Early career (2007–2009) In March 2007, Mendez enrolled in a wrestling school close to her home, where she was trained by
Jay Lethal. She joined the New Jersey–based
promotion Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) 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) of
NXT. 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 (FCW), WWE's
developmental territory, In February 2010, AJ defeated
Serena Mancini to win the
Queen of FCW title. 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.
Primo was assigned as her "WWE Pro", the role of her mentor in the
storyline. 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, 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. (center) and her bodyguard
Big E Langston (right) 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, 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.
Divas Champion and initial retirement (2013–2015) AJ won a
battle royal on April 22, 2013, to become the number one contender to Kaitlyn's
WWE Divas Championship. Kaitlyn soon began a storyline where she received gifts from a secret admirer. On June 10, after setting up Langston to pose as the admirer, AJ revealed it to be a mind game, berated Kaitlyn and left her in tears. Six days later at
Payback, AJ defeated Kaitlyn to capture her first Divas Championship. While she continued to mock Kaitlyn, they participated in the first ever in-ring contract signing for a Divas Championship bout. At
Money in the Bank on July 14, AJ won their rematch but later in the show caused Ziggler to lose his own rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship. AJ hit his opponent, Alberto Del Rio, with her title belt to protect him from further head injury, prompting a disqualification. Angered by her unwanted action, Ziggler ended their relationship. AJ exacted revenge by costing him another match, then attacked him with Langston. On August 2, Langston was banned from attending her matches. However, AJ again retained the title from Kaitlyn, who was betrayed by
Layla. Kaitlyn and Ziggler ultimately joined to defeat AJ and Langston in a
mixed tag team match at
SummerSlam on August 18. , accompanied by her bodyguard
Tamina Snuka in April 2014 On August 26, AJ interrupted the cast of
Total Divas during a post-match segment and insulted them. She later vowed to defeat every member of the cast, and enlisted Tamina Snuka as her bodyguard. Throughout the remainder of the year, AJ successfully defended the championship against the trio of
Brie Bella,
Naomi, and Natalya at
Night of Champions, Brie Bella at both
Battleground and
Hell in a Cell, and Natalya at
TLC. She also captained a team at
Survivor Series in a traditional seven-on-seven
elimination tag team match against the entire cast, which her team lost. In January 2014, AJ became the longest-reigning Divas Champion at the time. After fending off title contenders
Cameron and Natalya, AJ renewed her on-screen rivalry with
SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, who forced her to defend the Divas Championship in a 14-woman match at
WrestleMania XXX. AJ won the match on April 6, marking the first time the championship had been contested for at WWE's flagship event. The next night on
Raw, AJ challenged the debuting
Paige to an impromptu title match and was defeated, ending her then-record reign at 295 days. Mendez was subsequently granted time off. Upon her return on June 30, AJ switched to a face role and was no longer accompanied by Tamina. She challenged Paige to an impromptu rematch and won back the Divas Championship. They started pretending to be best friends in a
facetious manner. When AJ retained the title from Paige at
Battleground, their act escalated into unprovoked attacks. At
SummerSlam on August 17, AJ lost the championship to Paige. Their storyline was then intertwined with that of
Nikki and Brie Bella, at the behest of
Stephanie McMahon, who granted Nikki a championship opportunity. A triple threat match ensued at
Night of Champions on September 21, where AJ became a record-tying three-time Divas Champion. She changed focus to Nikki Bella, whose sister, Brie, was involved as her "personal assistant". AJ quickly lost the championship to Nikki at
Survivor Series on November 23, due to a distraction by Brie. After losing the rematch at
TLC the following month, Mendez took time off to heal a pre-existing neck injury. In February 2015, Mendez criticized WWE's treatment of its female wrestlers, stating they receive only a fraction of the wages and screen time of their male counterparts despite having generated record-selling merchandise and several top-
rated segments. Her comments addressed WWE executive Stephanie McMahon, who thanked her for the public statement. WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon acknowledged the issue. AJ returned on the March 2 episode of
Raw, saving her former rival Paige from an attack by Nikki and Brie Bella. AJ and Paige allied together and defeated the Bella Twins at
WrestleMania 31 on March 29. A six-woman tag team match the next night on
Raw wound up being her final match, as WWE announced her retirement from in-ring competition on April 3. In
her memoir, Mendez said permanent damage to her
cervical spine and the fulfillment of her goals led to the decision. She had also "felt caught in the middle" between WWE and her husband
CM Punk following
his controversial departure in January 2014 but continued to wrestle for as long as she could.
Women of Wrestling (2021–2023) After six years away from the wrestling industry, Mendez joined the
WOW – Women of Wrestling promotion as an executive producer in October 2021, serving alongside
Jeanie Buss. This announcement coincided with WOW entering into a multi-year distribution agreement with
ViacomCBS, the biggest distribution opportunity in the U.S. and abroad in the history of women's professional wrestling. Beginning in September 2022, Mendez provided color commentary for WOW's
syndicated weekly television program. By August 2023, Mendez said she would be departing WOW at the end of her season-long contract.
Return to WWE (2025–present) In a 2021 interview, Mendez said she had healed from the injuries sustained during her career and that she could "technically" return to the ring. Two years later, in November 2023, her husband, CM Punk, returned to WWE after a nearly ten-year hiatus, amplifying speculation that she would also return. By September 2025, as part of his storyline with
Seth Rollins, Punk began feuding with Rollins's wife,
Becky Lynch, who attacked him on multiple occasions. Unwilling to strike a woman, Punk sought a partner to even the odds. On the September 5 episode of
SmackDown, Mendez, again under the ring name AJ Lee, returned to WWE after a decade of absence, and attacked Lynch. AJ then participated in a five-on-five
WarGames match at
Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29, again forcing Lynch to submit to secure the win for her team. AJ went on to defeat Lynch at
Elimination Chamber on February 28, 2026, to win the
Women's Intercontinental Championship. She successfully defended the championship against
Bayley on the March 16 episode of
Raw, but was defeated by Lynch at
WrestleMania 42 – Night 1 on April 18, ending her reign at 49 days. == Professional wrestling persona ==