AJ Lee’s surprise WWE return looked seamless to fans watching at home. Behind the scenes, though, it was far more chaotic than anyone realized.
During WWE Unreal Season 3, AJ revealed that she still hadn’t signed her WWE contract just 30 minutes before making her shocking return on the September 5, 2025 edition of SmackDown. According to AJ, everything started with an unexpected phone call from Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who pitched the idea of bringing her back to begin a program with Becky Lynch.
“All of a sudden, I get a call that says, ‘Paul Levesque.’ He sort of threw out this idea with Becky. It was the perfect time to pay homage to these fans who have had my back for so long. I ended up saying yes.”
Even after agreeing to return, AJ Lee said the final hours before her comeback were anything but calm, as she didn’t even have her contract thirty minutes before she went out there.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into the day. Thirty minutes before I went out there, I didn’t even have the contract signed. That was a little nerve-wracking.”
For AJ, finally putting pen to paper meant much more than simply making her WWE return official. She said it represented something she had spent years fighting for during her first run with the company. That made signing the deal an emotional moment, as she felt WWE had finally recognized her as an equal.
“One thing I fought for back in the day wasn’t just for equal footing. It was, ‘Let’s get paid the way men get paid.’ To know I’m signing this contract where I am getting paid the way my husband’s getting paid, where I’m being treated like an equal, it was a boss-ass moment. I’m not gonna lie.”
AJ’s return kicked off a months-long run that saw her capture the Women’s Intercontinental Championship before eventually dropping the title back to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 42. More recently, WrestleVotes reported that while AJ wasn’t originally scheduled for SummerSlam, changes to the card have created a possible opening for another appearance, with three spots still available in the Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match.
Whether AJ ends up returning again remains to be seen, but fans now know just how close her last comeback came to happening without a signed contract in place.
Were you surprised to learn AJ Lee still hadn’t signed her WWE contract just 30 minutes before her return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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