of the division.
Okay. And during this reign, she paired up with
Tamina Snicka as her bodyguard in September 2013,
creating this new dominant pairing. Right. Added
muscle. But maybe the most memorable aspect of
this period was her highly publicized on -screen
feud with the cast of E !A. Network's newly launched
reality show, Total divas. Oh, this feud was
genius because it was basically meta commentary.
AJ, the lifelong wrestling fan who fought her
way out of poverty, positioned herself as the
true professional wrestler, defending the integrity
of the division against the supposed reality
stars. Right, the pipe bombshell promo. Exactly.
She interrupted the cast on Raw with a scathing
promo, just tearing them down, vowing to defeat
every single member of the cast, Brie Bella,
Naomi, Natalya, all of them, in defense of her
title and what it represented. And that angle
resonated fiercely with a lot of wrestling fans
who maybe viewed the reality show as diluting
the athletic nature of the women's division.
AJ became the anti -Hollywood champion. It provided
a necessary thematic anchor for her reign. She
carried that rivalry through the rest of 2013,
remaining the champion despite facing the entire
cast in various matches. And her reign achieved
a major corporate milestone at WrestleMania XXX.
That's right. She successfully defended the Divas
Championship in that big 14 -woman match. Vickie
Guerrero Invitational, I think it was called.
Yep. And crucially, this was the very first time
the Divas Championship was ever actually contested
for at WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania. That's
a huge deal. That run fundamentally elevated.
Elevated the belt standing. Absolutely. But,
you know, dominance usually has a sharp end in
wrestling. Yeah. The night right after WrestleMania
XXX, she lost the title to the debuting Paige.
Paige's debut. Yeah. Big shock. Huge shock. It
ended that 295 day reign. AJ took a short time
off after that. But the rivalry was far from
over. No kidding. She returned in June 2014 and
immediately challenged and defeated Paige to
win the title right back. And this began that
bizarre. often confusing frenemies, rivalry,
the facetious best friends thing. Yeah, marked
by unprovoked attacks and backhanded compliments.
It was weird. But compelling. They traded the
title multiple times, which seemed like a clear
sign that WWE viewed them as the two pillars
of the division at that point. Definitely. Her
third and final title win came at Night of Champions
in September 2014, making her a record -tying
three -time Divas champion, matching the record
previously set by Eve Torres. So when you look
at her cumulative success, even beyond that single
reign record, she still holds the overall record
for the longest total time as Divas champion,
a staggering 406 days across. those three reigns.
Yeah, 406 days total. She was statistically and
narratively the most dominant female performer
of that entire era. No question. However, by
late 2014, her time in the ring was clearly coming
towards an end. She took time off primarily to
address a pre -existing neck injury, which, as
we know now, became a defining factor in her
retirement. But before she left, she had that
massive, really career -defining moment of public
advocacy in February 2015. The tweet. The tweet
heard around the wrestling world. This was the
moment she publicly criticized WWE executive
Stephanie McMahon on social media regarding the
unequal treatment of the company's female wrestlers.
This was a genuinely risky, politically charged
move. I mean, think about the timing. She publicly
called out the massive disparity, pointing out
that female wrestlers received only a fraction
of the wages and significantly less screen time
than their male counterparts, despite generating
record merchandise sales and sometimes top -rated
segments. And this was just a few months after
her husband, CM Punk, had his incredibly contentious
exit from the company. Right. The atmosphere
must have been tense. Extremely. Her speaking
out like that put her own professional standing
right on the line. Yet the company, perhaps surprisingly,
actually acknowledged it. Both Stephanie and
even WWE chairman Vince McMahon publicly addressed
her comments. They did. And her criticism is
widely regarded in the industry today as one
of the pivotal foundational moments that really
paved the way for the subsequent corporate push
of the women's evolution or revolution. So she
used her status as champion. Yeah, she used her
status, her platform, her political capital,
essentially for the benefit of the entire division.
It was brave. Her final match was fittingly at
WrestleMania 31 in March 2015. She teamed with
her former rival Paige to defeat the Bella Twins,
symbolically kind of passing the torch and closing
out that era. She officially retired just a few
days later, April 3rd, 2015. And her memoir later
confirmed the reasons for stepping away. Primarily,
permanent damage to her cervical spine meant
she physically could not continue wrestling at
that demanding pace anymore. Makes sense. She
also stated she felt her goals in wrestling were
completely fulfilled. And yes, she admitted she
felt deeply caught in the middle following CM
Punk's controversial 2014 departure, though she
did manage to continue working for over a year
after he left, which is pretty remarkable in
itself. Yeah, navigating that must have been
incredibly difficult. I can only imagine. So
she closed the book on her wrestling career,
a world she fought so incredibly hard to enter
and then conquer, and almost immediately opened
a new chapter. She pivoted to a field she'd actually
studied briefly way back at NYU, writing and
creative production. And this transition wasn't
just like a minor success. It was pretty monumental,
wasn't it? Oh, absolutely. Her 2017 memoir, Crazy
is My Superpower, How I Triumphed by Breaking
Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules,
it was an immediate commercial and critical success.
And that title, right back to reframing the bipolar
diagnosis. Directly addressed it. And it proved
the mainstream appetite for her story. It debuted
at number 10 on the New York Times bestseller
list for hardcover nonfiction. Number 10, that's
huge. It really is. She described writing as
very much the next chapter of her life. proving
her storytelling instincts extended far beyond
just the wrestling ring. And she didn't just
stop with the memoir, right? She moved into other
creative ventures. No, she kept going. In 2020,
she co -founded Scrappy Heart Productions with
the actress Emi Garcia. And the core mission
of their company is vital. It's dedicated to
elevating diverse female voices through high
-quality genre storytelling. which, when you
think about it, is a direct thematic continuation
of the authenticity she championed in her wrestling
career. That's a great point, and that partnership
has been pretty prolific. They co -wrote multiple
comic book series, linking her right back to
her geek goddess roots. Yep. They worked on titles
like GLOW vs. The Babyface, tying into the wrestling
theme again, and a successful run on Dungeons
& Dragons at the Spine of the World. She even
contributed a story to DC Comics' prestigious
Wonder Woman. Black and Gold Anthology. So this
established her credibility, not just as, you
know, a celebrity attaching her name to something,
but as a genuine creative force in the comic
book space. Absolutely. And she successfully
moved into feature screenwriting as well. She,
Garcia, and John Swetman co -wrote the screenplay
for the 2022 Netflix martial arts film Blade
of the 47 Ronin. I saw that. Plus, her original
pilot script, Home, made the Blacklist's inaugural
Latinx TV list in 2020. Which, you know, getting
on the blacklist indicates she's succeeding at
the highest level of Hollywood gatekeepers. She's
taken seriously as a writer. Wow. So concurrently
with all this creative work, she also cemented
her role as a dedicated advocate, especially
for mental health. Yes. Having bravely shared
her own experience with bipolar disorder in her
book, she served as an ambassador for major mental
health awareness organizations like the National
Alliance on Mental Illness, NMI, and the Jed
Foundation. She also championed animal welfare
with the ASPCA. And NMI specifically recognized
her advocacy work, didn't they? They did. They
honored her with their Multicultural Outreach
Award in 2018, emphasizing her success in destigmatizing
mental health discussions, especially within
diverse communities. She really put her platform
to good use there. Definitely. Then in 2021,
she made a brief kind of unexpected return to
the wrestling world, but in an executive role.
Yeah, she joined WSW Women of Wrestling as an
executive producer, working alongside the owner
Jeannie Buss, who also owns the L .A. Lakers.
Right. Big connection there. It was a significant
strategic move, actually. It coincided with W
.O .W. signing a major distribution deal with
ViacomCBS, suggesting she was involved in some
pretty big corporate growth plans for them. And
she even did some commentary for them. She did
provide a color commentary for W .O .W. syndicated
weekly television program starting in September
2022. But the executive role was temporary. She
departed WOW in August 2023 upon the completion
of her season -long contract. Which, of course,
left the door wide open for speculation on a
potential in -ring return somewhere. And that
speculation just exploded into reality in September
2025. After over 10 years away from a WWE ring,
April Jeanette Mendez as AJ Lee returned on SmackDown.
This is arguably one of the most significant
unannounced returns in modern wrestling history,
just purely for the time elapsed and the circumstances
involved. Absolutely. And she didn't come back
for just a nostalgia pop, did she? Not at all.
She came back for war. She immediately confronted
and attacked Becky Lynch. And the context here
is so critical. This was a direct escalation
of that highly publicized, ongoing, very personal
feud involving her husband, CM Punk, and Lynch's
husband, Seth Rollins. Right. The personal, messy
drama that defined so much of her early career
has now, ironically, defined her unexpected comeback.
We probably need to unpack that core conflict
just a bit for the listener because it's so central
to her return. Yeah. Definitely. The CM Punk
versus Seth Rollins rivalry is intensely personal.
It stems from years of animosity, public insults,
professional disagreements, real life friction
bleeding onto the screen. OK. And because both
men are married to top tier female competitors,
AJ Lee and Becky Lynch, respectively, the rivalry
naturally spilled over into the mixed tag team
realm. Which allows AJ Lee to step right into
the white hot center of the company's main narrative
without needing a lengthy buildup. She's immediately
relevant because of her history, yes, but also
because of her marriage. Instant main event status.
And she proved her performance ability was still
there immediately. At the recent Russell Palooza
show, September 20th, 2025, AJ and CM Punk defeated
Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins in that huge mixed
tag team match. And the finish was important
too, wasn't it? Crucial. That win wasn't just
a win. AJ secured the victory by forcing Becky
Lynch, arguably the top woman in the company
right now, to submit. To the Black Widow. The
Black Widow. That specific detail confirms her
immediate credibility. She didn't rely on outside
interference or some cheap shot. She defeated
the current top woman cleanly with her signature
submission maneuver. It sent a message. She is
back at the highest competitive level and is
a direct, immediate threat to the entire women's
division. The landscape just changed dramatically.
That's right. So let's take a moment just to
review the key elements that really coalesce
to make her persona so distinct and memorable.
Because it's such a perfect blend of calculative
strategy and genuine self -expression. It really
is. First off, the name itself, A .J. Lee. Yeah,
the Lee in her ring name wasn't random. It was
a deliberate nod to her inner interests, taken
from Wendy Lee, who's a prominent voice actress
known for her work in anime. Specifically, Cowboy
Bebop. Ah, okay. So even the name integrated
that nerd culture aspect. Right from the start.
It immediately differentiated her from her peers.
And her look, too, was such a deliberate choice,
standing out completely against the traditional
diva's aesthetic of that time. Absolutely. She
intentionally branded herself as a tomboy. Her
ring attire was utilitarian but also distinctive.
A t -shirt, jean shorts, and those iconic Chuck
Taylor all -stars. They're Chucks, yeah. She
stated that her goal was not only comfort, but
also to create a distinctive... easily replicable
look that fans, especially young women and girls,
could use for cosplay. So she was actively appealing
to the fandom community she herself belonged
to. Smart branding. And her signature move also
tied directly into that comic book interest she
loved so much. Her finishing maneuver was the
Black Widow submission, which is technically
an octopus hold. But the naming reference is
explicit. It's named after the Marvel Comics
character Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.
This constantly reinforced the image of the quirky,
dangerous comic book enthusiast. And visually,
you just can't forget her constant skipping.
The skipping entrance. It was her signature taunt
emphasizing her unpredictable, almost childlike,
but also chaotic energy as she entered the ring
or circled an opponent. In terms of professional
accolades, her dominance wasn't just a narrative
choice by WWD. It was recognized by the industry
itself year after year, wasn't it? Oh, definitely.
The Pro Wrestling Illustrated, or PWI Awards,
really confirmed her status as the face of the
division during her peak. She won the PWI Woman
of the Year Award for three consecutive years,
2012, 2013, and 2014. Three years in a row. A
three -peat. That's an extraordinary marker of
consistency and impact. And we keep coming back
to those champions. because they're so significant.
Three WWE Divas Championship reigns, tying the
record set by Eve Torres. And her record, 406
cumulative days as champion, still the longest
overall reign time. Still stands. She was also
honored with the Slammy Award for Diva of the
Year twice in 2012. and again in 2014. And for
the ultimate geek goddess achievement, she holds
that unique Guinness World Record. Right. In
2012, she became the first female winner of WWE's
annual Superstar Challenge video game tournament,
playing WWE 12. That achievement just perfectly
encapsulates her unique persona, a dominant champion
in the ring who still held fast to her inner
nerd identity and excelled there too. Exactly.
And finally, maybe the most intensely personal
detail that shows her devotion to the craft,
beyond... her marriage to Philip Brooks, CM Punk,
in June 2014. It's the tattoo on the back of
her neck that displays the numerical date of
her very first WWE Divas Championship win, 6
-16 -13, written out in tally marks. Wow. A permanent
testament to achieving that singular lifelong
dream she chased since she was 12. It really
speaks to the seriousness with which she approached
this goal. Like we said, this wasn't a hobby
for her. This was her redemption from poverty,
the thing she sacrificed everything for. Incredible
journey. Hashtag, hashtag, outro. So when we
really connect the entire arc of April Jeanette
Mendez, what we see is a story built on radical
authenticity and calculated risk. She took the
intense, often painful reality of her mental
health struggles and the genuine, sometimes marginalized
honesty of her geek interests, and she leveraged
them. She didn't hide them. No, she didn't apologize
for them. She used them to craft this persona
that resonated deeply enough to shatter wrestling
records and then create a successful, multifaceted
career pivot into writing, advocacy, and even
executive production. It's quite remarkable.
It really is a complete story. But now with the
2020... return, it's suddenly an unfolding one
again. We know her expertise is kind of divided
equally between highly effective storytelling
as a New York Times bestselling author and comic
book writer and intensely effective in -ring
performance. She understands narrative structure
better than most, both inside and outside the
ropes. Which raises a really important question
for you, the listener, to think about. Given
that her current return narrative is so deeply
rooted in real life context, the emotional stakes
of her husband's ongoing conflict. How will this
new decade -later chapter influence the next
great story she writes? Ooh, interesting question.
Will the tension and conflict of this current
run become the subject of her next memoir? Maybe.
Or perhaps a screenplay. What new superpowers,
if you will, will this latest chapter of conflict
and high -stakes performance reveal about the
lasting power of her unique brand of chaotic
authenticity? Something to definitely keep an
eye on, both in the ring and maybe on the bestseller
list down the line. For sure. It's far from over.