AJ Lee To Leave WWE After Survivor Series—Report
The speculation that reigning Divas Champion AJ Lee is leaving the outfit is gaining steam. Several wrestling outfits are reporting that the script is set to Lee losing her belt to Nikki Bella at the upcoming Survivor Series at the end of November and pave the way for her graceful exit from the company.
After numerous reports in the past that Lee is leaving due to differences with the McMahons, her conflicting ties to husband CM Punk and the general direction of the WWE, there has been no clear indication from Vince McMahon and company that they will let go of one of their biggest draws. However, Bryan Alvarez broke the news through his radio program, Wrestling Observer Radio. The original rumour suggested that Lee would call it quits with the company by next year and spend more time with new husband Punk, yet the outfit has no longer advertised any pay-per-view events for her beyond the Survivor Series. The rumour was substantiated by an article in WrestleZone which went into detail on the planned Lee retirement.
"A rumor has been going around, recently addressed by Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com, that AJ Lee may be wrapping up her career in WWE. According to said rumor, which apparently stems from a legitimate backstage discussion, if AJ drops the Divas Championship to Nikki Bella at the upcoming Survivor Series PPV, it will be a strong indication that she is done," writes WrestleZone's Mike Killam.
In September this year, Lee was also embroiled in a controversy after fans chanted "CM Punk" whenever she made an appearance on the ring. This infuriated Stephanie McMahon who egged on the promoters to schedule a fight for her and the 27-year-old champion. Nothing materialised on that front as Lee was busy at the time feuding with then-reigning queen Diva Paige. With the murmurs of her exit, it is possible that the fans may not see the interesting Lee-McMahon battle.
For now, the whole wrestling community will be watching if indeed Lee will surrender the title to Bella at the upcoming pay-per-view match, this after just winning it over Paige in Night of Champions a couple of months ago. As of this writing, both Lee and the WWE have been mum regarding the rumour.