Ex-WWE star hopes to bring AJ Lee out of retirement

AJ Lee retired from in-ring competition in 2015 after six years in WWE. In a recent interview, Elayna Black addressed whether she thinks the legendary wrestler could return one day.

Lee was one of WWE's most popular stars in the early to mid-2010s. The 38-year-old held the Divas Championship for a then-record 295 days. She also had on-screen romances with several big names before marrying CM Punk in real life.

Black, formerly known as Cora Jade in WWE, appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Asked about dream opponents, the 24-year-old made it clear that she and RAW star Roxanne Perez want to bring Lee out of retirement.

"AJ Lee's my dream opponent of all time," Black said. "I don't know [if AJ Lee will return]. If I can't, I know that Roxanne can, so I know between one of us, I think we can do it. Whether it's her, me, I don't know which one it's gonna be, but remember that. It's gonna be one of us. I'm making a hopeful prediction [laughs]." [1:15:07 – 1:15:33]

Black received her release from WWE on May 2. The former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion's last match for the company ended in defeat against Sol Ruca at an untelevised live event on April 25.

Elayna Black wants AJ Lee to be happy

From 2021 to 2023, Lee briefly returned to the wrestling business as an executive producer for the Women of Wrestling (WOW) promotion. She has also written books and screenplays since retiring as an in-ring talent.

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Regardless of whether Lee wants to return to wrestling, Elayna Black hopes her childhood hero succeeds at everything she does:

"I just really want it, but she's killing it doing whatever she's at. I just want her to be happy. Yes, exactly [the wrestling fan in Elayna Black wants AJ Lee to return]. If it's against Roxanne, too, I'll be happy. It has to be one of us, though." [1:15:35 – 1:15:49]

Lee has not wrestled since the March 30, 2015, episode of RAW. She teamed up with Naomi and Paige to defeat The Bella Twins and Natalya before retiring later that week.

Please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart