AJ Lee Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler. The Geek Goddess. The Black Widow. The Crazy Chick.

Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler.
The Geek Goddess.
The Black Widow.
The Crazy Chick.

AJ Lee Your preferred wrestler’s preferred wrestler. the Goddess of Geekery. The Widow of Darkness. The Crazy Woman. “I’m a monster. I wear a mask. Eviscerating other people is my only pleasure, and even I find you mentally unstable.” — On WWE Raw on June 25, 2012, Kane found AJ Lee to be too hot for him. April Jeanette Mendeznote is an American professional wrestler, screenwriter, author, and former executive producer of the Women of Wrestling (WOW) promotion. She was born on March 19, 1987. She is signed to WWE and competes under the ring name AJ Leenote. Mendez enrolled in a wrestling school in March 2007, where she learned from Mo Sexton, Azrieal, and Jay Lethal for six months before her first match. She continued to work as Miss April for a number of independent Northeast-based promotions over the next few years, including Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU). She and Brooke Carter competed together as the AC Express at WSU, where they won the WSU Tag Team Title once. Mendez was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), the developmental promotion of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), in May 2009, where he wrestled under the ring name AJ Lee. She was the first person to hold both the FCW Divas Champion and Queen of FCW titles in FCW. After changing her last name, she appeared on the third season of NXT in 2010. In May 2011, she joined the WWE’s SmackDown brand by joining forces with Kaitlyn to form the tag team The ChickBusters. WWE adapted AJ’s love of comic books and video games to her on-screen character, portraying her as different from other women in the company and promoting her as the “Geek Goddess.” AJ is a self-described nerd and tomboy. She was named “Diva of the Year” twice in the annual Slammy Awards—in 2012 and 2014—for defying the usual stereotypes of how WWE Divas were supposed to act, earning her justifiable fame among wrestling fans. AJ portrayed a mentally unstable female character that had not been seen in WWE since Mickie James in 2006 for the majority of 2012 while he was still a face. Additionally, she held the position of Kayfabe General Manager for Monday Night RAW. She then became Divas Champion in June 2013 but lost it to Paige in April 2014, making her the Divas Champion who has held the title for 295 days the longest in history. She returned on June 30, 2014, after a break of three months, defeating Paige to reclaim the Divas title. She went on to lose it to Paige at SummerSlam, won it again at Night of Champions, and lost it to Nikki Bella at Survivor Series, making her a three-time champion. AJ made headlines in February 2015 for openly criticizing WWE’s treatment of its female wrestlers, stating that they received significantly less pay and screentime than male wrestlers despite having record-breaking merchandise and top-rated segments. AJ spent the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 recovering from a neck injury. As a result, the hashtag “#GiveDivasAChance” went viral, and Vince and Stephanie McMahon both publicly acknowledged this. After that, AJ came back in March 2015 and eventually teamed up with Paige to defeat the Bella Twins at WrestleMania 31. On April 3, the official WWE Twitter account made the announcement that AJ would no longer perform in the ring. Mendez dabbled in acting after she left WWE, appearing in a bizarre short film promoting Madden NFL 2016 titled Madden: The Movie. The wrestler and actress Thea Trinidad also played her in the movie Fighting with My Family, a Biopic of Paige. Mendez returned to the wrestling business in October 2021 as an executive producer for the Women of Wrestling (WOW) promotion, where she served as color commentator from 2021 to 2023. She also said in an interview the same month she joined that she had healed “physically, mentally [and] emotionally” from wrestling and could return to the ring. However, she also stated that she was content with the next generation of wrestlers taking the reins and was not in a hurry to do so… …until 2025, thanks to her husband CM Punk’s reconciliation with and return to WWE, which has sparked numerous rumors over the years. Punk would ask AJ for help in dealing with Lynch after Becky Lynch teamed up with her husband, Seth Rollins, and cost Punk the World Heavyweight Championship. This led Punk to make her big return to WWE on the September 5th edition of WWE SmackDown in their shared hometown of Chicago. She has won the Women’s Intercontinental Championship once and the Divas Championship three times. Mendez is best known for his accomplishments as a writer and as an advocate for mental health and animal welfare outside of the ring. In 2017, she published a memoir titled Crazy Is My Superpower, which went on to become a New York Times bestseller. The book details her life, from her turbulent youth to her time in WWE, and sheds light on topics such as her specific reasons for leaving WWEnote and her struggle with bipolar disorder for the rest of her life. She also found a writing partner in the actress Aimee Garcia. Together, they have written two comic books based on GLOW (2017) and Dungeons & Dragons, started a production company called Scrappy Heart Productions, and were chosen to co-write Blade of the 47 Ronin, the sequel to 47 Ronin that will be released in 2022. She has written a Wonder Woman comic book on her own and one of her scripts made the Black List’s first Latinx TV List. She has also been an ambassador for organizations like the Jed Foundation, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). In real life, she tied the knot with CM Punk in June 2014. AJ Styles should not be confused with her. Let’s tango it up: Abhorrent Admirer: To CM Punk in the real world, not so much because she is unattractive (which she is clearly not), but rather because she is… well, a little off-kilter. She even made Kane feel uneasy when she was at her craziest. She would, however, eventually wed CM Punk in real life, which is amusing. Aborted Arc: Penny Cash pinned her in a mixed tag match shortly after she became Queen of FCW. However, Penny Cash was distributed prior to the episode’s airing, so nothing transpired. The Ace is tied for the most reigns as Divas Champion with Eve Torres, has the second longest single run as champion after Nikki Bella, and has the most combined days as Divas Champion overall. She was the only Divas Champion to defend the title at WrestleMania during the PG Era. When she returned to WWE in 2025, she was regarded as a Living Legend and a credible threat to Becky Lynch, one of the company’s female main-eventers. She was easily the most popular and successful Diva on the roster since Trish Stratus and Lita. Actor Allusion: Her role in Madden: The Movie involves her performing a face-heel turn and abandoning her boyfriend in favor of his evil rival, a scene that references 2012 in some way. Oh, boy, all girls want bad boys. How do we get started? to Primo and Dolph Ziggler, when Primo was a heel. The whole affair of love between AJ, Punk, Bryan, and Kane, oh Lord. She began their relationship with Daniel Bryan, who was a face at first. Later, he turned heel and left her shortly after losing at WrestleMania, but she still wanted him. She lost her mind and turned her attention to both Kane and CM Punk at some point. Punk, on the other hand, ended up in the middle of it all when he said that he “dig[s] crazy chicks,” and Kane turned her down because he thought she was more insane than he was. She was asked to marry Daniel Bryan. Twice, once to win the WWE Championship and once, presumably, after losing the match. After obtaining a position as the general manager of RAW, AJ left him at the altar, and she only went ahead with the wedding in order to retaliate against Bryan. She later reconciled with Punk and wed him as an epilogue. All of the Other Reindeer: Other than Tamina Snuka, whom AJ recruited based on this trope—she went for the only Diva who was shunned and disliked as much as she was—it would be very, very hard to find a Diva who likes her now. Additionally, Tamina’s ostracism was an informed characteristic prior to her relationship with AJ. As this clip demonstrates, shoes are adored by all women. However, in contrast to the majority of women depicted in this stereotype, she is a sneaker girl who owns an extensive collection of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars in low-cut, knee-high, and ankle-high styles. Becky Lynch: Always Someone Better AJ tapped out Becky twice in their first singles match for the Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber: Chicago; the only reason the first one didn’t count was because the referee, Jessika Carr, wasn’t in a position to see it. This was AJ’s first run after her return in 2025, and she did it a total of four times over the course of about six months. The first time was in a mixed tag match with their respective husbands, the second time After AJ lost the Intercontinental Championship for the first time, Becky got angry and attacked her, possibly the worst beating AJ had ever received. At WrestleMania 42, Becky defeated AJ and reclaimed the title, but it required an excessive amount of cheating, demonstrating that she is unable to defeat AJ completely. Amazonian Beauty: She is very attractive and has pretty impressive abs. Bi ambiguously: One interpretation of this quote: AJ: Do you not like women who are aggressive? since I do! And if the Diva’s Battle Royale’s outcome is any indication… Kaitlyn made fun of the time she spent with Lilian Garcia. She offered the following in her commentary for the Smackdown episode that aired on December 20, 2013: AJ: Tamina knows where her buttered bread is. Because I make excellent breakfasts, I mean that literally. JBL: Do you prepare her breakfast? AJ: That’s what I meant when I said, “We’re partners!” Naturally, this tweet as well. @WWEAJLee: When Boss Lady moved in close to me and talked about finding love, I thought that dream journal entry was about to come true. She suggested that the mixed tag team match at Wrestlepalooza would include a four-way kiss between her, Punk, Rollins, and Becky in an interview with ESPN a few days prior. Motifs of Animals: The Black Widow spider. Appropriate Name: In this video, she says that she gave her finishing move the name “Black Widow” because, in real life, people were calling her that, so she took it as an insult and used it against them. Arch-Enemy:
She became the ultimate psycho ex-girlfriend, and with the exception of CM Punk, whom she would eventually reconcile with and marry, she became the enemy of all of her former love interests. She devised a complex scheme in which she manipulated Kane, her first ex-boyfriend Daniel Bryan, and the aforementioned Punk with the long-term objective of punishing Bryan for leaving her at the altar (and later, attempting to challenge Bryan and Kane for the tag team titles with her new boyfriend Dolph Ziggler and her friend Big E). Langston), cheated on John Cena by preventing him from winning Ziggler’s MITB briefcase for “toying” with her heart and not returning her feelings for him, attacked Ziggler during a match for dumping her after she accidentally cost him the World Heavyweight Championship, and then destroyed his personal belongings, including several credit cards and his passport, live on television. When they were on the run, even Punk wasn’t immune. During his heel run in 2012, when she was General Manager of RAW, she put him at the top of her shitlist every week and forced him into multiple matches against his wishes. Vickie Guerrero, Kaitlyn, the Bella Twins, and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the Total Divas cast. Paige as well, and in 2014, they traded the Divas’ Championship a lot. However, by the time AJ left, they had become Fire-Forged Friends. After CM Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to her husband Seth Rollins at the Clash in Paris, Becky Lynch proceeded to provoke and humiliate Punk on RAW by slapping him, knowing that he would never hit back. As a result, AJ would return to the ring to neutralize Lynch on Punk’s behalf and leave retirement. The Artifact: Despite the fact that the ranting mad Yandere aspect of her character had virtually vanished, she was frequently referred to as “crazy” by rivals and announcers. To be fair, considering her past actions, who can blame them? During a promo about the Kane/CM Punk triangle, “Attention Whore” appeared. “I like it when men look at me,” she says, pulling the interviewer closer and grabbing his tie. “Look at me.” Ax-Crazy:
She was known as the crazy chick for a reason. She could get out of control at any time during her 2012-2013 campaign, and no one, whether they were friends, enemies, or love interests, was spared her wrath. She also seemed to enjoy inflicting pain on other people and had a sadistic streak that was miles wide. It is abundantly clear that AJ will be just as psychotic when she returns in 2025, with the only difference being that she will not turn against her husband, CM Punk. Becky Lynch was so afraid of AJ when they first got into the ring together that she basically treated her like a wild animal. This was made worse by the fact that AJ stared at her like she was a piece of meat that she would love nothing more than to rip apart. Adorable Badass: Definitely in the early stages of her career. “At WrestleMania, it’s gonna be me against the world… but that’s just how I like it,” said the badass boaster. Back in the Saddle: She retired from wrestling after suffering a career-ending injury. She did this to avoid getting involved in her Real Life husband CM Punk’s ongoing dispute with WWE and to believe that she had accomplished everything she could in her career. She didn’t go back to the ring even after her body was healed because she was happy with her life and had a successful writing career. She wanted to give younger women a chance at the spotlight. AJ laced up her boots once more to assist her husband in his blood feud with Seth Rollins by neutralizing Rollins’ wife, Becky Lynch, after Punk reconciled with and returned to WWE. Batman Gambit: You have to see how completely AJ manipulated Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins into accepting her challenge for a mixed tag match between AJ and Punk. Knowing that Becky is too much of a Dirty Coward to attempt it on her own, she baits Becky into entering the ring with the Intercontinental Title Belt she stole from her the night she returned. Instead, Becky asks Rollins to do it on her behalf. At that point, knowing that Rollins wouldn’t hit a girl, AJ deliberately upsets him by preventing him from picking up the belt and putting him in a position to be surprised by Punk. After escaping a GTS, a furious Rollins accepts the challenge against his wife’s wishes in the heat of the moment. He is angry that his worst enemy was able to trap him so easily. Battle Couple: Following her return to wrestling in 2025, she and her husband CM Punk. Button for Insanity: She hated it when people even suggested that she was “crazy” during her first run because she was denying her insanity. She resented the word so much that she could be offended by hearing it in the context of something completely unrelated to her. Cathy Lynch AJ later admitted, despite her upbeat demeanor upon her return, that the moment she saw Becky, her vision turned red, which led to the ferocious beating that resulted in Becky receiving a black eye for her troubles. She told Punk, “I am in full control of my mental faculties at all times,” which is a flagrant lie. Most of the time, crazy people don’t know they’re crazy, but… The Enormous Kiss: AJ visited CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Kane prior to their match at No Way Out, wishing each man luck and giving them a kiss on the cheek. Before leaving without a word, Kane repaid her for The Big Damn Kiss that she had planted on him on the previous RAW by holding her back. She would then give Bryan and Punk two huge kisses on Smackdown a few weeks later. Cena receives one later. With the latter, she would win a Slammy for Best Kiss, but she also finished second, third, and fourth. Yes, we just wrote about every person who wanted to win Best Kiss that year. Then came the constant brawl with Dolph Ziggler. AJ beat them all to the NXT Kissing Contest by landing a big one on Cody Rhodes, who was in his “Dashing” phase at the time, and knocking them both to the floor. After selecting the winner and being shocked by the kiss, Cody was delighted and smiled with AJ as he left. Birds of a Feather: With CM Punk, both online and in real life. Both were born into poverty and came from broken homes. They both have a parent who is bipolar, share a love of comic books and video games, don’t look like the typical WWE Divas/Superstars during their first years with the company, and they had to fight their way up when it seemed like everyone with official power was against them. Despite his initial attraction to AJ being rooted in her personality as a “crazy chick,” this is what really made Punk interested in AJ in kayfabe. Boisterous Weakling: Despite the fact that she is more than capable of defending herself in the ring—if that weren’t the case, she wouldn’t have become Divas’ Champion—AJ is actually the smallest of all the Divas. Despite this, she is unable to avoid offending everyone in the Divas’ locker room, particularly Kaitlyn, who is a formidable opponent, and as a result, she frequently receives her ass in non-match situations. She has been rendered unconscious at least twice, necessitating Big E. Langston or Tamina Snuka to carry her out of the arena in the style of a fireman. (It’s possible that AJ allows herself to be beaten outside the ring as part of an ongoing Wounded Gazelle Gambit, but being the Divas’ Champion makes it hard to keep up that facade.) Used Daniel Bryan’s “Yes! “occasionally as a catchphrase. Yes! Yes!’ to commemorate her own accomplishments. Breaking Speech: Gave Kaitlyn one hell of a speech after she admitted to being the mastermind behind the hoax about the secret admirer. Brick Joke: Her former mentor, Natalya, randomly beat AJ the crap out of her after a match last year to start the Divas of Doom with Beth Phoenix. This was the first person AJ snapped on after her breakup with Daniel Bryan. Keep in mind that this occurred after AJ had already lost and lacked the ability to effectively defend herself. Bridal Carry: Kane did this twice with AJ—once when Punk accidentally pushed him into her at No Way Out 2012 and she fell, and again when she got into a fight with Vickie Guerrero and was hurt, though it didn’t go well. Tamina has taken over this role, which typically entails carrying AJ away after a defeat and hoisting her over her shoulder. Broken Bird: When Daniel Bryan broke her heart, she snapped and turned into the insane psychopath that everyone remembers. After NXT was over, The Bus Came Back vanished, but he reappeared in May 2011 as Natalya’s new ally. Butt-Monkey: Prior to her popularity, she was primarily used to portray Natalya and Beth Phoenix as strong individuals. Canon Name: On WWE television, AJ was only referred to by her first name; however, fans continued to refer to her as AJ Lee, which she used in FCW. During her wedding to Daniel Bryan, she was finally called AJ Lee. In addition, it persisted in the universe after she was appointed RAW GM (at the wedding). Catfight: Has fought several times with Kaitlyn and Vickie Guerrero. Characterization moves forward: In favor of her somewhat needy Yandere tendencies, the “Geek Goddess” and “Girl Next Door” aspects of her personality have been almost completely forgotten. Unless, of course, you follow her on Twitter, where she more resembles a geek than a Yandere. Additionally, she resembled her “lovestruck schoolgirl” persona a little bit more when she was with Dolph Ziggler than she did when she was first dating Daniel Bryan. AJ was noticeably calmer and more settled than she had been during her first run with the company when she reintroduced herself to the audience during her first promo on RAW in a decade following her return to SmackDown in 2025. She explained that this was because she had gone to therapy and worked on her mental health while she was away, when she finally realized she wasn’t in good mental health. She only returned to wrestling after Becky Lynch attacked her husband, CM Punk, and she decided not to return to WWE because she was satisfied with her career and how it ended. After that, she casually enticed Seth Rollins to accept her challenge to a mixed tag match between Becky and Rollins and AJ and Punk, demonstrating that despite her therapy, she will always be the crazy manipulative bitch we are all familiar with. Clingy, irrational girl: Bryan, Punk, and Cena can attest to this. Cloudcuckoolander:
Either this or obfuscating insaneness is AJ. She jumped into Kanenote’s arms and gave him a fantastic kiss after she was accidentally tagged in during a match and had to face him. Kane was so perplexed by this that he tagged Bryan in and left the match completely! Yes, KANE, a man who had to join The Corporation at the end of 1998 to avoid being sent to a mental institution, thought she was too crazy even by HIS standards. A week later, she jumped back up the stage after doing a lap around the ring in a Kane costume and mask during a tag match between Punk and Sheamus and Kane and Bryan. Kane is so perplexed by this that he gets off the apron and follows her up the ring, leaving Bryan, who was the legal person at the time, behind. His expression simply reads, “What the hell was that?” Later on, he actually turned down her advances because he thought she was too crazy for him! I’m a monster, Kane. I mask myself. Eviscerating other people is the only thing that brings me joy. Furthermore, even I find you to be mentally unstable. After being told she was too crazy for WWE’s resident masked psychotic, the look on her face is enough to make one actually feel bad for her. During a tag team match on a RAW episode in which she was the only one competing, she has yet another aloof moment. What exactly was she doing? skipping along at ringside. She would eventually participate in the match, but she would soon be rolled up. AJ looks confused and wonders what happened, but she just shrugs it off and walks back to the locker room with her Divas Championship. In 2025, AJ is more self-assured but still a little out of place. She admits that she didn’t realize she was wearing Becky Lynch’s IC title belt until Becky herself pointed it out. Becky explains that she had spent the previous weekend skipping around the house with it and even sleeping with it, which made it very awkward for her to get dressed in the morning. Companion Cube: Became dangerously obsessed with her title, addressing the belt as “her” once and conversing with it. She made the comparison to This example has a YMMV entry. It ought to be moved to the YMMV tab. a boyfriend provides commentary on Paige vs. Brie.
Continuity Nod: She borrows a few moves from her on-screen boyfriends. carries out the spinning side kick to the midsection that CM Punk is known for doing. Like Daniel Bryan, started using a guillotine for occasional submission moves. Does the Stinger Splash into a Neckbreaker combo, which is one of Dolph Ziggler’s signature moves. Contortionist: Matt Striker has also commented on her flexibility during her matches, pointing out which stretches probably would not work on her for the NXT Season 3 contest. She may be small, but when you’re as psychotic as AJ, there is no such thing as a fight that is stacked against you. Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: That is what Kane can attest to. Her return to WWE was shocking, if not for the usual reasons—cue the Flying Pigs! In contrast to Punk, AJ left the company with Vince McMahon, who reassured her that she was welcome to return at any time. Due to a neck injury that changed the game and the belief that she had achieved all of her career goals and was content to pursue her new dream as a writer, AJ made her own decision not to wrestle. Punk’s lack of interest was so well-known that many fans were convinced that she would not return to WWE until she was inducted into the Hall of Fame. As a result, when the company began openly telegraphing her return, many believed that WWE would pull a Bait-and-Switch and use Bayley or Rhea Ripley to assist Punk in competing against Rollins and Becky. They were, without a doubt, wrong. She is petite, adorable, and a complete and utter psychopath who has boiled the rabbit of every love interest that has crossed her path and sadistically held down and manipulated all opposition to her Divas Championship reign. At the same time, she is also a complete and utter psychopath. Cute Bruiser: She enters the ring by skipping with a bright smile to conceal her sheer viciousness as a competitor. She is as adorable as a button. Dare to Be Badass: Her Twitter response to her Diva’s division speech about why you suck? AJ: Convince me otherwise. Snarky Deadpan: Although not particularly dry, AJ has a very good sense of humor. This pretty much explains why she and CM Punk get along well in real life as well as on screen (they were married in 2014). She appeared as a commentator on the Halloween episode of Friday Night SmackDown in 2014, wearing blue jeans and a white tank top with the word “BOO” written in generic black letters. AJ: … I’m just a ghost. Rosa Mendes, a local jobber, was eliminated first and quickly during the Divas Battle Royal match she was commentating on: [Deadpan] AJ: Ah, my pick is gone. I require another one. Dem Bones: The bone symbol was featured on her initial ring attire before she became a serious contender for the Divas Championship. Did They or Didn’t They? Despite the fact that the film’s PG rating prevents them from discussing AJ’s relationships, it is almost implied that she has slept with Daniel Bryan and that she has not slept with CM Punk. He later claimed, using obvious metaphors, that she had slept with him, though it’s unclear whether he was being truthful. However, with Kane, things were a little more hazy. Then there was the question of whether or not she had a relationship with John Cena. However, in a promo after she sided with Ziggler, she pretty much said that the only thing they did together was kiss. Regarding Ziggler, the PG rating suggests that the answer is probably “yes.” Disproportionate Punishment: Vickie Guerrero made the decision to make AJ compete against all the other Divas in a title match at WrestleMania because she was offended by some of the comments AJ made about her. simultaneously with. Paige comes out to remark on AJ’s victory over the other Divas. After Paige attempts to gracefully decline AJ’s request for an impromptu match, AJ slaps her, taunts her, and basically forces her into the match. AJ’s response is to plainly state that she does not want Paige’s congratulations and tell her to return to NXT. When Paige wins the match and the Divas Championship, it does backfire on AJ. Dissonant Serenity: She had the strange ability to remain eerie-jovial even in the most chaotic of circumstances. It wouldn’t be out of character for AJ to still smile and move around like nothing was wrong during the love square storyline, even though her many suitors were beating each other up around her. She would even occasionally stop and observe, as if she were enjoying the violence they were committing. While Becky Lynch was clearly crashing out in the middle of the ring, acting like a cornered animal about to be slaughtered, her 2025 return saw her happily skipping around and taking in the cheers of the crowd. Distaff Counterpart: To CM Punk (since they got together in real life, got engaged, and are now married, it has become kind of funny). Some similarities include: being promoted by fans who worked in independent music. lacked the typical wrestler size for WWE. Even in the Women’s division, AJ’s bust and overall size are significantly smaller than those of other female wrestlers. Around the time of a blistering Worked Shoot promo, which was supposed to be heelish but got them over with fans, they shot to the top of their respective parts of the company. putting in a lot of time in a ruse to pretend to have mental problems (Punk, too—remember the Straight Edge Society?) became well-known for finishing an Animal Motif submission (AJ in the Black Widow, Punk in the Anaconda Vise). AJ initially used a Shining Wizard, which he still used on the main roster very rarely, and Punk had the GTS, having used the Shining Wizard himself earlier. Having a finisher of Japanese origin that involved striking an opponent with a knee being credited with having the longest reign in modern history with their respective titles. Naturally, Punk with his 434-day WWE Title reign and AJ, who in January 2014 passed Maryse for the Divas’ Championship’s longest reign. A shirt with ribs was also designed for them both. This was owned by Punk, and AJ received it. The Post-WrestleMania New Orleans crowd mocked this similarity by initiating a chant for Punk in her final promo before she lost the title to a debuting Paige. They even insult their opponents in the same snarky and condescending manner. The week after major PPVs, both ended their WWE careers abruptly and without much notice. About a year prior to their departure, both took a break of roughly ten weeks. (It’s ironic that AJ was going to plan their wedding, which happened the day Punk got his termination papers.) Finally, Punk and AJ would both return to WWE ten years after their initial retirement, in late 2023 and late 2025, respectively, the latter specifically returning to assist Punk in his feud with Seth Rollins by neutralizing Rollins’ wife, Becky Lynch. The Dog Returns the Bite: Oh, boy. She does this a lot, but given how crazy she is, her justifications have varied from “you missed my match for a phone call” (CM Punk, whom she pushed off the apron and through a table) to “you were toying with my heart” (John Cena, whom she pushed off a ladder, resulting in him losing Money In The Bank). She did this twice during an NXT challenge after Kaitlyn and Maxine picked on her. Perhaps foreshadowing? She appears to have finally snapped after repeatedly being kicked and rejected by Daniel Bryan. Then, a few months later, they get engaged and she asks him to be the next RAW GM, leaving him at the altar. The Dreaded: She was a horror when she was at the height of her career and used the Divas Division to her advantage for years. However, during her “crazy chick” phase, when she terrified even male wrestlers, particularly her “suitors,” Punk, Bryan, and Kane, she was at her most fearsome. Even after she first retired, her reputation for being crazy continues, to the point where “The Man,” Becky Lynch, appeared terrified when AJ showed up to attack her on Punk’s behalf. Even Becky Rollins’ husband and Punk’s arch-enemy, Seth Rollins, who once tried to kill Edge by Curb Stomping his already broken neck and cutting out Rey Mysterio’s eye, seemed uneasy to see AJ wrestle again in the WWE. Dude Magnet: During her first WWE match, Primo, Hornswoggle, Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Kane, and Dolph Ziggler were all interested in her. Because she is AJ, none of these relationships worked out well, and she only ended up reconciling with Punk off-screen, whom she would later wed after he left WWE. As Trish, Madden: The Movie’s girlfriend, in Evil All Along Evil Costume Switch: As a faceless, psychotic Tween, she typically wore shorts and a plaid sports bra. Her ring attire changed to denim hot pants and a ripped t-shirt following her heel turn, and she also preferred to wear her hair in Girlish Pigtails more frequently. Finishing Move: This was a variation of the Shining Wizard in the few matches she participated in and won early in her career. Although it became less common, she still uses it even on the main roster if she wants to win by pinfall. After the diva won the championship, it was an Octopus hold set up in a manner similar to that of a Christo, which she refers to as the “Black Widow.” The First Cut Is the Deepest: AJ was permanently insane after her first breakup with Daniel Bryan, which would sabotage nearly every other relationship she had after him. As a result, she never recovered. She was still such a mess even after she got over Bryan and married CM Punk, who, by all accounts, is the love of her life. After she retired, she had to go to therapy. Even though her 2025 return shows that she is mentally in better shape, there is still something “off” about her. Basis of First Name: WWE fans call her “Lee” about as frequently as they call Santino “Marella.” Five-Second Foreshadowing: The foreshadowing in the week leading up to AJ’s return was so obvious that it became an open secret: Seth Rollins would yell at Punk in the Fatal Four-Way match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Clash in Paris that he didn’t just hate him but his entire family as well. Punk interacted with a fan who was holding a poster asking him to bring AJ back as he left the ring following the match, in which Rollins retained thanks to his wife Becky Lynch’s low blow. This was the time when WWE backstage analysts, especially AJ’s old friend Big E, Langston openedly speculated about her possible return. Becky had a confrontation with Punk on that week’s RAW, and the crowd started yelling AJ’s name at her. After giving Punk a dressing down, Becky stopped him from going after Rollins and then slapped the crap out of him, taking advantage of the fact that he wouldn’t hit a girl. She then stopped the chant quickly. When she was done, a raged Punk calmly assured her that she would regret touching him and left to pursue Rollins. Punk asked Adam Pearce where SmackDown was that Friday while he was chasing after Rollins after his segment with Becky, only to discover that he had already left the arena. He simply grinned and said, “Tremendous” when he was informed that it was Chicago. In preparation for his upcoming retirement, John Cena delivered a speech during the show’s opening segment. He said that the Chicago audience was so wonderful, he even brought back performers because they knew exactly who he was talking about, and he praised the crowd’s constant energy. The crowd then chanted AJ’s name while he held up his microphone to them. Foreshadowing: Those who carefully watched WWE programming noticed that they had been teasing AJ’s return for months. To wit:
The phrase “Light It Up” was written on one of the background sets during a backstage segment that took place in May and featured Power Stable the Vision by Seth Rollins. Punk attempted to force John Cena to submit during their WWE Championship match at Night of Champions 2025 by using the Black Widow. In July, WWE Vault uploaded a compilation of AJ’s matches with Kaitlyn, Paige, and Nikki Bella during her first Divas Championship reign to their YouTube channel. Fourth-Date Marriage: In real life, AJ and CM Punk got married in June 2014, less than a year after they first started dating. They were engaged after a maximum of six months of dating. After AJ was initially called up to the main roster, they had already established a very close friendship, according to AJ’s book. However, it wasn’t until their 2012 storyline that they realized they were truly attracted to one another. But for a variety of reasons, they waited to start a relationship until the attraction got too strong and they started dating seriously. They have been happily married ever since their whirlwind romance ended. Fragile Speedster: The AC Express did the best job of avoiding or retaliating against moves. Neither April nor Carter were well-suited for damage spreading. Enemies who are friendly: Paige. However, really not. It turned out to be Teeth-Clenched Teamwork disguised as a fictitious friendship. Breakthrough Injury: One of the reasons she decided to retire was due to the severe injury to her neck, which caused permanent damage to her cervical spine. In order for AJ to feel at ease enough to resume her wrestling training in preparation for appearances on Heels, she had to heal for several years before she could return to the ring. Genki Girl: Extremely agitated. Usually.
Blindness to genre: a rather glaring one because of her violent attempts to disrupt the matches between the Divas’ top contenders for her title. You’d think that since her Real Life status as a Promoted Fangirl is part of her ruse, she would be aware that she would eventually have to defend her title against all of her rivals at once. In addition, she was unaware that Paige was luring her into putting her title on the line on the Raw following WrestleMania and that her spiel about wanting to congratulate her but not being prepared was entirely staged. How the Girl Next Door describes herself. also how the majority of the other characters in the WWE describe her because she has a very unusual physique for a diva. Having said that, considering her appearance, this example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab because it has a Hollywood homey vibe. Wears pigtails that are girly on occasion. Glass Cannon: Irrational! AJ will prevail. Your. Ass. However, Vickie Guerrero, of all people, fended off a rather brutal beating by kicking her into the apron, despite the fact that it was a fairly hard bump. She just can’t take a hit. Depending on whether she is a heel or a face, she may be called a “good bad girl” or subjected to slut-shaming. AJ’s reasons for disliking the show have nothing to do with jealousy and more to do with the fact that in her eyes, the entire show is just a ploy by the cast to disguise the fact that they’re terrible, talentless wrestlers who are doing nothing for the division while she is doing everything for it (for more, see her “The Reason You Suck” Speech). The commentators repeatedly said that AJ was this to the cast of Total Divas because she wasn’t invited to be on However, the commentators did not acknowledge this and continued to discuss it as though it were impossible for AJ to dislike the show for any other reason than “I wasn’t invited to be on it, so it sucks, and so does its cast.” Happy to be married: to CM Punk as of June 2014. Perfectly displayed when they appeared together again in WWE, where they appeared just as in love. She Doesn’t Like Being Touched: She dislikes fans touching her because of a bad experience. She was the most despised Diva on the roster at the conclusion of her heel run, by far. She was despised by all the other Divas, with the exception of Tamina, for her cheating, manipulative behavior, and constant deterioration of their abilities. On the other hand, the men on the roster had no desire to have anything to do with her because of her reputation as a psychotic ex-girlfriend. Heel-Face Revolving Door: After Daniel Bryan dumped her, she had a mental breakdown. It was hard to tell where she was because it seemed like she would change in the same scene based on her mood. She went with heel after TLC 2012. Heroic BSoD: Suffered one after Daniel Bryan stated that he wished she hadn’t been born. She then faced Natalya in a match, and Natalya started to wonder if the match should go on because AJ was just standing there, looking blind and deaf to the outside world. After that, AJ beat Natalya to death, forcing the referee to stop the match. Heterosexual Life Partners: In real life and in pre-Mad Love stories, with Kaitlyn. Their characters are unable to stand each other because of AJ’s descent into madness. They may have rekindled their friendship after Kaitlyn resumed her duties. Hoist by Their Own Petard: As it turned out, maybe AJ was wrong to challenge the new NXT champion to an impromptu match for her title. Keep in mind that AJ was the one who insisted on the match, and Paige had only come out to congratulate her. The Hope Spot: Daniel Bryan appeared to reconsider after AJ’s borderline squash against Kaitlyn. He then stated that he was eager to move on to Kaitlyn. To put it mildly, AJ was not pleased. Dolph’s World Title rematch at MITB was lost “accidentally” to AJ, who was relieved that he seemed to want to move on. The only problem was that he was prepared to leave her. It would be an understatement to say that she was devastated. Horrifying the Horror: Kane’s desire for female companionship is one of his most enduring traits. However, when AJ showed genuine interest in him, he rejected her gently because he thought she was too insane for him. Huge Man, Small Girl: when she and Kane got together. Kane towers over AJ—who stands in at 5’3″ and is one of the roster’s shortest divas—at just a hair under 7′, and almost everyone else. This obviously applies to her and every man she dates, given how small she is. She and Big E are more like Those Two Guys than a romantic couple. Langston as associates of Dolph. He is a powerlifter who weighs 285 pounds, which means that he is nearly three times her size. She is by far the most petite Diva. Hypocrite: She rose to prominence in WWE by manipulating three men simultaneously, but she criticizes the Total Divas cast, particularly The Bella Twins, for claiming that their more well-known partners helped advance their careers. She is the heel, so it’s probably deliberate. The Same Stranger: had darker hair a few years ago, and she claimed that people occasionally mistakenly identified her as Miranda Cosgrove. Additionally, she has been compared to her friend and writing partner, Aimee Garcia, who both lampooned her on Twitter. Irony: AJ, whose most well-known gimmick is being “The Crazy Chick,” went to therapy and became a mental health advocate during her decade-long absence from WWE. In fact, she started a “Therapy!” chant during her RAW promo for her return. Joisey was born and raised in Hudson County, which is where Union City is located in New Jersey. Kick the Dog: When she was dating Daniel Bryan, he kicked her mercilessly, and she was the dog. Naturally, things didn’t go as planned for him. She even mocked Bayley for being a Cuddlebug in her brutal match with her. Kicked Upstairs: Since AJ was probably one of the best female wrestlers on the roster, her appointment as RAW’s general manager could be seen as evidence of this. Having said that, the Divas division as a whole has recently been demoted to Extra, so it might have been the best way to keep AJ in the spotlight. After Vickie Guerrero “revealed” her “affair” with John Cena, she was kicked downstairs once more, and now she is competing as a regular Diva once more. She won the 2013 Diva’s Battle Royale with her masterful use of the knockout fakeout, in which she is allegedly knocked out cold after being kicked in the face early on. She remains “unconscious” on the floor until Layla, the last competitor, believes she has won. AJ keeps up the pretense until Layla tries to haul her over the ropes, at which point she pulls away and kicks Layla out of the ring. Layla is quickly told that she must get AJ out of the ring in order to win. An illustration of gender switching in Ladykiller in Love During her first year in WWE, AJ had a number of boyfriends who appeared on screen with her. However, as time went on, it became clear that CM Punk was the only man she ever truly loved, and she would later marry and reconcile with him off-screen. Ironically, Punk also had a reputation for moving around, but he didn’t meet a woman he wanted to marry until he met AJ. Large Ham: She can fall into this, especially when she’s cute and crazy. After nearly being carried off by Kane and witnessing Kane lay out both her ex, Daniel Bryan, and her crush/stalker victim, CM Punk, Laughing Mad descended into this. Also when Kane told her they wouldn’t work out and decided she was too crazy for him. Living Legend: AJ was arguably the most adored and feared Diva of the PG Era due to the fact that beneath her adorable exterior was an insane, manipulative sadist who destroyed nearly all opponents. By the time she retired, she had established her legacy by matching Eve Torres’ record of three reigns at the Diva Championship and 405 combined days as champion overall. When she returned in 2025, all she had to do to make Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins, both of whom were formidable competitors in their own right, Freak Out was run down to the ring and smile. Lonely at the Top: On the one hand, she lost her best friend in a bitter fight, the other Divas don’t like her, and every guy she’s ever dated thinks she’s a complete idiot and doesn’t want to be near her. She, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to care. She and Kaitlyn came across as lovely angels. Confession of Love: proclaimed to Daniel Bryan her love for him. He stated that he valued it. She also gave CM Punk a much longer one, and at the end of it, she asked him to marry her. Love Dodecahedron: In 2012, she had the “love square” storyline, in which she was juggling the affections of three different men at once: her ex-boyfriend Daniel Bryan, her new potential lovers CM Punk and Kane, and her current boyfriend Kane. After No Way Out, Kane pulled out of the race because he thought AJ was too crazy even for him. He reduced the situation to a more conventional Love Triangle with Bryan and Punk, which initially saw AJ start a relationship with neither man: Punk also thought AJ was too crazy for him, but Bryan seemed to win AJ back and proposed. She agreed, but she left him at the altar to become the new General Manager of RAW. This made it clear that the whole thing was a ruse to get back at Bryan. However, in the long run, Punk emerged victorious, whom she reconciled off-screen and later married in 2014note. As an absurd epilogue to Pair the Spares, the storyline also led to Bryan and Kane’s formation of Team Hell No, a tag team. Love Hurts: That’s an understatement. During the majority of AJ’s first career, the men in her life repeatedly broke her heart, which made it harder for her to recover mentally. This didn’t stop until she got back together with Punk and married him. Love Can Drive You Crazy: Oh, my God. In professional wrestling, AJ is the model for love-induced insanity because she went completely insane after Daniel Bryan dumped her in 2012 and never recovered. She has been in bad relationships ever since, which has made her even more irrational. The insane behavior continued even after she reconciled with CM Punk and married him, but it was now directed at their collective foes, as she demonstrated in her return in 2025 when she went after Becky Lynch for betraying Punk at the Clash in Paris. Towards Daniel Bryan, love makes you stupid. Her best response to her confession of love was that he appreciated it. He made blatant use of her to preserve his title. When his name was mentioned, Michael Cole only came out to stop him from verbally attacking her while he was interviewing her. Dear God, Mad Love. Her relationship with Daniel Bryan, particularly after he was defeated by Sheamus at WrestleMania 28 for the World Heavyweight Championship. Fans have compared her to Harley Quinn, which is fitting considering that both she and Bryan are comic book fans. After their split, AJ can’t seem to give up on Bryan. After that, she noticed Kane, CM Punk, and all three of them simultaneously. John Cena followed, followed by Dolph Ziggler, but it didn’t last. Man Bite: During a tag team match, she once repeatedly bit Natalya. A generous depiction of her character at its best, Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Bitch manipulative: She had everyone dancing to her tune from 2012 to 2014 during her heel run. She casually entangled herself with CM Punk, Kane, and Daniel Bryan in a long-term plan to slander the latter for his cruel abandonment of her following WrestleMania. She also feigned a secret admirer for her ex-best friend Kaitlyn in order to sabotage her opponent’s head in the upcoming Divas Championship match, which AJ won, and she manipulated other Divas, such as Layla and Tamina, into becoming When AJ returned months later, she carried out the same thing to Paige as she had done to Paige the night after WrestleMania XXX when Paige baited her into a Divas Championship match, allowing Paige to surprise her with a Paige Turner and win the title. The wishes of the WWE Universe forced Paige into it, and AJ managed to win with a roll-up and regain the championship, despite Paige’s insistence that she would not. By manipulating Rollins into accepting her challenge for a mixed tag team match at Wrestlepalooza, she demonstrated that she was still a top-tier schemer when she returned in 2025. She did this by taking advantage of Becky’s apparent fear of her, Rollins’ tendencies toward “Won’t Hit a Girl,” and, most importantly, Rollins’ enormous resentment toward Punk. Rollins was furious and didn’t even know AJ had played him. He had to explain his decision to Becky, who was horrified, while AJ and Punk laughed happily from the ring. Betrayal triggered by mistreatment: Because she believed he had been playing with her, AJ turned against Cena and sided with Ziggler. She also pushed Bryan and Punk through a table because they were not paying attention to her. Mood Swinger: Her mood swings were well-known for being erratic. In the course of a single conversation, she would switch from appearing to be sane to rage mad, then depressed, and finally laughing mad. It was a further manifestation of her unstable character. Morality Pet: CM Punk, her husband. AJ is the only person in Punk’s life he values more than himself. Because Drew McIntyre stole from him a cheap fan-made bracelet with AJ’s name on it, he literally started a blood feud with him. Even Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins, who think the worst of Punk, acknowledge that his love for his wife is his only redeeming quality. Named After Someone Famous: Wendee Lee, a well-known voice actress, gave her the surname Lee. Bravo for breaking it and fixing it… Anti-Villain? /Gone Horribly Right: After becoming GM, AJ made it her personal mission to torture all of her former love interests, no matter where she was on the alignment spectrum. What was the end result? a duo that ruled WWE’s Tag Team division and the airwaves for more than a year. Her request to hire additional referees for RAW to assist with the workload when the broadcast extended to three hours was another decision that AJ made that had significant ramifications for the entire company. Brad Maddox, who eventually became her successor, was one of these referees. a clear example of a “Fixing It Villain” with her advertisement for the Total Divas cast. Earlier, Natalya, The Funkadactyls, and Jojo faced off against Eva Marie, the Bellas, and the Heels. After that, this brought Eva and the Bellas face to face and brought all seven of them together to fight AJ. When she started boasting that no one on the roster could beat her, her running roughshod over the entire Divas division in late 2013 and early 2014 may have, on a storyline level, prompted WWE to challenge her with an opponent she had never seen before. It’s Paige. No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Natalya beat her senseless while she was in pain and barely able to move, starting with Natalya giving her the sharpshooter and forcing her to tap out. No-Sell: On one of RAW’s nights, she and Dolph Ziggler were accompanying Big E Langston to the ring for one of his first WWE singles matches. This is a well-known Real Life example. Langston, who is obscenely strong and weighs 285 pounds, accidentally punches AJ in the boobs when he stretches out his arms during the entrance. She said on Twitter that she didn’t feel much of it because of her bra. obfuscating madness: The mental issues appeared to be very real in the early stages of her push. She hasn’t quite reached her full potential since becoming Divas Champion, but she also sometimes exaggerates her reputation to appear much less sane than she actually is. She appeared to be much more stable when she returned in 2025 after years of therapy, though she was still very silly and out of place. She “forgot” that she was still wearing the Intercontinental Title Belt until Becky pointed it out, apologized, and took it off. After that, she used the belt to easily get Becky and Rollins to accept her and Punk’s challenge to wrestle in a mixed tag team match at Wrestlepalooza. Numerous official couples They were in WWE NXT for a while with Hornswoggle. With Daniel Bryan, but they broke up after he lost at WrestleMania. with Dolph Ziggler until he broke up with her and she cost him the World Heavyweight Championship rematch. WWE has focused on her only competing for the Divas Championship for the rest of her career (along with her being a “crazy chick,” of course) since her Real Life marriage to CM Punk. Prior to this, she had been dating so many men on the roster. They said they were married when Punk came back in 2023, greeting her several times in his promos. When AJ came back in 2025, they were officially paired together on screen. Old Flame: Kane, of all the people involved in the intricate Love Dodecahedron that occupied the majority of 2012, is the only ex-partner AJ appears to admire. To be fair, given the circumstances, he ended things with her before they got out of hand, and he did so as gently as possible, which appears to have spared him her anger. Older than they appear: Even though AJ was 27 when she first retired, she tended to appear to be a teenager on screen the majority of the time (when she debuted on NXT, her pro Primo initially thought she was 16), especially when she lined up with the majority of the men. This is in large part due to her petite frame and the fact that she does not have breast implants, unlike many other female wrestlers. Even Daniel Bryan, a wrestler who is on the smaller side of the spectrum, is dwarfed by her. It would appear that WWE was somewhat exaggerating this. It is important to note that Bryan’s Beard of Evil keeps getting longer and more wild. This started when they were dating and continues even now, making their relationship look like a schoolgirl who is in love with a full-grown lumberjack. Even though she was approaching 40 at the time, she appeared to have not aged a single day when she returned in 2025. It was a stark contrast to her husband, CM Punk, who, despite still being fit and handsome, has clearly looked older since his return to WWE (he was about to turn 47 when she made her return). One-Steve Limit: If AJ had stayed on the roster for one more year, it would have happened when AJ Styles made his debut. The Phenomenal One was still present on the roster when the OG Chick Buster returned in 2025. Subverted on the Rebound. At first, it appeared as though she was interested in CM Punk and Kane in part because she wanted to move on from Daniel Bryan, whom she fully admitted was not over yet. However, it turned out that she was merely manipulating them all in a convoluted scheme to mislead Bryan. They would reunite and wed two years after the beginning of the storyline, when her interest in Punk did become genuine. Over-the-Shoulder Carry: This is typically how her partners and managers would assist her in recovering from a defeat. Passive Remedy: AJ “accompanied” CM Punk to ringside during a match with Daniel Bryan. (In this instance, “accompanied” refers to “stalked.”) Punk was probably grateful when Kane showed up on a rampage, despite the fact that having her out there cloyed him and cost him the match unintentionally. The Setting Kane slammed Daniel Bryan to the ground with a chokehold while he was balancing a steel chair on his back. He turned to face Punk, but AJ had already given him a chair while Kane was facing the other way, allowing Punk to fight back and avoid being chokeslammed. Also at No Way Out, she runs down to the ring and jumps on the apron just in time for Kane to slam into her during the triple threat title match after Punk whipped him to the ropes. Punk was able to hit the Go To Sleep for the victory thanks to a brief distraction created by Kane’s concern for her. She smiled over his shoulder at Punk as Kane cradled her and took her to the back for medical care, but it’s not clear if Punk was even aware of what she was doing. She has been mentioned numerous times that she is not the world’s busiest person, but she is proud of being different. Powerhouse of a pint: 5′ 2″ and all muscle. Playing Possum: How she rose to the top of the list of potential opponents for Kaitlyn’s title match. AJ had been superkicked by Tamina during a Battle Royale to determine said number one contender, and he spent the majority of the match allegedly unconscious on the floor. Layla thought she had won until a referee pointed out that she needed to knock out all of the other competitors to win. After that, Layla slowly dragged AJ over the ropes, but just as she was about to get him there, AJ suddenly backed away and kicked Layla out of the ring. Poke the Poodle: Rosa Mendes and Tamina called AJ a “mousy loser” and gave her a box of cheese in mockery. Her transformation into her “crazy chick” persona during the WWE Championship feud between her future Real Life husband CM Punk and Daniel Bryan propelled her to the top of the PG Era’s popularity ladder. Her high popularity ensured that she remained at the top of the Divas Division for the rest of her career, with multiple reigns of the Divas Championship, the first of which was the second longest reign in the title’s history. In an era when a Diva was lucky to be featured onscreen once a month, her high popularity gave her consistent TV time. One of WWE’s loudest return pops occurred in 2025 when AJ returned to the company to assist Punk in his feud with Seth Rollins by neutralizing Rollins’ wife Becky Lynch. Power Reliable: (in VPW as Miss April): VTG Enterprises (as AJ): The FCW All-Stars, featuring Lucky Cannon, Maxine, and Damien Sandow. In this video, Pride Before a Fall goes so far as to make one cringe. Proud to be a Geek Goddess: Oh, she is. Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: After Daniel Bryan broke up with her, AJ lost her mind and never recovered her sanity. She actively tormented every love interest she encountered over the next year, beginning with Bryan and continuing with CM Punk, John Cena, and Dolph Zigglernote. She eventually reconciled with Punk and tied the knot with him, but her return to WWE demonstrates that she is still as irrational as ever, despite having better self-control. Psychotic Smirk: AJ has the cutest, most innocent psycho smirk you’ve ever seen. Puppy-Dog Eyes: It hurts so much to see her sad. Kane has even been stopped dead in his tracks by AJ’s puppy-dog eyes. Yes, the same individual who electrocuted a man’s nuts and assaulted a priest. Pyrrhic Victory: She won the title of Divas Champion, but in the process, she lost her best friend and was left out of nearly every other Diva competition. Even though all of the other Divas despise her, she honestly doesn’t seem to care. Put on a Bus: In 2014, she went missing twice from television for months at a time. Rags to Riches: She spent her childhood homeless and poor, living with her family in motels and the homes of friends. She went on to become a successful writer, a millionaire, and a superstar in global wrestling. Dresses are not worn by real women: genuinely referred to in her pipebombshell promo to the cast of Total Divas. Particularly the line that stated that they were not “fit to lace up my Chuck Taylors” regardless of how many designer shoes they owned or how many red carpets they walked on. And once more when she took on the Bella Twins with Paige. The Bellas, according to her and Paige, were not “real women.” She was involved in romance arcs or Ship Tease situations with Primo, Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Kane (the latter three at the same time at one point), John Cena, and Dolph Ziggler during her first stint with WWE. Figure of Reasonable Authority/Corrupt Corporate Executive: As the General Manager of Raw, AJ’s position was determined by her mood. Dressed to Kill: Regardless. Speech titled “The Reason You Suck”: She delivered an epic one to the entire roster of Divas on the August 26, 2013, episode of RAW, which was later dubbed “The Pipe Bombshell”: “[false smile] OMG you guys, I just watched the last Total Divas episode, and it was insane, oh my gosh. I mean, the Bellas were dealing with the obvious problems their dad was having. After splitting up, the Funkadactyls got back together. Not much of a man is the fiancé of Natalya. The remaining two were also present. It was the end of the world, it was great, and it only airs on Sunday nights on the E! network. Do you want to know what I see when I look in that ring? [Smile turns into frown] Honestly? a group of unusable, interchangeable, cheap women. women who have chosen reality television because they lacked the talent necessary to become actresses. Additionally, they lacked the talent necessary to win. I have accomplished more in a single year than you have in your entire careers. I have shattered glass ceilings, shattered doors, and saved your Divas division. Why? So, how come a group of rigid, ungrateful plastic mannequins can waltz through without even receiving a token of appreciation? You can’t even go backstage to shake my hand or look me in the eyes because you know that I put in a lot of effort to get here, that I risked my life for this, and that you only got fifteen minutes of fame. I didn’t get to this point because I was cute, because I was born into a well-known wrestling family, or because I liked the right people. I arrived here due to my virtue. I earned this championship, and you will never be able to lace up my Chuck Taylors, no matter how many red carpets you want to walk in your ridiculous heels that cost four thousand dollars. You will never be able to touch me, and you are all useless justifications for women. And that is the truth.” She received a painful one from Ziggler, in which he described her as a needy “Action Whore” who throws herself at anyone who shows even the slightest interest in her. After she defeated him, it seemed to actually get through to her, which was surprising. She boasted that she was superior to all of the other Divas, and Stephanie McMahon ended up giving her one. When AJ responded with insults and taunts, McMahon then spitefully pointed out that even though AJ was the rightful champion, McMahon was still the boss and could very easily take away her title and sack her. McMahon began by saying that AJ was perpetuating the stereotype that women are vengeful, capricious, and will gleefully backstab anyone and everyone. She probably would have continued, but Kaitlyn came in and interrupted her. She was eliminated from NXT, and Kaitlyn won instead. The runner-up takes it all. Kaitlyn’s career after NXT is hard to overlook—she was even Divas Champion—but AJ is way ahead of her because her reign was much longer and she had three reigns compared to Kaitlyn’s one. Additionally, her numerous high-profile angles with Bryan, Punk, Kane, Cena, and Ziggler in 2012-13 and her stint as Raw GM put her in more spotlight than any other Diva in years. She’s shown a few signs of being a sadist, most of which involve her former boyfriends. Take, for instance, the match that Daniel Bryan and CM Punk had at Money In The Bank 2012: AJ was the referee. However, after she got hurt, left for a few minutes, and came back, she started actively interfering in the match. At times, she was watching them fight and hurt each other with a big smile on her face. She also appeared to really enjoy beating Eva Marie up. Sanity Slippage: After being dumped by Daniel Bryan in 2012, AJ’s sanity began to fade with each passing week. It has pretty much vanished by this point. To quote Kaitlyn, “The wheel is spinning, but the hamster’s dead.”
Zigzagged sanity strengthening. She went to therapy to get her mental health back during her wrestling hiatus, which is why she is much calmer and more at ease than she was during her first run. However, this does not imply that she is no longer insane; rather, it merely indicates that she is in a better position to control it and use it more effectively against her adversaries, as demonstrated by the beating that she inflicted on Becky Lynch and the ease with which she coerced Seth Rollins. Screaming Woman: She screams a lot when things don’t go the way she wants them to. In fact, she even shouted from the top of a steel cage during the match. She Doesn’t Look Like a Supermodel, But When She Wears a Dress, AJ Doesn’t Look Like a Supermodel. Ship Trick: On NXT, with her pro Primo, Cody Rhodes in a kissing match, and Hornswoggle in Redemption. Occasionally with Kaitlyn. She later had this with Daniel Bryan on the main shows; despite the fact that it became a relationship, it ended badly. Then there is the Punk/Bryan/Kane feud for the WWE Championship, in which AJ was teased with all three of them, but he was most strongly teased with Punk (who didn’t seem particularly interested) and Kane (in which it was suggested that AJ was manipulating him). Out of the three, only Kane showed her how much he loved her. However, despite the ship’s popularity, Kane was pulled because he thought AJ was too crazy for him, and despite the fact that he was only twenty years older than AJ, he was still popular. A ship tease with John Cena would later occur for AJ. She now has her eye on Dolph Ziggler. Also Big E. You are truly perplexed by Langston’s enigmatic relationship with AJ as well as his loyalty to her (he attacks on her frequently verbal commands). Given that Big E is the only person AJ hasn’t broken up with since summer 2013, one might have thought it was coming soon. Especially when he rolled his eyes when she had an “I know you like me” moment and questioned her when she flipped her shit in the middle of his match one night while he was kissing her on the forehead to calm her down from one of her freakouts the next. But when they lost to Dolph and Kaitlyn at SummerSlam, their alliance came to an abrupt end, and Langston quickly changed his face. She made fun of Stephanie McMahon and herself on Twitter by saying, “This example has a YMMV entry.” Of all places, it ought to be moved to the YMMV tab. Shout-Out: During their promo on an episode of SmackDown, AJ wore red and black shorts, pigtails, and referred to Dolph as “Puddin.” This seems appropriate given her tendency toward madness. Sweethearts: Prior to that, with Dolph Ziggler. For instance, on the Christmas episode of Raw, their idea of flirting cost John Cena the match he was supposed to have in a Money in the Bank match on the TLC PPV. Skip of Innocence: Like innocence but without innocence. Skipping around the ring before entering it is one of AJ’s most well-known demeanors. But it’s just a trick to get in her opponents’ heads, who know that she’s a liar who wants to kill them, even though she looks like she’s having a good time. She may have had the greatest direct influence on WWE of any Diva in history, despite her small role. Her boyfriend Daniel Bryan became an overprotective and possessive jerk after receiving an accidental neck blow from The Big Show. This also led Bryan to lash out at Lee for nearly everything she did, including losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus at WrestleMania in 18 seconds. Bryan then virulently dumped AJ on the following week’s episode of WWE SmackDown. AJ’s behavior became increasingly erratic as a result of Daniel’s cruelty, and her profile on television increased as her bizarre antics steadily consumed airtime. In point of fact, AJ’s transformation into an outrageous scene stealer resulted in her appointment by Vince McMahon as General Manager of WWE Raw later that summer, much to Daniel Bryan’s dismay, who had mistakenly assumed that she had agreed to marry him in the ring for accepting the GM position. Bryan became confused as a result of this cruel trick, and he had to go to psychological group therapy with Kane. The two of them came up with the comedic tag team Team Hell No, which brought both characters back to life. This was the beginning of Daniel Bryan’s true meteoric rise to stardom in WWE. He gained such a following that he not only went on to win the WWE Championship three times, but when he was excluded from and (relatively) quickly eliminated from the 2014 and 2015 Royal Rumble matches, fan disillusionment was so great that the WWE Universe turned virulently against the men who did win those matches, Batista and Roman Reigns. Reigns never regained the adoration he had during his time with The Shield, even though Batista turned this situation into heel heat for what ultimately led to Bryan winning the title at WrestleMania 30. This example contains a YMMV entry. It ought to be moved to the YMMV tab. Despite being a face, he continues to receive a lot of boos and has been forced to acknowledge it within Kayfabe. Reigns eventually sought new advice, teamed up with Paul Heyman, turned heel, regained the Universal title, formed the Bloodline with his real-life cousins, The Usos, unified the WWE and Universal titles, and became the most dominant WWE champion since Hulk Hogan, holding the title for more than 1200 days. Is AJ-mania also affecting you? Dolph Ziggler, whose rise to prominence was greatly aided by AJ’s appointment as his manager in December 2012, when he won his first genuine World Heavyweight Championship. Also, The New Day, a hugely successful trio that might not have existed without Big E. In the Ziggler/Lee faction, Langston never got the role he did. Not to mention the members of The Shield’s breakup and solo success. Their arc would not have been the same without the formation of The Authority and Evolution’s return, which can both be attributed to Bryan’s rise to popularity and the outcry over Batista winning the Rumble (which, as mentioned earlier, was largely due to Bryan’s absence from the match). The Smurfette Principle: She is the only major female WWE star in Wrestlemania Mystery. A Spanner in the Making: AJ has a long history of winning or losing matches for other wrestlers, either intentionally or unintentionally. For instance: She helped Ziggler win Money In The Bank 2012 by knocking Cena off the ladder and placing him in the ideal position for Ziggler to knock him out. During the triple match between Kane, Bryan, and Punk in No Way Out, she climbed onto the apron just in time for Punk to accidentally push Kane into her and knock her off. AJ didn’t get hurt, but she did a good enough job of faking it so Kane seemed worried about her, which distracted him long enough for Punk to win. By striking Del Rio with her own title, she famously cost Dolph Ziggler his match for the World Heavyweight Title, which resulted in Ziggler’s disqualification. She won a match for Punk and Sheamus against Bryan and Kane in a hilarious way by randomly entering the ring in Kane’s costume, skipping around the ring, and leaving without much of a hello. Bryan was exposed to Sheamus and Punk because Kane was so perplexed by this that he followed her up the ramp and out of the match (but not out of it). Seth Rollins used AJ’s husband CM Punk’s refusal to hit a woman and his own wife Becky Lynch to ruin CM Punk’s career and legacy when she returned in 2025. In addition to providing dedicated backup to deal with Becky, AJ is a serious threat in and of herself due to her instability, unpredictability, and cunning scheme, comparable to Rollins. By manipulating Rollins into accepting her challenge for a mixed tag match between the two couples, she demonstrated something Punk hadn’t been able to do in months when she got into Rollins’ head in one promo. Soundtrack Dissonance: At one point, “Let’s Light It Up,” a bouncy pop song, was perfect for her entrance theme. However, as her character has developed, it has become this. Which a YMMV entry can be found in this example. It ought to be moved to the YMMV tab because it still perfectly reflects her character, considering that everything about AJ these days is in some way off. Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Her role in the Punk/Bryan feud was more prominent than her holding the WWE Championship; for the most part, it appeared as though Punk and Bryan were fighting more for her than for the title. This was reflected in her gradual return to the Divas Division, where she was the only Diva to consistently appear on television. Throughout the remainder of her first tenure with the company, she maintained a position at or near the top of the division. She even won the tag team match between herself, Paige, and the Bella Twins at WrestleMania 31 prior to her initial retirement. Stalker who has a crush on CM Punk The fact that he said that he kind of likes crazy girls didn’t help. And specifically toward Kane, but that didn’t last long. She was also this to Daniel Bryan for a while, particularly after the end of their first relationship. Stepford Smiler: Unstable in nature. She is an insane, sadistic woman who is willing to go to any lengths to get what she wants, despite her seemingly innocent smile. During her return in 2025, when she saw the panicked Becky Lynch in the ring, her smile took on a disingenuous tilt, indicating that, despite her seemingly upbeat demeanor, she was about to slam Becky for daring to touch Punk. Still Got It: Her first match since coming out of retirement at Wrestlepalooza, a mixed tag match with Punk against Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins, demonstrates that even ten years later, she is still one of the best storytellers in the ring and as athletic as she was when she was younger. She performed all of her old moves almost as well as she did a decade ago, with the same smoothness she did in her prime, as the desperate and ferociously protective wife waiting for the hot tag. This culminated in AJ claiming the victory for herself and Punk by forcing Becky to bow to the Black Widow. She became the first person since Asuka in 2019 to force the Man to quit. Student–Master Team: Before WWE, with Jay Lethal, her trainer and then-boyfriend. During her fight with the Bella Twins, she told them that “talent is not sexually transmitted.” This was referred to as the “Success Through Sex” accusation. To put things in perspective, Brie was with Daniel Bryan, while Nikki was with John Cena at the time. Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss: With Brie Bella at the free and heavily promoted 2014 Survivor Series. “Take That!” “LayCool called, they want their gimmick back,” Rosa and Tamina, aspiring bitchy heels, said. “Uh, no, I was hugged as a child, so I’m not desperate for attention,” she responded when asked if the Total Divas crew had asked her to appear on the show. “Talent is not sexually transmitted” to the Bella Twins. Tempting Fate: She once extolled her status as a role model and asked the Divas if they thought they were as good as or better than her to come out and confront her. There is no response for a few seconds before Stephanie McMahon’s theme plays. She declares categorically in the video, which was released the day before WrestleMania 30, that no other Divas could ever win the title. Yes, she was somewhat mistaken about that. She seemed to be implying that she didn’t think any of the other Divas on the roster could win the title. She was probably the best-selling Divas Division author during her time, according to Theatrics of Pain. She gave the impression that the delivery man had just killed her each time she was hit with a significant move. By selling her first ever announcers’ table spot during her return match, AJ demonstrated that she was still a top-tier seller when she returned in 2025. Because it was so good, Punk went out of character and checked to see if she was okay. Throw the Dog a Bone: Praise the Lord that AJ and Kaitlyn were able to defeat Maxine and Tamina on NXT, preventing them from going to jobber hell. Token Trio: Dolph, who was white, Big E Langston, who was Afro-Caribbean, and AJ, who was Puerto Rican, made up the trio when she was dating Dolph Ziggler. Name That Is Too Tomboyish: When you hear the name “AJ,” you wouldn’t think that a pretty young woman would suddenly appear, would you? AJ fits the stereotype because she is significantly different from the typical WWE Diva in that she appears to be sweet and innocent while enjoying things that are typically associated with boys, such as comic books and video games (she also proudly wears Chuck Taylor sneakers rather than wrestling boots, and she once bragged about it in a promo), in addition to being a damn good wrestler who has been heavily involved in wrestling since she was a young child. Of course, April Jeanette is the parent of AJ. She is a self-described tomboy who has enjoyed wrestling since she was a child. She also enjoys comic books, video games, and anime. She prefers to dress herself down in comparison to the glitz of other Divas, even opting to wear Chuck Taylors rather than heels. She, on the other hand, goes right to the ring right away, likes to wear more feminine colors like pink, and she’s wearing the Divas Championship Belt, which has the most obvious design of any belt. Tonight in This Very Ring: When she became General Manager of RAW, she naturally began making promos of this kind. Too Hot for Yog-Sothoth: According to her page quote, in her 2012 “Love Square” storyline, Kane said that Yog-Sothoth was too crazy for him and that he was no longer interested in her. Consider that for a moment. Won WSU’s 2009 Queen and King of the Ring with Jay Lethal as her partner in Tournament Arc. Trash Talk: One of the reasons AJ rose to the top of the Divas Division was that she was one of the best promos not only in the division but also in the entire company. She was able to deliver both harsh speeches and witty, off-the-cuff responses. She easily went bar-for-bar with Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins simultaneously during her return promo, demonstrating that even a decade away from the spotlight did not diminish her mic work. Un-person: After she retired and left WWE, AJ was almost erased from history due to her real-life marriage to Punk. This was likely done to avoid mentioning her husband, whose name was frequently chanted during her matches after he famously left WWE. So much so that it has long been speculated that WWE only granted Nikki Bella a certain amount of time to hold the now-defunct Diva’s Championship so that she could surpass AJ, who held the belt for the longest time in the company’s history. This is especially evident in the WWE 24 documentary “Women’s Evolution,” which omits any mention of AJ other than a brief image of her in the final montage. This is despite the fact that AJ was unquestionably the most prominent Diva on the roster from 2012 to 2013, and her popularity as well as her feud with Kaitlyn served as the starting point for the “Women’s Revolution” that would take over the company in the years that followed. In 2023, after Punk made amends with the company and returned to WWE, the company started making references to AJ once more, mostly about her relationship with Punk because she hasn’t shown any interest in returning to wrestling as an on-screen talent so far. until 2025, when she resumed her WWE television appearances. Used to Be a Kind Kid: Before Bryan broke up with her, AJ as the Geek Goddess was a lot nicer and sweeter kid. The Voice of a Generation: Like CM Punk, A.J. incorporated her Cloudcuckoolander persona with the same “pipebomb” formula. She was particularly fond of pointing out that the Bella Twins and the Divas division were more like wrestlers than Divas. Waif-Fu: With agility, a spunky spirit, and determination, she has made a name for herself at 5’2″ and 115 pounds. She has a slim, petite body. We Used to Be Friends: After AJ broke up with Daniel Bryan, her friendship with Kaitlyn drove her insane. Kaitlyn attempted to assist her at first and persuade her to leave Bryan, but she was unable to handle AJ’s unpredictable behavior, especially after AJ attacked her during one of her fits, and she eventually parted ways with her former tag team partner. When they started fighting over the Divas Championship, AJ never made up his mind to forgive her for the “abandonment.” Instead, he made up a fake secret admirer scheme to get in Kaitlyn’s head, permanently ending any chance they had of reconciling. The Wham Line: A segment that appeared to be A.J. being her usual wild self and CM Punk just taking it all in stride opened RAW on July 9, 2012. Then A.J. reveals this shocking fact: Punk, will you marry me, A.J.? (He refused… at the time.) On the 1000th RAW episode, Vince McMahon probably appointed her as general manager after finding someone even more insane than he is. Whether this was beneficial or detrimental depended primarily on whether your name was Daniel Bryan. Or if your name is CM Punk and you chose the wrong time to turn your back on the world. The Wild Card: O Lord. In the Punk/Kane/Bryan story, one had to wonder which side she was on. Did she support Punk? Is it Kane’s? Or was she attempting to cause them to destroy one another? After Kane wisely withdrew himself from the fight, she then attacked Bryan and Punk for insulting her. Bryan suggested she see a therapist, and Punk called his sister instead of watching her match that night. Woman Scorned: Anyone who has ever ended a relationship with AJ—or even ended a hint of a relationship—has been slandered in some way or another. Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Kane, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, and Kane (albeit to a lesser extent) Essentially, dumping AJ is similar to attempting to leave the gang. AJ has returned to the ring and defended her husband as a result of Becky Lynch’s involvement in the feud between CM Punk and Seth Rollins. After Lynch slapped Punk for the second time, knowing full well that he wouldn’t hit a girl, AJ returned after ten years and viciously kicked her in the arse. Additionally, as a memento, she brought Lynch’s Intercontinental Championship Belt. Vocal Dissonance: People who hear AJ speak for the first time might be surprised by her deep, throaty voice. Yandere: AJ had hints of it before Daniel Bryan dumped her, but she has now fully adopted it as the character’s core trait. Your Princess Lives in a Different Castle: She was forced to resign as GM of RAW, and she found herself back in the ring competing against Beth Phoenix, whom she beats with a roll-up. Vickie Guerrero appears and orders the referee to restart the match, prompting Beth Phoenix to hit AJ from behind and plant her with the Glam Slam for the pinfall victory. This was Beth Phoenix’s first victory in the ring in what seems like forever. On a different occasion, AJ herself mentioned the trope’s name. On one of her Twitter statuses, the trope appears as follows: