On November 18, in Cageside Seats' Rumors Roundup, AJ Lee’s status with WWE was a topic of conversation:
"Talk of AJ Lee leaving WWE has popped up yet again, this time with folks claiming she'll be gone sometime after Survivor Series. It doesn't appear there's anything to this, and WWE is advertising her deep into December. Anything is possible and this is the Rumor Roundup, so we'll pass along the talk of it, but there may not even be any smoke here."
A few days later, this story returned in the November 22 edition of the Roundup:
"So apparently the situation with AJ Lee is that if she loses the Divas championship at Survivor Series, it could be a sign that she's leaving WWE shortly after. This apparently stems from gossip within the locker room that leaked out. Of course, there's been talk of this a few times before, but this is the first time since her marriage to CM Punk. For whatever it's worth, those at WWE believe she's staying."
Here we are, one day removed from Survivor Series, and AJ is no longer the Divas champion. Does this mean she's leaving the company? Not necessarily, but knowing how WWE likes to treat those who are on their way out, it wouldn't be surprising. It's not that she lost the title, but how she lost it. In an obvious throwback to Daniel Bryan's 18-second loss to Sheamus at WrestleMania 28, AJ also found defeat via the kiss of death. A cheap, embarrassing way to drop the title.
So what's this have to do with CM Punk?
Well, she's married to the guy, which must cause issues since she still works for the company he walked out on. Whenever she goes out to do her job, crowds just can't help but chant "CM Punk! CM Punk!" We're coming up on almost 10 months after Punk left, and his ghost still lingers around AJ and her treatment at work. This isn't about him, though. The focus here is about the former champion.
AJ has propped up the women's division for about two years, and this is how WWE thanks her? That's awful. Why not let Nikki show off her in-ring improvements and have a 15 minute match with AJ? They were obviously not short on time with this PPV, yet WWE short changed us with this feud.
I really hope there's going to be more to this storyline, but if not, shame on you, WWE, for treating AJ like another spoke on the wheel. She deserved a better send off.