AJ Lee

At 37 years old, AJ Lee has this physical status:

April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author and former professional wrestler.

AJ Lee, the ring name, is her most well-known for her time in WWE. Mendez, a born and raised in New Jersey, began her professional wrestling career in 2007 on the state's independent circuit.

She joined WWE in 2009 and spent two years in the company's developmental division, Florida Championship Wrestling, before being promoted to the main roster.

She rose to fame in 2012 thanks to her "mentally ill" appearance, as well as a three-month stint as Raw's General Manager.

She won the Divas Championship three times in subsequent years, tying the title for a total of 406 days.

She also received the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year in 2012 and 2014, and readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated named her Woman of the Year from 2012 to 2014.

In 2015, she dropped out of in-ring appearances. Mendez has since concentrated on writing.

Crazy Is My Superpower, her 2017 book, was a New York Times Best Seller.

Early life

April Jeanette Mendez was born in Union City, New Jersey, on March 19, 1987. Janet Acevedo's mother, who later became a home health aide, was a carmaker and later a home health nurse, while her father, Robert Mendez, was an automotive engineer. She is the youngest of three children and is of Puerto Rican descent. Mendez described her childhood as battling with poverty, mental illness, and heroin use in her youth. They jumped between apartments, sometime staying in motels or their cars because they couldn't afford rent.

Her brother's passion for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) led her to become a professional wrestler. She aspired at 12 years old, drawing inspiration from WWE's female wrestlers, particularly Lita. She graduated from Memorial High School in West New York, New Jersey, in 2005. She attended Tisch School of the Arts, a New York University degree program, before finding herself six months into her studies due to family and financial challenges. She then began working full-time to fund wrestling education. She wore camouflage wrestling clothes on occasion in honor of her brother's service in the United States Army.

About the age of 20, Mendez was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition her mother also suffered from. She had previously suffered from depression as a result of a misdiagnosis of depression and overdosed on antidepressants and painkillers. This occurrence, which she describes as a suicide attempt, prompted her to seek medical attention and the correct diagnosis. She cites the illness for her courage in achieving her goals.

Personal life

Mendez describes herself as a tomboy and is interested in comic books, anime, and video games. In tally marks on the back of her neck, she has the date of her first WWE Divas Championship win tattooed.

On June 13, 2014, Mendez married fellow professional wrestler Phil Brooks, better known as CM Punk. They live in Chicago, Illinois.

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Professional wrestling career

Mendez was enrolled in a wrestling academy close to her home in March 2007, where she was taught by Jay Lethal. Miss April, a ring name that appeared on the New Jersey independent circuit in late 2007, began to perform under the ring name Miss April. In October 2008, she joined the New Jersey-based organization Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU). Miss April formed a tag team with Brooke Carter, who together won the WSU Tag Team Championship in February 2009. She also won the annual Wrestling Superstars King and Queen of the Ring tournament, alongside Jay Lethal two months later. She left WSU after signing with WWE and relinquished her title in May.

Mendez paid US$1,500 to attend a WWE tryout camp in May 2009, where she had signed a deal. She appeared at WWE Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental zone, and debuted under ring name April Lee at a house show in late July. AJ Lee's name was changed to AJ Lee shortly thereafter. AJ won the Queen of FCW title in February 2010, defeating Serena Mancini. AJ was disqualified from an inaugural FCW Divas Champions tournament that selected the inaugural FCW Divas Champion a few months later; she and the winner, Naomi Knight, became a villain, which made her a loser. AJ lost the Queen of FCW title to Rosa Mendes in November. AJ defeated Naomi in the FCW Divas Championship in December, making her the first female wrestler to win both titles available to FCW's female wrestlers. She dominated the championship until April 2011, when she lost it to Aksana.

While in FCW, Mendez appeared in the third season of NXT, which began in September 2010. Six female contestants from FCW battled to be WWE's "next breakout star" on the show, with realistic wrestling and reality competition formats. Primo was named her "WWE Pro," the role of her mentor in the storyline. She appeared on the show as a celebrity (good guy), and WWE adapted her "nerd" fandom to her character. A chemistry between AJ and Primo was teased throughout the season, with the two couples eventually kissing on the finale. Kaitlyn also developed an on-screen friendship. AJ was voted in third place on November 23, despite being in third place on November 23.

On May 27, 2011, AJ made her professional debut as part of Kaitlyn's tag team, dubbed "The Chickbusters." They feuded with Alicia Fox, Tamina Snuka, and Rosa Mendes for two months, alongside their mentor Natalya. AJ began a brief storyline on NXT Redemption in late July as the girlfriend of Hornswoggle and feuded with Maxine. Natalya, who turned on her protégé and allies of Beth Phoenix, formed the Divas of Doom on SmackDown, was also attacked by the Divas of Doom. Over the months, AJ and Kaitlyn fell consistently to the Divas of Doom, leading Kaitlyn.

By November 2011, AJ was enrolled in an on-screen romance with Daniel Bryan, who won the World Heavyweight Championship the next month and showed heel-like features. Despite AJ's remark of admiration for Bryan, Bryan didn't appear to worry that he loved her in return. When accompanying Bryan for his title defense, she was mistakenly pulled by the Big Show on January 13, 2012, and carried on on a stretcher as part of the storyline. On February 3, she returned, preventing Bryant from being attacked by the Big Show. Bryan began verbally offensive toward AJ in March, but she stuck by him. After sharing a "good fortune kiss" with Bryan, Sheamus was stunned and defeated in 18 seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1, he was surprised by Sheamus and defeated in 18 seconds. Bryan blamed AJ for his World Heavyweight Championship loss and broke their friendship. AJ made several attempts to heal, but Bryan pushed her away and left her distraught. As a result, she assaulted Natalya and Kaitlyn when they attempted to comfort her, revealing her character's transition to "mentally unstable."

AJ as well as Kane expressed her affections to Bryan's nemes and WWE Champion CM Punk. AJ took part in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship between Punk, Bryan, and Kane on June 17, assisting Punk in his title retention by distracting Kane. AJ was named as the special guest referee for their championship match at Money in the Bank as Bryan and Punk's feud progressed. Bryan made advances on AJ in an effort to compel her, but she stayed focused on Punk. She intervened in his match and pushed him, alongside Bryan, through a ringside table, angered by his disinterest in the July 2 episode of Raw. She suggested to him after they made amends, but Bryan countered with a plan of his own; Punk turned down her bid and slapped both men. On July 15, Money in the Bank counted Punk's pinfall on Bryan, resulting in a fruitful title defense for Punk; as Punk commemorated the death of a fallen Bryan, AJ was left alone. Bryan suggested to her again the next night, which she accepted.

AJ revealed that WWE chairman Vince McMahon had offered her the position of Raw General Manager during the exchange of vows at Raw 1000, leaving Bryan at the altar. She began on-screen authority on July 30, where she claimed that Bryan only needed the social clout to have her committed and coerce him to perform his own psychological evaluation. Throughout her tenure, AJ continued to exact revenge on both Bryan and Punk, refusing their demands and booking them in matches that violate their wishes. She appeared in separate altercations with Vickie Guerrero and Paul Heyman on August 27 and September 24, in which she assaulted them. The board of directors had reprimanded AJ, and the two boys had to take the General Manager position for themselves, deeming her too young.

On October 22, AJ resigned from her General Manager positions, becoming embroiled in a controversy involving John Cena. Vickie Guerrero denied that they were involved in a gang and unveiled various documents over the next month to back up her assertion. AJ and Cena denied the charges and eventually developed a family, but Cena became dissatisfied due to her behavior. In the meantime, Cena and Vickie Guerrero's Dolph Ziggler fought over Ziggler's Money in the Bank relationship. AJ turned heel during their match at TLC on December 16, interfering and pushing Cena off a ladder, causing him to lose. On Raw, she solidified her friendship with Ziggler, teaming up against Cena and Guerrero in the main event, which resulted in disqualification after the debuting Big E Langston assaulted Cena on her behalf. She was followed by Langston as her bodyguard and revealed that Cena had "played" her emotions and "broke her heart," so she aided Ziggler "break" him.

As they traded insults backstage, AJ's storyline rivalry with ex-boyfriend Daniel Bryan was revived in March 2013. Despite her interference, Ziggler and Langston helped Ziggler win over Bryan and his tag team partner Kane, which resulted in Ziggler and Langston losing to them in a WWE Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 29 on April 7. As he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Alberto Del Rio to win the World Heavyweight Championship, she and Langston accompanied Ziggler for the next night on Raw.

On April 22, 2013, AJ defeated royal to be the top one contender for Kaitlyn's WWE Divas Championship. Kaitlyn started a taleline in which she received gifts from a mysterious admirer. AJ revealed it to be a mind game, praised Kaitlyn, and left her in tears on June 10, setting up Langston to pose as the admirer. AJ defeated Kaitlyn in her first Divas Championship six days later at Payback. Although she continued to mock Kaitlyn, the pair was involved in the first ever in-ring contract signing for a Divas Championship match. On July 14, AJ won their rematch but Ziggler lost his own rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship later in the competition. Alberto Del Rio, Alberto Del Rio's mother, was disqualified after hitting her opponent with her title belt to shield him from further head injury, causing a disqualification. Ziggler's tumultuous behavior brought about their break. She demanded revenge by giving him another match and then attacking Langston with Langston. Langston was barred from attending her matches on August 2nd. However, AJ retained Kaitlyn's title, despite Layla's capture of him. Kaitlyn and Ziggler met AJ and Langston in a mixed tag team match at SummerSlam on August 18.

AJ interrupted Total Divas' cast members during a post-match segment on August 26, insulting them. Tamina Snuka was later enlisted as her bodyguard, promising to murder every member of the cast, and she later enlisted Tamina Snuka as her bodyguard. AJ successfully defended the title against Brie Bella, Naomi, and Natalya at Night of Champions, Brie Bella at both Battleground and Hell in a Cell, and Natalya at TLC. She also captained a team at Survivor Series in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against the entire cast, which her squad lost.

AJ became the longest-reigning Divas Champion at the time in January 2014. AJ resurrects her on-screen rivalry with SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, who forced her to defend the Divas Championship in a 14-woman match at WrestleMania XXX after fending off title contenders Cameron and Natalya. AJ won the match on April 6, the first time the championship had been contested for at WWE's flagship event. On Raw, AJ challenged the debuting Paige to an impromptu championship match, which ended her then-record reign of 295 days. Mendez was then given time off.

AJ shifted to a face role on June 30, and Tamina was no longer accompanied by her. She challenged Paige to an impromptu rematch and then took home the Divas Championship. In a parody, they began pretending to be their best friends. When AJ retained the name from Paige at Battleground, their behavior escalated into unprovoked assaults. AJ lost the championship to Paige at SummerSlam on August 17, a result. Their storyline was then intertwined with that of Nikki and Brie Bella, at Stephanie McMahon's behest, who gave Nikki a championship chance. On September 21, when AJ became a record-tying three-time Divas champion, a triple threat match ensued at Night of Champions. In October, her feud with Paige came to an end with a triumph in a Cell. Brie Bella, Nikki Bella's sister, was involved as her "personal assistant." At Survivor Series on November 23, AJ quickly lost the championship to Nikki due to a Brie distraction. Mendez took time off to recover a pre-existing neck injury after losing the rematch at TLC the next month.

Despite having produced record-breaking merchandise and several top-rated segments, Mendez sluggishly attacked WWE's treatment of its female wrestlers, claiming that they receive only a fraction of the money and screen time of their male counterparts. Stephanie McMahon, the WWE executive, thanked her for the public statement, made her remarks. Vince McMahon, the WWE chairman and CEO, admitted to the situation.

AJ returned to Raw on March 2nd, saving her ex-battle Paige from Nikki and Brie Bella's attack. On March 29, AJ and Paige joined forces to beat the Bella Twins at WrestleMania 31. On Raw, a six-woman tag team match will be her last match before WWE announced her release from in-ring action on April 3. Mendez's memoir says that permanent damage to her cervical spine had led to the decision, as well as the achievement of her goals. Following WWE's contentious departure in January 2014, she had also "felt in the middle" with her husband, CM Punk, but she continued to wrestle for as long as she could.

Mendez joined the WOW – Women of Wrestling promotion in October 2021, serving alongside Jeanie Buss for six years. WOW also announced that it would enter into a multi-year distribution deal with ViacomCBS, the most significant marketing opportunity in the United States and abroad for women's professional wrestling in the United States and abroad. Mendez has been providing color commentary for WOW's syndicated weekly television show since September 2022.

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