For much of 2013 and 2014, AJ Lee was one of the best female performers under the WWE umbrella. In real life, AJ is married to Phil 'CM Punk' Brooks, who had earlier departed the company amidst much hysteria in January, 2014. Afterwards, a lot of people wondered if Lee would follow suit, but she remained a vital part of the promotion's plans. She even aped her husband's 'pipebomb' style promos, cutting a vicious tirade of verbiage at the cast of the WWE-produced Total Divas program. Instantly, she became somewhat of a martyr in the women's division, a role which suited her well. As the calendars turned to 2015, she formed an alliance with Paige, even teaming with the Brit to face The Bella Twins at WrestleMania 31. Mere days later, WWE's official website broke some startling news. Without much build, AJ Lee had decided to retire from in-ring wrestling and step away from the spotlight. Admittedly, some had been expecting her to leave WWE at some point, but the news came out of nowhere. Earlier in the year, AJ had been outspoken about the way WWE portray females, so perhaps she ruffled some feathers behind the scenes.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
