One of the most famous couples in wrestling is CM Punk and AJ Lee. Even when they were absent from WWE for many years, with Punk leaving in 2014 and Lee a year later, fans still remembered them. The couple went public in 2013 and got married the next year, with Punk infamously having his termination letter from WWE delivered on the day of his wedding. Despite all the controversy and speculation that has surrounded The Straight Edge Superstar, fans knew that he and AJ Lee were a happy couple, though much of their relationship has been kept private. Now, however, their relationship is front and center, as AJ Lee has made her return to WWE to help protect her man.
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CM Punk And AJ Lee Initially Didn’t Have Much To Do With Each Other In WWE
- CM Punk and AJ Lee are largely synonymous with each other.
- CM Punk was already well established in WWE when AJ Lee debuted.
- AJ Lee got greater exposure during a romance angle with Daniel Bryan, which led to her on-screen association with CM Punk.
In 2024, it’s hard to think of AJ Lee without making the association that she’s CM Punk’s real-life spouse. While the couple is reasonably private about their personal lives, they’re nonetheless fan favorites together and a source of intrigue.
After making his name on smaller stages, Punk signed with WWE in 2005. He had already won Money in the Bank and consequently won world championship gold in WWE twice by the time Lee signed with the company and started wrestling in FCW, before getting national exposure as a contestant in the “game show”-style days of NXT.
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Lee focused most of her early main roster efforts on teaming with fellow NXT standout Kaitlyn, before she got her big break in her first of several romance angles in WWE, this one with Daniel Bryan. The storyline took shape just as he ascended to main event status for the first time in WWE. It was her involvement in the main event picture that set up her first public engagement with Punk–though she wrote in her book about looking up to him backstage before this point. WWE creative saw Lee’s character start to lose her mind after Bryan’s heel turn and turn on her. Lee became attached on screen to babyface WWE Champion Punk as he took to repeatedly claiming he had a thing for “crazy chicks.”
Lee and Punk’s on-screen association would only last for so long. She wound up settling into a significantly longer-term role in Dolph Ziggler’s corner, and then her best remembered big push as a wrestler. Nonetheless, fans remember the kayfabe association between Lee and Punk fondly.
CM Punk And AJ Lee Had Great On-Screen Chemistry In WWE
- A babyface CM Punk worked a low-key romance angle with AJ Lee as part of his feud with Daniel Bryan.
- CM Punk and AJ Lee didn’t remain involved as an on-screen couple for too long.
- Fans of this WWE storyline pairing remember it for the ways in which it foreshadowed real life.
The on-screen relationship between CM Punk and AJ Lee captured the imagination of fans as the two were involved in a love triangle with Lee’s on-screen lover turned jilted ex-boyfriend, Daniel Bryan, who also happened to be a major rival to Punk in 2012. The storyline also wound up becoming one of several ill-conceived romantic storylines involving Kane. Ironically, this would set the stage for a genuine romance to blossom between Punk and Lee, though they were likely not together when it initially began. Not only would the WWE storyline help to elevate Lee into superstardom before her record-setting reign as WWE Divas Champion, but it was also just a compelling angle for the company, while also showcasing that Lee had great chemistry with The Straight Edge Superstar and WWE Champion.
While the on-screen affair may have been brief for Punk and AJ, the future couple would stay linked to one another through a feud while during her forgotten authority figure run, serving as the RAW General Manager, with Lee feeling both scorned and betrayed by Bryan and Punk, her former storyline lovers. While they have not spoken in detail about it, one has to wonder if this storyline pairing between the two helped usher in their newfound romance the following year. Regardless, at the very least, it made for one of WWE’s better romantic storylines.
The Couple Remained Close Even After CM Punk Left WWE
- CM Punk dated Beth Phoenix, Maria Kanellis, and Lita.
- CM Punk and AJ Lee took their relationship public when they appeared together at a Chicago Cubs game.
- The relationship between CM Punk and AJ Lee was the real deal, as they’ve now been attached for over a decade.
Despite CM Punk dating many female wrestlers over the years, most of those relationships would fizzle out after a few months. This is something that the relationship of Punk and Lee would change, as their on-screen chemistry together meshed with their relationship in a strong manner, building the foundation for a relationship that seemingly began in 2013.
After making their first public appearance together at a Chicago Cubs game in 2013, the couple would make many appearances at Chicago sporting events over the years and likely bonded over their mutual love of sports. Even after Punk would leave WWE and Lee would retire, the two would remain in the public eye as one of the wrestling business’s most popular real life couples.
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CM Punk And AJ Lee Got Married In 2014
- The fact that WWE sent termination papers to CM Punk on his wedding day was an added source of bitterness.
- AJ Lee remained in WWE for months following her wedding.
- AJ Lee retired from the ring shortly after WrestleMania 31 due to damage to her spine.
On June 13, 2014, CM Punk and AJ Lee would tie the knot, making their marriage official during a small wedding in front of their family and friends. With Punk having walked out of WWE several months before, AJ Lee remained with the company, though her historically long reign as Divas Champion came to a close beforehand, and she was taking some time off from in-ring work during this period.
Despite Punk’s disdain for the company and his desire to be free from his contract, critics are justified in speculating that the timing of his termination was done on purpose on behalf of WWE in an attempt to send a message or rub salt in the wound.
CM Punk And AJ Lee In The Years To Follow
- CM Punk tried out MMA and worked two fights for UFC before returning to wrestling when he signed with AEW.
- AJ Lee worked with Women of Wrestling as an Executive Producer.
- Photos AJ Lee posted to social media showed she was in incredible shape, intensifying speculation about whether she intended to return to the ring.
After a brief and not all that successful foray into the world of mixed martial arts, CM Punk returned to the wrestling ring in 2021. Punk wound up signing with AEW, where he would once again get a chance to be a top star in wrestling. It was a tumultuous ride to say the least, including two world championship victories, but also backstage drama that overshadowed these triumphs and ultimately led to his termination from the company.
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AJ Lee didn’t comment publicly on her husband’s ups and downs, but rather stayed busy on her own, including involvement in Women of Wrestling. Some fans hoped that indicated she had an itch to get back in the ring, but that hasn’t come to pass to date. She did, however, snag the spotlight again with a series of social media posts showing she had dramatically bolstered her physique, looking more muscular than fans had ever seen her before.
AJ Lee Returned To WWE To Help CM Punk
- CM Punk was asked several times about AJ Lee after returning to WWE.
- AJ came up during Punk’s feud with Drew McIntyre.
- AJ Lee attacked Becky Lynch on SmackDown.
After CM Punk’s shocking departure from AEW in 2023, the wrestling community whipped itself into a frenzy about a potential CM Punk return to WWE. Punk himself fed into these rumors as he teased that he would have some time to kill “for the next couple of months” on a broadcast for the MMA promotion CFCC (Cage Fury Fighting Championships). The fact that WWE Survivor Series was booked for Punk’s hometown of Chicago, only added to the intrigue.
Punk’s return garnered a huge reaction from fans as he immediately proved his worth via enormous social media buzz, merchandise moving, and an uptick in ratings for the following Raw. In his first promo back, Punk gave a shout-out to his wife, AJ Lee, telling fans that she was doing fabulously and that she sent her regards. The very fact that Lee had one of her first mentions on WWE television in nearly a decade, not to mention that her spouse is back with the company, aroused immediate curiosity from fans about whether she, too, might wind up back in sports entertainment.
While it didn’t offer any reason for fans to get their hopes up, it’s telling that the question of a prospective WWE return for Lee resurfaced at the Money in the Bank 2024 post-show press conference. Punk deflected, including citing that his wife was busy with quite a few other irons in the fire. AJ Lee did sort of become a part of Punk’s feud of the year with Drew McIntyre, as the heel ripped off the bracelet Punk wore that had AJ’s name on it.
Finally, though, AJ Lee is back. When Becky Lynch joined the Vision, the faction led by her husband, Seth Rollins, and attacked CM Punk, the writing was on the wall. Fans knew it, which is why they chanted for AJ Lee on the following Raw as Lynch slapped Punk multiple times. Unable to retaliate and hit a woman, he showed up on the September 5 SmackDown in Chicago to give Lynch one chance to stop. When she started slapping him again, he brought out someone who could take care of Lynch for him. The crowd went nuts as AJ Lee’s music hit, and she skipped to the ring. After taking down Lynch in the ring, she jumped into her husband’s arms. At Wrestlepalooza, it looks like we’re going to get a married couple dream match, with Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch vs. CM Punk and AJ Lee. Who thought we’d ever see that?!
