AJ Lee made her highly anticipated WWE return on Friday Night SmackDown, putting an exclamation point on the ongoing CM Punk-Seth Rollins rivalry.
CM Punk and Seth Rollins are going to see it through to the bitter end in WWE. But in a surprising yet logical turn of events last weekend in Paris, Rollins’ wife Becky Lynch got involved. She cost Punk the World Heavyweight Championship Fatal 4-Way match, helping The Visionary retain the title. Lynch further proclaimed that The Man and her man run the business.
On the following Monday night, the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion slapped CM Punk repeatedly, evoking chants of “AJ Lee!” from the fans in attendance, who got the hint of what was coming. The Best in the World warned Becky Lynch, but she wouldn’t stop. He simply walked away. Four days later, Lynch attempted to humiliate Punk again, but this time, he had backup.
Punk reminded Lynch that he wouldn’t hit a woman, but he had someone on his side who would. This brought out his wife, AJ Lee, who was last seen on WWE TV a decade ago.
Zelina Vega Welcomes The Queen, AJ Lee, Back To WWE
On X/Twitter, SmackDown star Zelina Vega admitted to being excited like wrestling fans at the visual of AJ Lee skipping around the ring, stalking her prey. She welcomed back the “Queen,” echoing the sentiment of longtime fans.
Her “2017 all over again” line was likely a nod at the film Fighting With My Family, the biopic of Saraya (fka Paige), in which Vega portrayed AJ Lee.
The film was co-produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and was written and directed by British comedian Stephen Merchant. It featured the successful WWE main roster debut of Paige, which was against AJ Lee, the then-Divas Champion.
As AJ’s music started playing, my legs started involuntarily skipping like it was 2017 all over again. Welcome home Queen, you were so so missed,” wrote Zelina Vega.
From the looks of it, AJ Lee and CM Punk seem destined to step inside the squared circle and handle business against Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins soon.
As per reports, the mixed tag contest could be one of the highlights of WWE’s ESPN debut premium live event Wrestlepalooza scheduled for September 20.