CM Punk on AJ Lee staying retired from wrestling

CM Punk says his wife AJ Lee (AJ Mendez) is not interested in returning to the ring.

The 34 year old Lee has been away from WWE since retiring in 2015. She noted in her memoir that she decided to retire due to permanent damage to her cervical spine, and because she had fulfilled her goals in pro wrestling. AJ also mentioned how she felt caught in the middle of the issues between Punk and WWE after he left the company in 2014.

Punk recently spoke with Joseph Staszewski of The New York Post to promote his ring return against Darby Allin at Sunday’s AEW All Out pay-per-view. Punk’s return to the business led to speculation on AJ possibly joining him. He was asked about the rumors, and if AJ is interested in coming back, or if him being around the sport again might spark her desire to return.

“I just want to say, no,” Punk said. “Just because [of] her neck. The reason she stopped wrestling is because of her neck. She’s got a bad neck, you know. I wouldn’t want her to jeopardize [her] health and neither would she, so we’ll put an end to that rumor right now.”

AJ has not wrestled since the March 30, 2015 RAW, where she teamed with Naomi and Paige for a win over WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins and current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Natalya. She left WWE a three-time Divas Champion, and a three-time Slammy Award winner. She also held the FCW Divas Title once while in developmental, and was the Queen of FCW on one occasion. Since then she has focused on writing scripts for various projects, and advocacy work. AJ and Punk have been married since June 13, 2014.

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