Four Reasons I Hate That AJ Lee Is Retiring

I have been out of the wrestling loop for a bit, due to my job. I have been paying attention; I caught WrestleMania and the night after Raw show and enjoyed those events. I have heard some great things about the other events that took place during the WrestleMania week and want to check out some matches and shows from that as well. I had been contemplating some things to write about following my hiatus from regular column writing, but didn’t have a definitive take on anything that I felt was special. It had all been said, and I didn’t want to repeat takes from the other writers here on the site. But then the news came, via the Twitter machine that AJ Lee was retiring from in ring competition. We all knew that this was coming once CM Punk left, it was only a matter of time before she decided to leave to be with her husband who not only left the business, but despises the company she continued to work for. As a fan I personally think this sucks, and want to tell you why I feel that way. Thanks for joining me today…

She Was a Fan

Go ahead and watch the video above, it’s been around forever, but it makes my point. A young AJ meets her idol Lita at an autograph signing and is moved to tears when she finally meets her because she loves her and loved professional wrestling. In what many in WWE think is a curse, AJ Lee was a fan of professional wrestling, so much so that she ended up becoming a wrestler herself. She wasn’t in it for the fame or the money, although when you get that I am sure it is intoxicating, she loved it and wanted to be a part of it. She worked the New Jersey independent circuit, training under Jay Lethal, and after about 18-months, she caught the eye of the WWE and signed a developmental deal. To me, she was the kind of person they needed. She wasn’t a model, she wasn’t in it for the fame; she loved it and she was going to work hard to make it. She could have been a bust, but her love for the business was there and she was a great candidate to take a chance on.

She Reached Multiple Demographics

Once AJ Lee made the main roster, it was apparent that she wasn’t the typical diva. She had a different look, she dressed differently and she wanted with all of her heart to be a wrestler. But then you look at her fan base, she was the kind of performer that they wanted for the top spot, even if she wasn’t the traditional model/fitness freak or chosen one. She appealed to a certain part of the male fan base because she was a self-admitted geek. She’s that “hot gamer chick” that those men want, that they want to hang out with and they think they have a chance with. She appeals to part of the female audience, because women can be catty and don’t like super attractive model types. My sister loves her because “she felt like a chick I could relate with and actually wrestled”. And then there are the kids. Kids loved AJ, and maybe there was a young lady, like young AJ in that video above, that met her and was inspired to become a wrestler. When you reach multiple demographics that way that is something that the WWE loves.

She Was a Good Wrestler

Now do not get me wrong, I am not one of those people in the camp that thought AJ Lee was the best wrestler in the business during her run with the WWE. She’s certainly no all time great, and won’t be remembered in the history of women’s wrestling like a Manami Toyota, but I thought that she was good. She was one of the company’s better promo women during her run (when she got the chance) and also had good matches during her run (when she got the chance). While I do not consider her an all time great, I personally cannot think of a time where a match was bad and I thought she was the problem. She worked hard, she took her craft seriously. I appreciated her work and feel that while it won’t destroy the division, that it is certainly a loss.

She Wanted To Change Things For The Better

Finally, and most importantly, I felt that her biggest asset to the company (and more importantly fans of women’s wrestling) was that she wanted to change things for the better. She didn’t want to be a valet, she didn’t want to do pillow fights or lingerie matches and she certainly didn’t want to be locked into endless two-minute matches. She wanted to be a wrestler. She wanted the divas title to be important. She wanted the women to matter in the “WWE Universe”. She worked hard, often against the grain of management, to make this dream of hers to become a reality. She didn’t get into wrestling to become just another divas, she wanted to be THE best of the division. She wanted to be more than just a diva. She worked hard to do that, but has now decided that the goal she had isn’t that important anymore. She wants to go home, she wants to be with her husband and I cannot blame her for that at all. I wish her the best of luck in whatever she does next.

The good news is that the cupboards aren’t bare for the WWE. There is talent on the main roster, and even more importantly there is a lot of talent in developmental that all want that spot that she vacated. Charlotte, Sasha, Becky and Bayley are all chomping at the bit to take that spot, and I wish them luck because they are all talented and could be great assets to the division. Of course, that is if they are booked properly. But that’s another topic for another column…

Jack McGee is an aspiring investigative journalist with interests covering TV, Movies, Wrestling, MMA and Sports. When not hunting the Incredible Hulk, Jack works on his surfing, his Johnny Utah like throwing motion and origami.