10 WWE Superfans That Actually Made It

4. AJ Lee

Cm Punk Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE.com

Most famously highlighted in a video originally screened on Smackdown in 2001 of the former Divas Champion openly weeping as she met her idol Lita, AJ Lee was a huge WWE fan growing up, utilising wrestling as a welcome escape from a challenging New Jersey upbringing.

Explaining how she grew up living in cars and hotels during a difficult childhood, AJ noted it was her older brother that first exposed her to pro wrestling, and it became a love she would follow through into adulthood, forging a successful career during a less-than-stellar time for female talent in WWE.

Lee survived some choppy waters as a romantic valet for Daniel Bryan, Kane, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and even her future real-life husband CM Punk. Carving out an impressive legacy as a wrestler, she won three Divas Championships, including a maiden title win at June 2013's 'Payback' event that she'd tattoo the date of across the back of her neck.

Harking back to how she was influenced as a young fan, AJ was an uncredited pioneer in the WWE's 'Women's Revolution', challenging Stephanie McMahon over Twitter on issues of equal pay and television time while still employed and prompting wider discussion about the roles of women on their roster.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett