10 WWE Gimmicks Wrestlers Refused

2. Mentally Unstable AJ Lee

Chris Jericho Goon
WWE

AJ Lee is a pro wrestling revolutionary in so many ways. While WWE was quick to hop on the #GiveDivasAChance social media movement, wrestlers like AJ Lee and Kaitlyn were clearly precursors to the success of women's wrestling in WWE in recent years.

Away from that, AJ was also not afraid to publicly address her thoughts on how WWE's female talent are so drastically underpaid when compared to their male counterparts, and she was also more than happy to walk away from WWE on her own terms when the time called for it.

Another thing that Lee deserves huge credit for, is that she rightly refused a gimmick that was to make light of mental illness.

When speaking to Inquisitr while promoting her Crazy Is My Superpower book in 2017, AJ revealed exactly what happened when she was offered a mentally unstable gimmick that would see her hallucinate dancing with dinosaurs and experiencing space travel.

"I felt like it disrespected both me and my mother. It was a joke, but, to me, it wasn't something to laugh at. It's hard to not think you're alone in the world, so it's good to connect with other people who've faced similar issues. I want to show that they're not something that's going to stop you."

Both AJ Lee and her mother have bipolar disorder, and she didn't want very real conditions to be turned into your standard yuk-yuk WWE humour.

The AJ character obviously would veer towards crazy at times during Lee's time in WWE, but it was nowhere near as bad as what WWE originally suggested for the three-times Women's Champion.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.