There were several important figures who played a huge role in the women’s revolution within WWE over the 2010s. The likes of Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, The Bella Twins, Paige, and others are among those who fans consider to have had the biggest impact in WWE changing their approach to women’s wrestling. There is one name who doesn’t get much of a mention in WWE despite being one of the key figures in WWE listening to fans and driving forward some changes in the way they presented the women in WWE, and that is AJ Lee, who may well be on her way to returning to WWE.
AJ Lee Was The Face Of WWE’s Divas Division
- AJ Lee was the most popular diva in WWE.
- Her character had a romance with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, among others.
- She was the number one name in the women’s division for a couple of years.
It is fair to say that, for a time, AJ Lee carried the Divas division in WWE. She first rose to prominence as the romantic partner to Daniel Bryan, before she became gradually more unhinged in her romantic pursuits of the likes of CM Punk, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena and others. Although this was a case of WWE using a woman for romantic storylines, AJ Lee’s great character work and personality shone through a great deal, allowing her to get very over with fans, arguably existing as the most over woman on the WWE roster outside of perhaps Stephanie McMahon. She was a big part of WWE World Title storylines, she was General Manager, and she shared the ring with many of WWE’s biggest male stars, gaining invaluable experience. Her popularity reached a point where WWE couldn’t hold off any longer, and they had to crown her as Divas Champion.
There was no one anywhere close to AJ Lee at the time, aside from the rising Bella Twins, in terms of popularity. She also stood out as someone who could wrestle a strong match, and delivered when given more time to do so, even though she didn’t wrestle on TV all too often at first. At a time when women’s wrestling in WWE was an afterthought, AJ Lee used her talents on the mic and as a personality to make fans and WWE management alike pay attention to her.
AJ Lee Had A Dominant Divas Title Reign
- She beat Kaitlyn and began a record reign as Divas Champion.
- She fended off the majority of the roster, including Bayley, Naomi, and Natalya.
- AJ Lee was the only Divas Champion to defend her title at WrestleMania.
AJ Lee defeated Kaitlyn to become the brand new WWE Divas Champion in 2013, embarking on a reign that lasted a record 295 days (until her record was broken by Nikki Bella). At the time, no one had been more dominant as Divas Champion, and there was nobody that fans could see as worthy of dethroning her for the gold, given how far above everyone else she was as an overall package.
Throughout her title reign, AJ Lee outlasted the likes of Bayley (in a brief visit to NXT), Kaitlyn, Naomi, Natalya, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, and more. Her reign made such an impression that she became the first (and only) Divas Champion to ever defend the title at WrestleMania. WWE threw her in the ring with every woman on the WWE roster in a 14-woman invitational match in which she managed to remain as champion, displaying her dominance on the Grandest Stage of Them All. It was during this reign that the ball started rolling for the women’s revolution.
AJ Lee Vs. Kaitlyn Was An Important Feud In The Women’s Revolution
- There were a few notable feuds that led to fans getting invested in women’s wrestling.
- AJ Lee and Kaitlyn had a great match at Payback 2013.
- AJ Lee changed the way WWE presented their women’s wrestlers.
AJ Lee’s reign began with a match that may well have been the catalyst for the women’s revolution. When it came to both TV and PPVs, women were lucky to have five minutes for a match, and ten was an absolute luxury. At Payback 2013, after a very personal and solid storyline between AJ Lee and Kaiyltn, they were given ten minutes to tell the next chapter of their story in the ring, and they made every second count.
This was one of the best women’s matches on a WWE PPV for quite some time, and it was one that made a lot of fans rally behind AJ Lee, not only as a character, but as a wrestler too. The match had strong psychology, stiff moves, and couldn’t have felt more different to what many had become accustomed to with the Divas division around this period. Following this, whether it be by coincidence or as a consequence, the women in NXT started to step up, and there was overall more of a push from fans to see women compete in more serious matchups. AJ Lee’s importance is understated, but her influence at the beginning of the women’s revolution was pivotal to its long-time success, as she was one of the names who was the perfect bridge from “Divas” to “Superstars”, and she was sorely missed after her WWE exit.
