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I’d be lying if I said one of my thoughts about CM Punk’s return to wrestling wasn’t, “I wonder if AJ will come back and do something?”
Punk’s wife April Mendez, fka AJ Lee, seems perfectly happy focusing on her writing career and charitable work. She’s spoken of the wear & tear the years in WWE put on her body, and while she hasn’t ruled it out, doesn’t seem interested in risking more damage for a few bumps.
But while AJ was an important part of WWE transitioning from the lingerie pillow fights to the Women’s Evolution, it wasn’t because she put on five star classics all the time (Lee stood out in the ring because she was working to have the same kind of matches the guys were after years of most women’s bouts involving trying to rip clothes off each other). Mendez’s real gift was on the microphone, and channeling her charismatic personality into her characters. It could be cool to see her just show up on Dynamite or Rampage in the occasional backstage segment.
Hell, I’d cheer if we just saw in the crowd at All Out.
AEW Women’s champion Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. is hoping for a little more, though.
At last weekend’s Planet Comicon in Kansas City, Baker talked about April, her hubby, and - without naming her BAY BAY - teased a mixed tag:
“I was a big AJ Lee fan. One of the first moves I asked my trainer to teach me when I was training was her finisher, the Black Widow. So, that would be really cool.
“Again, I think it’s giving the fans what they want. I think the fans - to see both of them [Punk & Lee] in a wrestling ring again in 2021, let alone in one that’s not WWE, it’s evolutionary. That would be such a moment. So for the moment alone, I would love to see her back in a ring. I would love to see her in the ring with me...
“Speaking of her, I know we said we don’t really do mixed tags, but I think a mixed tag I would like to see involving her, him [Punk], me and somebody else.”
Make it happen, Tony! Or at least get AJ on BTE or something. Tell her she can bring Larry.