AJ Lee has opened up about the fears she faced before making her WWE return after a decade away from professional wrestling.
AJ Lee returned to WWE in 2025, ending a 10-year absence from the ring. Upon her comeback, she was immediately thrust into a high-profile storyline involving CM Punk, Becky Lynch, and Seth Rollins, eventually teaming with Punk against Lynch and Rollins at Wrestlepalooza.
Her most recent match came at WrestleMania 42 Night One, where she lost the Women’s Intercontinental Championship to Becky Lynch. Speaking on State of Mind with Maurice Benard (quotes courtesy of fightful.com), Lee admitted that returning to the spotlight was one of the biggest challenges she had faced after spending years away from wrestling.
“A big fear was coming back to the spotlight and wrestling again,” Lee said.
The former champion explained that her final year in wrestling had coincided with one of the most difficult periods of her life. Despite her success in the ring, she said she was struggling personally while dealing with the pressure of performing before a global audience.
“My brain was at my lowest when it seemed like I was on the top of the world,” Lee said.
AJ Lee Worked On Her Mental Health After Leaving The Wrestling Business
After stepping away from wrestling, AJ Lee spent the next decade focusing on her health and well-being. While she eventually reached a point where she felt stronger than ever, she admitted there were concerns about how returning to WWE might affect her mentally.
“I was really scared,” Lee said. “What’s that pressure going to do?”
However, Lee said she discovered that the work she had done on herself over the past 10 years prepared her for the challenge. She explained that while feelings of anxiety still exist, she now has the tools to manage them in a healthy way, even when dealing with the pressure of live television and stepping through the curtain before a match.
