AJ Lee has been away from WWE since losing her Women’s Intercontinental Championship to Becky Lynch, and it’s been over seven weeks with no hint of her comeback.
While fans have been eagerly waiting for The Black Widow’s return to the Stamford-based promotion, a recent report by WrestleVotes via Fightful.com revealed that AJ Lee might not return to the promotion anytime soon.
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The former Divas Champion made her in-ring return last year in September after 10 long years and teamed up with her husband CM Punk to take on Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins in a mixed tag team match at WWE Wrestlepalooza.
Since then, she has been embroiled in a heated rivalry with The Man, which culminated at WrestleMania, with Big Time Becks’ big win over the veteran.
That being said, in this article, we take a look at three potential reasons why Lee has gone from World Wrestling Entertainment television.
#3. No WWE creative plans
The Stamford-based promotion’s women’s division has been stacked as it has never been before, and both Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night RAW have been packed with rising superstar main attractions and mid-carders, leaving very small chances to adjust any other star in the equation.
Given her massive fan following, Lee is a main-event star, and following her feud with Becky Lynch, with the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship in the mix, there may be no creative plans left for the ex-Divas Champion, and that may be a potential reason why she is away from World Wrestling Entertainment television and isn’t planned to come back anytime soon.
#2. Lengthy time off
The former Women’s Intercontinental Champion AJ Lee is not only away from WWE television, but her husband and ex-World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk is also on hiatus since post-WrestleMania Monday Night RAW.
The Best in the World also lost his title, like his wife Lee, at WWE WrestleMania 42; he dropped his Heavyweight strap to Roman Reigns in the night two main event after the two delivered one of the best Mania matches of all time.
His long absence led to fans speculate whether he has left the Stamford-based promotion alongside his wife once again, but according to a report by WrestleVotes via Fightful, WWE not having creative plans for him isn’t true and he is just on time off and would return to the company soon and will once again placed in main-event picture where he has been since he had returned to the sports entertainment giant.
That said, the same could be the case with AJ Lee; she could also have taken a lengthy time, as she needs time to recover well before she comes back, as she has been away from professional wrestling for almost 10 years, and her body would need some time to adapt to the physicality she had when she was in her prime and was on a full-time run.
She could return for SummerSlam 2026 premium live event or later, once the company needs her to spike the ratings for good.
#1. She’s on a part-time schedule
It’s been a pattern for World Wrestling Entertainment stars to return to the Stamford-based promotion for a short period, have a single feud, and then take a long time off; basically, they compete on a part-time schedule.
AJ Lee may be on a similar part-time schedule and could make occasional appearances at a big premium live event, then keep her out of action. Fans could see her back by this year’s two-night SummerSlam premium live event.
The Black Widow still has multiple dream matches left in the tank; her bouts against Rhea Ripley, Bayley, Liv Morgan, and a few more are some matches that could draw a massive box-office attraction, and Triple H and his WWE creative team would not miss a chance to book these matches down the line.
Therefore, there is a massive chance that the former Divas Champion may have signed a part-time contract with the sports entertainment juggernaut. That being said, all the pointers above are speculative, and nothing is confirmed as of now.
It will be interesting to see what plans The Game and his World Wrestling Entertainment crew have in store for the former Women’s Intercontinental Champion once she returns to the company.
Edited by Angana Roy