AJ Lee
April Jeanette Mendez is an American professional wrestler and author., she is signed to WWE, where she performs under the ring name AJ Lee.
Mendez began her professional wrestling career in 2007 in New Jersey's independent circuit. She signed with WWE in 2009 and spent two years in its developmental branch, Florida Championship Wrestling, before her promotion to the main roster. In 2012, she rose to prominence through storylines with her "mentally unstable" character, such as high-profile relationships and a three-month stint as the General Manager of Raw. In subsequent years, she won the Divas Championship a record-tying three times and held the title for an overall record of 406 days. She also won the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year in 2012 and 2014, and readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated voted her Woman of the Year from 2012 to 2014. She initially retired from in-ring performing in April 2015, but returned to WWE over a decade later in September 2025.
Outside of wrestling, Mendez has focused on writing. Her 2017 memoir, Crazy Is My Superpower, was a New York Times Best Seller. She formed a writing partnership with actress Aimee Garcia in 2019, and the duo have written multiple comic books, as well as the 2022 Netflix film Blade of the 47 Ronin.
Early life
April Jeanette Mendez was born on March 19, 1987, in Union City, New Jersey. Her mother, Janet Acevedo, was a homemaker and later a home health aide, while her father, Robert Mendez, was an automotive engineer. She is the youngest of three children, and is of Puerto Rican descent. In describing her childhood, Mendez said her family struggled with poverty, mental illness, and drug addiction. They frequently moved between apartments, sometimes living in motels or their car when they could not afford rent.Her brother's interest in World Wrestling Entertainment influenced her to become a professional wrestler. With inspiration from WWE's female wrestlers, especially Lita, she cemented her ambition at 12 years old. In 2005, she graduated from Memorial High School in West New York, New Jersey. She attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she majored in film and television production, until family and financial issues led to her dropping out six months into her studies. Afterward, she started working full-time to afford wrestling training. As an homage to her brother, who was in the U.S. Army, she occasionally wore camouflage wrestling attire.
Mendez was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition her mother also suffered from, around the age of 20. She had previously experienced adverse effects from a misdiagnosis of depression, and overdosed on antidepressants and painkillers. This event, which she considers a suicide attempt, caused her to seek proper treatment and the right diagnosis. She credits the condition for giving her the bravery to achieve her goals.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2007–2009)
In March 2007, Mendez enrolled in a wrestling school close to her home, where she was trained by Jay Lethal. Around late 2007, she began to perform on the New Jersey independent circuit under the ring name Miss April. She joined the New Jersey–based promotion Women Superstars Uncensored in October 2008. After little success in her first months, Miss April formed a tag team with Brooke Carter, who together captured the WSU Tag Team Championship in February 2009. She also won the annual WSU/National Wrestling Superstars King and Queen of the Ring tournament alongside Jay Lethal two months later. In May, she left WSU upon signing with WWE and relinquished her championship.World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
Florida Championship Wrestling and ''NXT'' (2009–2011)
WWE signed Mendez to a contract in May 2009 after she paid US$1,500 to attend a tryout camp. She reported to Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory, and debuted under the ring name April Lee at a house show in late July. Shortly thereafter, her name was changed to AJ Lee. In February 2010, AJ defeated Serena Mancini to win the Queen of FCW title. A few months later, AJ was eliminated from a tournament that determined the inaugural FCW Divas Champion; she engaged in a feud with the winner, Naomi Knight, and her character became a heel. In November, AJ lost the Queen of FCW title to Rosa Mendes. AJ then defeated Naomi for the FCW Divas Championship in December, which made her the first to win both titles available to FCW's female wrestlers. She held the championship until April 2011, when she lost it to Aksana.While in FCW, Mendez took part in the third season of NXT beginning in September 2010. The show mixed professional wrestling and reality competition formats as six female participants from FCW competed to be WWE's "next breakout star". Primo was assigned as her "WWE Pro", the role of her mentor in the storyline. She performed as a face on the show and WWE adapted her "nerd" fandom to her character. Throughout the season, a relationship between AJ and Primo was teased, with them ultimately kissing on the finale. She also developed an on-screen friendship with fellow competitor, Kaitlyn. On November 23, AJ was eliminated in third place.
AJ made her main roster debut on the May 27, 2011, episode of SmackDown as part of a tag team with Kaitlyn, referring to themselves as "The Chickbusters". Along with their mentor Natalya, they feuded with the trio of Alicia Fox, Tamina Snuka, and Rosa Mendes for two months. In late July, AJ began a brief storyline on NXT Redemption as the girlfriend of Hornswoggle and feuded with Maxine. Meanwhile, on SmackDown, she was attacked by Natalya, who turned on her protégé and allied with Beth Phoenix to form the Divas of Doom. AJ and Kaitlyn repeatedly lost to the Divas of Doom over the following months, upsetting Kaitlyn.
Various relationships and Raw General Manager (2011–2013)
By November 2011, AJ was featured in an on-screen relationship with Daniel Bryan, who won the World Heavyweight Championship the following month and began portraying a villainous character. Although AJ expressed romantic interest in Bryan, he did not reciprocate. On the January 13, 2012 episode of SmackDown, she was accidentally knocked down by Big Show during Bryan's title defense and was taken out on a stretcher as part of the storyline. She returned on the February 3 episode, preventing Bryan from being attacked by Big Show. In the following weeks, Bryan began to mistreat AJ, though she continued to support him. At WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1, after AJ kissed Bryan before his match, he was defeated by Sheamus in 18 seconds, losing the world title. Bryan attributed the loss to AJ and ended their relationship. AJ made repeated attempts to reconcile, but Bryan rejected her. She later attacked Natalya and Kaitlyn after they tried to comfort her, marking the beginning of a new phase for her character, portrayed as increasingly unstable.AJ turned her affections to Bryan's rival and WWE Champion CM Punk as well as Kane. At No Way Out on June 17, AJ interfered in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship between Punk, Bryan, and Kane, helping Punk retain his title by distracting Kane. As Bryan and Punk's feud progressed, AJ was announced as the special guest referee for their title match at Money in the Bank. Bryan made advances on AJ in an attempt to influence her, however, she focused her attention on Punk. Enraged by his disinterest on the July 2 episode of Raw, she interfered in his match and shoved him, along with Bryan, through a ringside table. After they made amends, she proposed to him but Bryan countered with a proposal of his own; Punk rejected her offer and she slapped both men. At Money in the Bank on July 15, as referee, AJ counted Punk's pinfall on Bryan, resulting in a successful title defense for Punk; as Punk celebrated over a fallen Bryan, AJ was left alone. The next night, Bryan proposed to her again and she accepted.
During the exchange of vows at Raw 1000, AJ announced that WWE chairman Vince McMahon had offered her the job of Raw General Manager and left Bryan at the altar. Her on-screen authority role began on July 30, where she alleged that Bryan only wanted the legal leverage to have her committed and forced him to undergo his own psychological evaluation. AJ continued to exact revenge on both Bryan and Punk throughout her tenure, denying their requests and booking them in matches against their wishes. On August 27 and September 24, she was involved in separate altercations with Vickie Guerrero and Paul Heyman, in which she attacked them. AJ was reprimanded by the board of directors, and the two demanded the General Manager position for themselves, deeming her too childish.
File:Dolph Ziggler AJ Lee Big E Langston in ring.jpg|thumb|alt=AJ Lee standing inside a wrestling ring with her partners|AJ alongside Dolph Ziggler and her bodyguard Big E Langston in February 2013
AJ stepped down from her General Manager duties on October 22, becoming embroiled in a scandal storyline with John Cena. Vickie Guerrero alleged that they had an affair and presented various material over the next month to support her claim. AJ and Cena denied the accusations and eventually formed a relationship, though Cena grew reluctant due to her behavior. Meanwhile, Cena feuded with Vickie Guerrero's client, Dolph Ziggler, over Ziggler's Money in the Bank contract. During their match at TLC on December 16, AJ turned heel by interfering and pushing Cena off a ladder, causing him to lose. She solidified a relationship with Ziggler the next night on Raw and they teamed together against Cena and Guerrero in the main event, which ended in disqualification after the debuting Big E Langston attacked Cena on her behalf. Subsequently accompanied by Langston as her bodyguard, she explained that Cena had "toyed with" her emotions and "broke her heart", so she helped Ziggler "break" him.
In March 2013, AJ's storyline rivalry with ex-boyfriend Daniel Bryan was reignited when they traded insults backstage. AJ and Langston assisted Ziggler in victories over Bryan and his tag team partner Kane, which led to Ziggler and Langston losing to them in a WWE Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 29 on April 7, despite her interference. The next night on Raw, AJ and Langston accompanied Ziggler as he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Alberto Del Rio to win the World Heavyweight Championship.