Is AJ Lee Considering Leaving WWE?

Rumors of AJ Lee leaving WWE or taking another sabbatical were sparked by her losing the Divas Championship to Paige at SummerSlam as well as a remark from legendary broadcaster Jim Ross.

While predicting the AJ vs. Paige match at SummerSlam on a recent edition of The Ross Report Ross said he expects AJ to begin distancing herself from WWE.

“I would predict Paige to regain the title and we see AJ Lee distance herself from the WWE…that’s my guess.”

As Ross noted, though, that was his opinion. Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com added that there appears to be no truth to the rumors. Neither insider has heard from sources about AJ leaving WWE.

To clarify the rumor, it’s not a “she’ll be gone by the end of the year” sort of thing. Rather, it’s more of a gradual feeling that she won’t be with WWE for the long haul.

Before AJ married CM Punk, she was assumed to easily be WWE’s top female performer for the next three to four years. Vince McMahon loved her, fans loved her, her merchandise was flying off the shelves and she was respected amongst the boys in the back. But then she went and married a guy who left WWE on horrible terms. She can’t exactly pack up and leave for five days out of the week (for the next five years) to go to a job her husband despises, and where everyone despises him.

But also to say AJ’s leaving WWE “soon” is a relative term. Compared to how long people thought she would be staying before she got married (four years minimum), her leaving within the next eighteen months is relatively soon. Many people in WWE don’t expect her still be in the company beyond that time frame.